Distance of Shot
As discussed in Part I of the thesis, in everyday interaction the culturally established
norms of social relations determine the distance we keep from one another to suggest
different degrees of intimacy or formality. This resource is used to indicate the
relationship between the characters George and Lennie and the relationship with the
viewer (this is discussed in the next section). In the first shot Lennie and George are
represented from some distance, - the long shot, which is a conventional shot for
setting the scene. The second and third shots are closer shots - medium shots, which
show George and Lennie from the waist up (Transcript 4.1 image (c)). The increased
closeness of these shots realises the characters’ relationship, and perhaps the potential
claustrophobia of George as Lennie gestures towards him (and the viewer).
Point of View
The camera encodes a viewing position, both in terms of distance, and in angle of
representation (as discussed in Part I of the thesis). That is, the viewer is ‘placed’ in a
particular viewing position to the things represented. The viewer is not bound to
accept the viewing position encoded by the maker of an image. Viewers bring
different ways of seeing to an image, and their meanings are the result of their
negotiation, or even rejection, in the process of interpreting∕engaging with an image
at different historical-social moments (Rose, 2001). Nonetheless, viewing positions
are encoded in an image and this is the resource offered as the basis for the
negotiation of meaning. In the video clip, the point of view of the first shot shifts
from a frontal angle (objective) to a slightly oblique angle in the second shot - an
over-the-shoulder shot. (This is the convention of representing a static dialogue scene
in film.) This shift in angle ‘places’ the viewer close to the left of George. The visual
focus is on the character Lennie as he talks and gestures. This contrast of angles
(combined with the move in distance) serves to emphasise and objectify the action of
Lennie from a viewing point close to the experience of George. In the third shot
(Transcript 4.1 image (d)) the viewing position is reversed: the camera (viewer) is
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