Every great director has a signature visual style that sets them apart from the cookie cutter filmmakers out there. Paul Thomas Anderson has kept a pair of distinct tricks up his sleeve for each and every one of his movies. Regardless of genre or subject matter, Anderson has consistently used both the whip pan and symmetrical shots through HARD EIGHT, BOOGIE NIGHTS, MAGNOLIA, PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE, and THERE WILL BE BLOOD. THE MASTER features these shots, too.
For the purposes of these supercuts, THE MASTER has been excluded since it is still in theaters. If you never noticed these techniques before, you will certainly be on the look out for them going forward.
First up is the symmetrical two-shot supercut.
Pretty cool, huh? The composition of each scene is vitally important to a movie. Careful filmmakers will set this shots up both to control the resulting scene as well as give that segment of the movie a deeper meaning. Often these shots give the film the feel of a chess match with the characters playing very specific roles in what plot elements are taking place.
Next is the more obvious technique: the whip pan. Not used nearly as much in THERE WILL BE BLOOD or THE MASTER, this shot gave MAGNOLIA and PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE their whirlwhind feel through some of the more intense scenes.
So, there you go, a nice brief Friday afternoon film class. Now, go watch some movies this weekend and see if you can spot these techniques from any other prominent filmmakers.
