A PRIMER OF FILM GRAMMAR: THE TWO-SHOT
In the second part of our visual language series, we discuss how to effectively use the two-shot and analyse what it conveys
The two-shot is the shot of character interaction. Whether the intention is loving, menacing or any other human emotion in between, the two-shot can really deliver if rendered appropriately.
In Toy Story, there are multiple themes that dominate the film. Competition, jealousy, community, acceptance of difference, friendship and love are a few of the subjects that the film unpacks for young and old viewers alike. We are led into a magical world of toys who subsist in a covert universe unseen by the humans who own them. They are endowed with all the emotions and frailties of their human counterparts, and it is from within this community of playthings that the lessons the film has are offered up. This film has two main protagonists, Woody and Buzz Lightyear, two toys who are literally light years apart in their personas.
The film begins with Woody, a cowboy toy and the leader of the toy community. Woody leads with a calm hand a group of disparate toys owned by Andy, the object of desire of all the toys. Value in this community equates with which toy Andy favours, and at the start of our film it is Woody. But this film is about how we accept change, and at the birthday party which starts the film Andy is given a new, more exciting toy – a spaceman named Buzz Lightyear. Soon Andy’s room is awash with Buzz Lightyear décor, supplanting the Western motif that previously dominated the space. Woody, it seems, has been usurped. Buzz, Woody’s replacement, is a bit condescending in part because he believes he is actually the space ranger Buzz Lightyear rather than a toy simulacrum. Over the course of the film both toys will have to endure considerable emotional pain to emerge as kinder and wiser beings. How these two characters evolve to accommodate the realities of their world is where the heart of the film resides. The twoshot will cinematically convey much of their journey.
“WHETHER THE intention is loving, Menacing or Any emotion in between, THE TWO-SHOT CAN Really Deliver if Rendered APPROPRIATELY”
“THE Rule DICTATES keeping your CAMERAS on one Side of THE line”
the 180-degree rule
One of the most important guidelines in shooting two characters interacting is the 180-degree rule. The 180-degree rule, also written as the 180° rule, is actually a very simple principle – one that has endured overcomplicated definitions over the years. It is actually an imaginary line or boundary that, if obeyed, results in clearer audience comprehension of the placement of your characters. To clarify, let us begin by imagining an overhead view of two characters who are interacting in a scene [Fig. 1.1]. Next, imagine drawing a large circle around them. If you then draw a line through the centre of the circle (and through your characters who are centred there), the 180-degree rule dictates keeping your cameras on one side of that line or the other – on one side or the other of the 180 degrees you have created.
If we look at an example of what following the 180-degree rule means in practice, we will see that in a long shot of two figures [Fig. 1.2], they appear normal as we would view them in real life. In order to keep that continuity of reality when the second character is filmed in the privileged position, we must keep the camera within the arc of the original 180-degree half circle [Fig 1.3]. This concept is very easy to follow, as you are just colouring within the lines so to speak.
When we move in for more intensity, the 180-degree rule gains even more importance. Consider a shot in medium close-up [Fig 1.4]. Here we are viewing the classic over-the-shoulder shot, probably one of the most utilised shots in all of cinema. This shot allows for the audience to perceive the emotion of the character who is facing the screen, while at the same time not forgetting who that character is relating to – we can still see the back of the head and shoulders of the second character. Now notice the ease with which we transition to the second character in the facing position [Fig 1.5]. This maintains the principle that humans do not emote in a vacuum. The over-the-shoulder shot upholds the idea that we relate to people and with people.
Breaking the rule
When we ‘jump the line’ or break the 180-degree rule, it many times
results in a cinematic ‘bump,’ which the audience may feel since we are jumping over their bodies in a way that no human eye could do. It is equivalent to being able to see opposite sides of a couple simultaneously. In close-up shots of their faces, it will appear as though they are looking out rather than at each other. When this occurs, the jewel of dramatic interaction is lost. One way to break the 180-degree rule seamlessly is with a tracking shot that moves continuously in a circle around the characters. This can be an absolutely beautiful shot and you can find examples of it in Hitchcock’s Vertigo and Brian de Palma’s Obsession.
