Multi-Angularity

When I look through my old home videos that I have recorded over the years, there is usually just one point of view that projects pretty much what my eyes saw at each particular moment. As a single angle shot that imitated a first-person point of view, each video then, was dependent on the mise-en-scène of reality. I tried experimenting with multi-angularity because I wanted to see if I could personally create a “composite view” of a scene and “[dissect] an existing but undefined space” (Sharff 141). In this sequence, I tried to implement the multi-angular structure on three different scenes: the bathroom, the bedroom, and the hallway. Planning more than three view points per scene, I hoped to establish shots that would have been impossible from a person’s point of view. Instead, I hoped to give the camera a “floating” quality.

1 (1 sec) Medium shot	2 (2 ½ sec) Medium shot	3 (1 ½ sec) Close-up shot
4 (2 sec) Medium close-up shot	5 (9 sec) Medium close-up shot

There is a bit of slow disclosure in this scene as the camera view point shifts from a mundane bathroom object (toilet), to a low-angle profile of my side, then another mundane object (faucet), and then a high-angle shot of the back of my head with a part of the mirror slightly visible. The 9 second shot discloses the action with a close-up that fully reveals my reflection on the mirror; my action indicates that I am checking my hair to see if I need a haircut. In this scene, I never show the bathroom in its entirety and the viewer has no idea where the toilet or the faucet is in relation to me, but they are able to figure out that all these things are in the same room as the one I am standing in because the towels in shot 2 and the mirror both point to a bathroom setting. Not only has this scene shown the different parts of the bathroom through multi-angularity; it has also covered two different sides of my head, revealed my face, and my lower body.

6 (2 sec) Long shot	7 (1 sec) Medium shot	8 (2 sec) Medium shot
9 (3 ½ sec) Medium shot	10 (1 ½ sec) Medium shot	11 (1 sec) Medium close-up shot
12 (3 ½ sec) Medium shot	13 (1 ½ sec) Medium close-up shot	14 (3 ½ sec) Long shot
15 (5 sec) Medium close-up shot	16 (2 ½ sec) Long shot

In this scene, I begin with an established shot that shows my room from the door. Then immediately, I follow up with a reverse-angle shot of the door and then another shot from partly behind the door. I then use six different angles (shots 9-14) while I turn on the music on my computer and take the bag out of the drawer. Shot 11 comes from right behind my monitor, and from looking at shot 10, the angle in shot 11 is one that is impossible for any person to have because it is almost right up against the wall. So in this particular shot, I was able to give the camera a floating fairy's eye view. Shot 13 and 15 take advantage of the close-up shot to give a dip-and-take feel in which my hand appears, grabs the desired item, and disappears. I tried to balance this scene with a high-angle long shot of my exit from a more distant reverse angle of shot 6, the initial shot of my room. Unlike the bathroom scene, the bedroom scene felt as if it contained more orchestration elements, such as the transition from shot 9 to shot 10 in which two angles show continuity in my act of pulling the seat towards the desk. However, in terms of multi-angularity, the low and mid-level shots alternated (i.e. shots 8-9, 10-11) to give a composite view of my action at the desk.

17 (1 ½ sec) Long shot	18 (1 ½ sec) Long shot	19 (2 ½ sec) Long shot
20 (2 ½ sec) Medium shot	21 (2 sec) Long shot	22 (4 sec) Medium shot
23 (13 sec) Medium close-up shot	24 (14 sec) Medium shot	25 (3 ½ sec) Medium close-up shot
26 (6 ½ sec) Close-up shot	27 (2 sec) Close-up shot	28 (4 sec) Close-up shot
29 (4 sec) Medium close-up shot	30 (2 ½ sec) Medium close-up shot	31 (5 sec) Long shot

This last scene contains a total of 15 shots, but they can be divided and grouped to show different purposes. Shots 17-20 are instrumental in showing the different spaces of the hallway. Not only are the shots confined to normal ground-eye view, but shot 18 looks down from a high angle while shot 20 looks up towards the ceiling. Shots 21, 22, and 23 detail the act of spreading down the newspaper, capturing it from a front angle, profile low angle, and then a back angle. Shots 26-27 and 28-29 can be paired as repetitive action that is framed differently. Only a partial view of my head and the hair clipper make a limited frame that is complimented by another limited frame that only shows my feet and the falling hair. Finally, to end the scene, I employ a pseduo-reverse-angle, first showing a medium close-up shot from behind me and then ending with a longer long shot from a relatively high angle that fades to black. I felt that this last scene was able to include more variety than the other two scenes and also gave a more detailed composite view of the hallway space.

I found this cinematic element to be the most challenging because I had to take extra time to plan out the different shots and then make sure that all the necessary shots were taken. Originally, I had about 38 different shots, but I ended up cutting some out. I began to realize that multi-angularity was not about having as many angles as possible “for variety’s sake,” but it was more important to make sure that it served a structural purpose and gave the camera the freedom to roam and give some unconventional view points that may help to explore an unnoticed space on screen. I know for a fact that my segment is still raw and undisciplined in many ways, regardless of the editing hours it took; but just trying to imitate Sharff’s prescribed multi-angularity technique allowed me to see the immense work and skill required to produce a sequence that can effectively facilitate the narrative.