Continuity Project from Ashley van der Grinten on Vimeo.

This is the continuity project Ashley van der Grinten and I did as our final project for Media 160

Almost Famous: Shot Analysis

The film I’m choosing to analysis is almost famous, and the scene in question in about a quarter through the film. The two main characters, William and Penny Lane are going to a party at a fancy hotel where the bands (like Led Zeppelin and Stillwater) are playing. The walk into the hotel and the energy is incredibly high- the lobby is filled with people buzzing about who’s there and who’s performing. A Robert Plant song plays in the background and sets the perfect mood for the shot. As the two walk in, the camera quickly cuts through several quick shots of people all gathered and talking and saying hello. It’s almost dizzying, but wit good intention. In doing so, Cameron Crowe, the director, is able to really put the viewer in the shoes of his two main characters. As they walk down the hall of the hotel, Crowe uses a medium close up tracking shot, which allows the viewer to become more familiar with the two characters. While Penny Lane, who has been to many events like this before, walks casually and is not distracted by all of the chaos and energy going on around her, William is in a daze, turning this way and that, trying to soak it all in. At one point, he walks past a hotel room with the door open and two musicians sitting in chairs planning an acoustic song. The music seamlessly transitions from Plant’s high-energy rock n’ roll song, to this quite acoustic song. It’s a moment of peace for William, and also for the viewer- while he takes a moment to let everything settle in, so does the viewer. Then, in a second, the camera goes back to the high energy tracking shot of Penny walking down the hallway and follows her into a hotel room where all of the other characters of the film are gathered hanging out. The camera pulls back to show the entire room and everyone in it. It spins, and then pulls back to Penny Lane, closing in on her as she begins to give a speech about how “it’s all happening!”

Overall, the five minutes scenes of the two main characters entering into a new world is accurately depicted through Crowe's ability to marry music, scene cuts, and angels to put the viewer right in the chaos and high energy of the rock n' roll life style.