Expressive movement unit 2

In the interplay of shot composition and editing the image of joyful collectivization is developed as shots and reverse shots determinded by contrasting shading.

The process of bridge demolition is staged in seven shots in shot / reverse shot technique. The first shot and reverse shot introduces the composition principle that unfolds in the following shots with a filmic gesture of pointing: A medium close shot shows Todd, whose act of washing himself is emphasized by its length, a duration that becomes the basis for the gestural potential of his gaze, which suddenly remains rooted to a point off-screen. The cut to the first reverse shot marks the next shot as what he has seen and ends the filmic gesture of pointing. The image of the bridge stands out as it is lit much brighter than the rest of the scene, the contrast in brightness that follows in the shots and reverse shots is anticipated in this one shot on the level of shot composition: The brightly lit bridge in the background of the image contrasts starkly with the soldiers’ dark bodies, in particular Epps' exposed naked torso.

In the following shots the dark long shots of the squad and the bright long shots of the bridge alternate in shot/ reverse shot technique. The long shots of the squad are completely filled by the figures; their position creates an audiovisual group portrait that conveys the staged process of collectivization on the level of shot composition. These group long shots also literally inscribe the brightness of the long shots of the bridge as the emanation of light – and thus create a staged correspondence with the characterization of joyful collectivization that emanates from the demolition of the bridge on the narrative level. The unfolding of this joy receives a temporal dimension in the facial expressions of the protagonists that change from group shot to group shot. The construction of gazes within the arrangement of the group portraits on the level of shot composition also put Dane at the center of the collectivization.