How to use The Devil Wears Prada lens

Scene analysis of "The Devil Wears Prada":

1. Similar objects, identical objects transition

In the beginning of the film (53 seconds to 59 seconds and 1 minute 30 seconds to 1 minute 34 seconds), the director used women's underwear and lipstick to complete the scene transition of several women getting up early to dress up, and the transition was natural. The heroine Andrea's cheap underwear and lipstick are in sharp contrast with the exquisite and noble underwear and lipstick of the other fashion beauties, which also implies that the conflict in the story will occur between her fashionable work environment and outdated clothing. . ?

2. Close-up shot?

In the beginning of the film (1 minute 14 seconds to 1 minute 22 seconds), the previous shot describes the panorama of the protagonist applying lipstick, and the next shot The camera immediately shows a close-up of the protagonist's eyes while applying mascara. ?

3. Empty shot?

In the film, when Andrea comes to the Newspaper Building for the first time, an empty shot is used to transition the scene. The audience's gaze is directed from the protagonist's expression to the door of the News Building, all the way up, and finally to the sky (3 minutes 02 seconds - 3 minutes 12 seconds). This ten-second shot perfectly combines the grandeur of the News Building with the protagonist. The fearful and uneasy facial expressions create a strong contrast, indicating that the protagonist will start a different story here. ?

4. Long shot

In the film, the magazine editor starts from the elevator (6 minutes 23 seconds to 7 minutes 10 seconds) and walks all the way to the office to meet him for the first time. The protagonist's scene uses a long shot to transition. The editor-in-chief of the magazine walked all the way to discuss work with his assistant Emily, and witnessed the rush in the office in the morning. The camera recorded the entire scene like a documentary, giving people an immersive sense of reality. At the same time, It also paved the way for the busy working environment and work pressure shown later in the film. ?

5. Entering and exiting the scene?

(6 minutes 30 seconds - 6 minutes 55 seconds) The scene when Miranda walks away from the corridor and enters the office is the transition between entering and exiting the scene. ?

6. Sound transition

(10 minutes and 10 seconds to 10 minutes and 30 seconds) In the previous scene, the protagonist unexpectedly got a job as a magazine assistant; in the latter scene In the scene, the protagonist and her boyfriend, two friends, are talking about finding a job in a bar. Between the two scenes, the boyfriend's disdainful teasing about the heroine finding a job in a fashion magazine was used as a transformation, and the transition was successfully achieved.

7. Block the shot?

(37 minutes 05 seconds-37 minutes 47 seconds) On the way to work, the director used a phone booth and a passing taxi to capture the fashionable beauty Andrea. Crowds and other dark-blocking elements cleverly change the costumes of the protagonist. Throughout the entire process, the protagonist did not stop from head to toe. It was more like a fashion show than going to work.

Extended information:

Montage technique

Montage is the transliteration of French montage. It was originally an architectural term, meaning assembly and installation. Film and television theorists extend it to the field of film and television art, referring to the editing and combination in the creation process of film and television works.

"Montage" has a broad and narrow meaning. In the narrow sense, montage specifically refers to the method of arranging and combining elements such as camera images, sounds, and colors. That is, in post-production, the recorded materials are carefully arranged according to the literary script and the director's overall concept to form a complete film and television work. The most basic meaning is the combination of pictures.

Film esthetician Bela Balazs said: Montage is when the film artist connects many shots in a certain order conceived in advance. As a result, these frames produce a certain kind of effect through the sequence itself. expected effect. It can be seen that montage is not the same element as the lens. Montage is the rule for assembling these elements, and it is a rhetorical technique in the film and television language symbol system.

Montage in a broad sense not only refers to the combination of shots and pictures, but also refers to a unique artistic way of thinking of the artist in the entire process from the beginning of the film and television drama to the completion of the work. In this sense, Pudovkin's famous statement that "the basis of film art is montage" still applies today and will most likely always apply. As an existence of skills and thinking, montage has a deep-rooted foundation in human psychology.

Baidu Encyclopedia - "The Devil Wears Prada"

Baidu Encyclopedia - Montage Technique