Phillpott, Photography in Bright Star

This picture is from the movie Bright Star. I have chosen this scene for my blog post because I feel as if this picture captures the essence of the entire movie. Bright Star is a love story, and the way the cinematographer shot this scene best shows the romance and love to be found within this tragically doomed tale about the poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne.

This scene was shot with backlighting, which gives the couple a heavenly glow as they embrace passionately in the center of the screen. The backlighting allows for an ethereal feel to the scene that emphasizes the romantic aura that is surrounding Keats and Fanny at this point in the movie. (This is before the love story turns truly tragic). And although this camera technique is used to give the audience a romantic effect, I think the cinematographer shot this scene so that the audience is barely aware of the lighting trick. Movie-watchers fall more into the moment of love rather than becoming ostracized from it. This is also accomplished because the angle for the scene is an eye-level shot. This type of angle is the most common in movies so the audience feels like they are witnesses to the couple's embrace, instead of realizing that the camera has become something other than the norm. An example is when Keats and Fanny are in the bed, the angle is from the birds-eye view. This is a great way to depict two characters in bed, but the audience knows that they would not ordinarily see things from that direction. That particular angle takes the audience out of the moment for a few seconds.

This scene from Bright Star is a medium shot, which means that the viewer is allowed to see everything above the upper thigh of the characters. This type of shot is common for dialogue, but in this instance it allows one to feel intimate with the characters. "We" are allowed into their world to see the love they have for one another.