Expressive movement unit 1

The interplay of shot composition and camera movement create the image of an ambivalent mood between disquiet and composure through the contrast of standstill and movement.

In a long take, a framing that emphasizes the depth of focus is enclosed by two camera pans. The camera movement is always connected to Sergeant Dane, in this way the pans become an element of disquiet which is closely connected to Dane. In the center of the shot is a prolonged framed still shot. In contrast to the preceding pan, this opens a figuration of shot composition characterized by a static arrangement of the figures into the progressive depths of the image. Analogous to this, the contrast between disquiet and composure within this fixed frame is taken up in the dialogue between Dane and Todd when the latter associates the disquiet with the hostile nature surrounding the soldiers. 

The contrast staged on the level of shot composition and camera as an alternation between disquieted movement and composed standstill is finally taken up on the level of character constellation as a tense relationship that permeates this image: While Dane’s position within the narrative space changes continuously, all the other figures remain in their positions for the duration of the shot.