Blog 3: Relationships Between Shots

            In this clip from The Devil Wears Prada, the two main characters interact in their first major scene together after the film’s climax. The scene begins with two medium close-up shots of both the film’s main characters. After establishing both characters and their place in the scene, the next shot is a two shot of both characters that establishes the small amount of space between them, enhancing the intimacy of the scene for two characters that, up until this point, had rarely been in a closed space together. The cuts that follow rely on a basic shot reverse shot method to allow the viewer to follow the conversation happening within the car. The 180-degree rule is employed here – the camera never shoots them from the back of the car to maintain continuity. In fact, this scene relies on continuity, as any edit that did not make sense with the scene would have been extremely out of place in a mainstream film. The characters also stay in a medium close-up for the entire time they are in the car, letting the viewer see the emotions that fall across both actors’ faces.

            Once they exit the vehicle, the actors stay framed in medium close-ups until Anne Hathaway walks in the opposite direction, framing her in a medium long shot walking into the open Parisian air. Opposite her is Meryl Streep in a close-up surrounded by paparazzi. This editing approach is clearly intended to convey that Streep’s character will continue to remain a part of the world she lives in while Hathaway’s has chosen a new direction, a future where anything is possible. Next is a full shot of Hathaway walking followed by a medium shot where Hathaway pulls out her ringing cellphone and looks down at it. An eyeline match reveals that her phone says Streep’s character is calling. The film cuts back to the previous medium shot, Hathaway throws her phone into the water, and a long shot sees her happily walking away into a gloomy Parisian afternoon to pursue another direction in life.