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Shot/reverse shot

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This is the current revision of this page, as edited by 2pou (talk | contribs) at 22:30, 14 June 2022 (Changing short description from "Film technique where one character is shown looking at another character, then the other character is shown looking at the first" to "Film technique showing two characters"). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.

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Shot/countershot in Greed (1924)

Shot/reverse shot (or shot/countershot) is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character (a reverse shot or countershot). Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.[1][2]

Context[edit]

Shot/reverse shot is a feature of the "classical" Hollywood style of continuity editing, which deemphasizes transitions between shots such that the spectator perceives one continuous action that develops linearly, chronologically, and logically. It is an example of an eyeline match.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Film Studies Program (2002). "Editing guide". Yale University. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  2. ^ Staff of "Hamlet on the Ramparts" Project. "Film lexicon". MIT. Retrieved 2016-07-30.

Sources[edit]

Bordwell, David; Thompson, Kristin (2006). Film Art: An Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-331027-1.