All of the aforementioned does not mean that jumping the line is not appropriate in some dramas. A great example of breaking the 180-degree rule is a scene from Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film
The Shining. In this sequence, Kubrick photographs Jack Nicholson and another character in a long shot. The camera jumps the line a few times giving the impression of alternating frames of consciousness, which is exactly the impression that Kubrick wanted the audience to observe about his demented character. There are more than a few examples of breaking the 180-degree rule in cinema, but in almost every case the director has done it with intention – perhaps for a shift in consciousness, or perhaps all is not as it seems in that cinematic world.
the two-shot and toy story
Let us move to examples of how Pixar uses these same principles in Toy Story. When Woody and Buzz first meet, we witness the escalating tension. Here are two powerful toys who will have to face
“keeping both CHARACTERS in FRAME Allows THE Audience To WITNESS THE Struggle THAT both endure Simultaneously”
their demons. Woody fears losing Andy to Buzz and Buzz has identity problems, believing he is an actual space ranger. In a series of two-shots, the camera reveals the drama between the two principle characters, first one [Fig 1.6], then the other [Fig 1.7]. As stated earlier we are always aware of two characters within the frame, but one is dominant, usually the one speaking. Keeping both characters in frame allows the audience to witness the struggle that both characters endure simultaneously.
Notice the intensification of emotion as we move closer to our characters [Fig 1.8 & Fig 1.9]. The psychology of the shot here is more powerful as we witness our characters from each other’s point of view. There are countless ways to shoot this classic overthe-shoulder two-shot. In many films, the director will choose to have us look over the shoulder of the character who is speaking, privileging the character who is listening. This is done when it is determined that the reaction of the character being spoken to is more important than the drama on the speaker’s face.
additional landscapes in toy story
Woody and Buzz cannot remain in Andy’s room stagnating in their dislike for each other, and the plot devises a means for them to exit Andy’s room. Mid film they are captured and brought to the evil Sid’s Gothic room of torture. In this room, they will find decapitated toys and other surgical grotesqueries. When they are confronted by these mutilated beings, they are petrified. In the next two-shot, taken straight from the horror genre, Woody comes face to face with one of the grotesques [Fig 1.10]. The terror his face broadcasts sets us up for the next shot in which we will see what he sees [Fig 1.11], a creature with a mechanical spider body and a one-eyed doll’s head. This is where
Toy Story elevates the drama. Despite the fright Woody and Buzz experience, the creatures who live in Sid’s room mean them no harm and, in fact, will be heroes by the film’s end.
There are other inventive two-shots that follow, including a rear-view mirror reflection of Woody and Buzz on a race cart trying to catch up with their human family, and one that shows the gaze of Bo Peep as she looks through binoculars to see the two toy heroes racing toward them. Reminiscent of the silent-era iris shots, this shot is a framed by a double circle [Fig 1.12].
More two-shot variations
Toy Story has many cinematic crescendos, but none are more satisfying than when evil Sid reaps his comeuppance. Woody torments Sid by demonstrating that a doll can talk. We begin the two-shot with Sid holding Woody, not believing that this doll is speaking to him by name [Fig 1.13]. The sequence continues with closer shots of Sid’s reaction. By the time we complete the scene, we are viewing a two-shot in which only a small portion of Woody’s face is in the corner of the screen. The shot is dominated by Sid’s fearful expression [Fig 1.14]. This is a great example of how it is sometimes more interesting to watch the reaction of the character being spoken to.
all’s Well that ends Well
Ultimately Toy Story is a film about personal growth and friendship, and how some of the closest relationships are forged through sharing hardships and experiences. In the final sequence, Buzz and Woody have saved each other multiple times and the final chase sequence has all the thrills you might expect. We end up with a two-shot of Buzz and Woody on Christmas after being given the news that Andy’s new Christmas gift is a puppy [Fig 1.15]. Having previously been tortured by Sid’s dog, they exchange nervous glances. Whatever new battles they encounter, they will do so together. The circle is now complete; they have gone from enemies to the best of friends and morphed into two incredible beings along the way.
If you screen this film again you will be convinced of how potent a tool the two-shot is. Instead of going for crosscutting close-ups of each face, Toy Story shows us how powerful filmmaking can be with two faces on the screen simultaneously.
“THE SHOT is DOMINATED by SID’S FEARFUL expression. THIS is A GREAT example of HOW it is SOMETIMES More interesting To WATCH THE Reaction of THE CHARACTER being Spoken To”