The Dynamic Frame: Camera Movement in Classical Hollywood

6.x6 Edge of Darkness

When a Nazi pulls Karen offscreen, the camera dollies back—away from the characters and indeed all the way outside, where the camera cranes up the church steeple to frame a symbolic image of a cross and a clock. Simply cutting away from the assault might have satisfied the Production Code, but it would do so at the risk of leaving the story point unclear. Craning away from the scene makes the act of concealment visible, forcing us to think about what cannot be shown. It is not enough to conceal the scene; the film must dramatize the concealment itself.

This page has paths:

This page references: