Framing, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

“Violet-eyed”
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

This clip is an excerpt of the film “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, directed byRichard Brooks in 1958. In this essay I will focus in framing, concretely in the use of distance and depth. Regarding to distance, it could be ensured that its main point is the approach to thesecrets or hidden intentions of different characters on scene, while depth allow the spectators to see the all the actions that are taking place at the same time.

On the one hand, it shall be emphasizedthat most of the shots show several actions occurring at the same time and for this cause the film makes use of depth. From second 13 to second 18, it is possible to appreciate how Big Daddy, Brickand other two people interact each other while are making different things, such as sitting on the sofa (Big Daddy), drinking a glass of alcohol (Brick) or having a conversation (Gooper and Deacon) .This may highlight the fact that there are many things happening at the same time, and this gives speed to the scene. In this case, depth is well connected to distance, because the characters who standat the background are seen smaller than they actually are. So, according to this, characters that are placed at the background in a given shot have a secondary role, as we can see in the minute 3.15,where Maggie and Mae are arguing about something that happened last Saturday and which has no real importance in the plot. While they are standing at the background, Bid Daddy is shown to thespectator much closer, suggesting that he is going to say or do something important for the development of the scene.
On the other hand, distance is a remarkable feature in this scene. The physical approachof the camera to the characters transmits that, the nearer the approach is, more will the spectator know about the character’s feeling or thoughts. When the camera takes a close – up shot of...