Cinematography in The Truman Show

Discuss how cinematography is used to create meaning in one scene from The Truman Show

In the ending scene of The Truman Show, it begins with a medium shot of Truman facing away from the camera which is also a high angle shot as it is taken from slightly above him. This contributes to the feeling of watching him as it's not a natural angle and he's made to seem weaker as the viewer is above him. Then, there's a cut to a close up shot of Christof which is a low angle shot. As his face dominates the screen and the viewer is looking at him from below, this gives the impression of him having a lot of power. Due to it being a close up, it also allows the audience to focus on his emotions as it creates a lot of closeness to the character because of the lack of personal space.

There's then a wide shot showing Truman standing on the steps, however he is the only object in the shot and the rest of the frame is just the blank blue of the fake sky. The use of this shot despite there not being anything else interesting to show, helps display the emptiness of his life in terms of genuine events, connection and emotions. The shot is also not from a particular angle like the previous ones which were high and low angle. This puts him on more of a level platform and shows how he now has the choice about what he does. He's at a crossroads in terms of what he wants to do and the more neutral angle shows how he could swing either way.

After this, there's another high angle shot except this time it's two shots in one frame as Christof is shown caressing a screen displaying Truman. Again, this shows the power he has over Truman as well as the intimacy and closeness that he feels towards him, due to it being an extreme close up shot as well. By including the two shots, it's another reminder to the audience about how Truman is controlled and almost like a puppet to Christof, especially due to the size difference which is created through the juxtaposition of the extreme close shot of his hand with the medium shot of Truman which makes him look smaller and almost like a doll in comparison to the director. The shot gives a god-like look to Christof. As well, the two shots within the frame creates a sense of fakeness, continuing the theme which had been emerging throughout the film.

After a series of similar shots to the beginning of the scene, Lauren is shown with a medium shot which is more effective than a closer shot to her as the tv that she is watching is included in the frame creating a link, through the screen, between her and Truman. The camera is also positioned in line with the top of the tv, creating a high angle shot and showing how the tv, the programme, has power over her as well. A little while after this, there's a wide shot of the bar which helps to display the scale of people watching and invested in Truman's life as everyone in the room is captivated by the screen. Then there's a medium shot of the viewer in the bath, like in the shot of Lauren, showing the tv and remote as a connection to the show. There's then a closer shot of Lauren to show more of her emotion and trepidation.

The shot of Christof remains as a close up to show his emotions throughout until Truman makes his decision. Once he does, it cuts to the wide shot of him again to fully display him stepping out of the door and escape the prison manufactured for him. It also works to negate Christof's power over him as it isn't shot from a high angle like the majority of his shots within the scene.