The Dynamic Frame: Camera Movement in Classical Hollywood

5.x14 Madame Bovary

Describing the waltz sequence in Madame Bovary, Vincente Minnelli explained that the camera movement suggested Emma's dizziness. The sequence features one whirling point-of-view shot, but the most astonishing shot depicts Emma from the outside, panning 360 degrees to convey Emma’s delirium as she spins around the dance floor. Like the point-of-view shot, the semi-subjective shot is mimetic; the camera moves to imitate an aspect of the storyworld—in this case, an emotional experience.

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