Techniques - Camera work - Close-up shots

Christopher Nolan uses close up shots reasonably frequently in his films, these close up shots are often focused on the main character in the scene but sometimes focus on objects that the character is holding or looking at. The main purpose of close up shots in Christopher Nolan’s films is to demonstrate how a character is feeling or what they are thinking about, often in relation to a significant event that has affected them in one way or another.

In the film Insomnia, many of the close up shots are of the main character, Detective Wil Dormer, and are often used at times when he is undertaking an action that relates to the criminal case that he is working such as questioning potential suspects or answering his colleagues questions in relation to the case. These close up shots are used to help portray Detective Dormer’s reaction to these situations and also attempt to demonstrate his state of mind at different points in time throughout the film. These close up shots are very useful because they show us how Detective Dormer’s mental well-being and state of is changing and deteriorating throughout the film due to his lack of sleep as a result of the constant daylight and the recurrent memory that he is having as a result of the incident in which he shot his partner, and the feeling of guilt that accompanies it as he tries to cover it up. This is an important aspect of the film as it helps to provide a more realistic perspective and essentially allows the audience to put themselves inside Detective Dormer’s head and clearly see and understanding what he is experiencing. The film also includes close up shots of items that are of significance to the criminal case that is the original focus of the story.

In Batman Begins there are also a reasonable number of close up shots, and similar to Christopher Nolan’s use of close up shots in Insomnia, many of the close up shots are of the major characters in the scene. There are some instances in which close up shots are of objects rather than people, these objects are often significant in relation to the characters at the focus of the scene. Many close up shots of objects in Batman Begins occur later on in the film once the main character, Bruce Wayne, has decided to adopt the identity of Batman and as a result most close up shots of objects are objects that Bruce Wayne uses as Batman such as the mast that he wears and the tools that he uses in order to carry out his actions as Batman. These close up shots of objects help to provide more detail as to what technology Batman uses and causes you to think what the objects are going to be used for. Similar to Insomnia there are close up shots of individuals that are largely used to show their reactions to certain events. An example of this is when Bruce Wayne is shown meeting a man named Carmine Falcone, who is a significant member of the Gotham City underworld. This scene contains close up shots of both men and is useful because it allows the audience to see how the two men are feeling during the discussion and who is in the position of power.

In The Prestige there are a large number of close up shots, most of which are similar to those used in Batman Begins and Insomnia, which is to demonstrate a characters reaction to a certain event. However like in Batman Begins there are also shots of significant objects, particularly objects that relate to the two main characters, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden. These objects include things that relate personally to the two men such as the notebooks that each man has stolen from the other one, and close up shots of objects that are used either in their performances or whilst they are performing illusions simply to amuse themselves. The close up shots of objects that are used by the two men are reasonably important because they provide more detail about the illusions and tricks that the two men are performing as well as demonstrating how devoted they are to what they do. The close up shots of the notebooks that both men have stolen from one another are particularly important because they help to highlight the extent to which both men’s obsession with outdoing each has come and how obsessed they are with finding out each other’s secrets. The close up shots of the two men are also very important, particularly in the scenes where one is reading the others diary. These shots are important because they show how each man reacts to what the other one has written, which in turn causes you to wonder the reader will do to take revenge on the other, which in the case of Borden appears to be more difficult to figure out when he is shown to be in prison and has no apparent way of getting out.