American History X

Lighting______________________________________________

Overall Lighting Ð'- This move over all has very intense and emotional lighting showing the texture of the characters and their surroundings. Lighting is in general harsher creating more intense facial shadows than in most movies. The harsh lighting correlates to the subject matter of the movie and creates a good atmosphere for the plot.

Scene Lighting Ð'- In the scene where Edward Norton stomps a car thieves jaw on a curb the directors used very dramatic and positional lighting on the thieves face ensuring that the viewer can see the horror on the victims face. When the camera switches to Edward Norton's face the lighting is creating shadows that show a very sinister look on Norton's face.

Camera Angles________________________________________

Predominant Camera Angles Ð'- This movie has many different camera angles for different parts of the movie. The curb scene has a low point of view shot. A shower rape scene has a wider-angle shot and then a close up shot, and then a down low ground level shot. In general though the camera angles are typical head on camera angles.

Unusual POV Ð'- During the scene where the thieves jaw is smashed on the curb the camera angle changes to a very in close shot that is on level with victims face. This angle shows the sheer terror in his face along with the very moody lighting. It is as if you can feel the fear that he is feeling due to the camera angle being so tight on his face.

Rule of Thirds Ð'- The rule of thirds is used throughout this movie for the majority of the general scenes. It is not used for special scenes such as very tight in close shots or shots where the character is in the center of the scene (the arrest scene in particular stands out as breaking the rule of thirds).