The movie I chose to analyze for my second blog was “The Elephant Man”, directed by David Lynch in 1980. The first and most obvious visual choice made by the director was to have the film shot in black and white. Although I'm not entirely familiar with David Lynch's work or his stylistic decisions, I thought perhaps this was an homage to the 1932 horror film “Freaks” by Tod Browning, which has a similar theme about misunderstood sideshow performers and the cruelty of society.
David Lynch freely used three-point perspective with most of his shots, as well as leadroom and lookspace to create a sense of balance and aesthetic throughout the film. As lead room occurs, there are several shots where the camera is being operated in a pan style, smoothly transitioning to where the main subject is moving. I also noticed the camera angles that take place throughout the film. Most people were filmed from a medium shot angle, with slow movements to other subjects, which added to the creepy sensation that they were trying to put across to their audience.
I found that the best example of three-point perspective and lookspace took place at exactly the middle of the film. During this scene, the camera switches between two angles. One is that of the main character, John Merrick having tea with his friend Frederick Treeves, and his wife. The two of them are perfectly centered on the invisible lines that make up the three-point perspective. The other shot is of the doctor who is standing by the mantle piece, on the right hand side of the frame, with lookspace infront of him, implying that he is looking at his wife and John.
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