Shot Zero
@shotzero.bsky.social
We talk shot design - because shot design isn’t just how it looks and feels, it’s how it works. www.shot-zero.com
Produced by Stu Willis & Mel Killingsworth
Produced by Stu Willis & Mel Killingsworth
Pinned
Shot Zero
@shotzero.bsky.social
· Sep 10
#Andor FrameWithoutFrame 2/5
Through S1, Vel and Cinta had similar ideals, but polar opposite ideas of how they could work together within the Rebellion, and this frame reminds us of this visually.
I’m also interested in how we get *into* this frame, though:
Through S1, Vel and Cinta had similar ideals, but polar opposite ideas of how they could work together within the Rebellion, and this frame reminds us of this visually.
I’m also interested in how we get *into* this frame, though:
#Andor 1.08 "Narkina 5" makes the most of motion, blocking, and symmetry - we look at how each is so effective, especially in culmative use!
open.substack.com/pub/shotzero...
open.substack.com/pub/shotzero...
December 7, 2025 at 11:01 PM
#Andor 1.08 "Narkina 5" makes the most of motion, blocking, and symmetry - we look at how each is so effective, especially in culmative use!
open.substack.com/pub/shotzero...
open.substack.com/pub/shotzero...
#TenPoundPoms loves a mirror shot!
What’s interesting here is what we DON’T see — Annie’s (Faye Marsay) face in the shot or the mirror.
Annie is small in frame, surrounded by a maze of stairs and hotel hallways. we can see the phone, it’s obvious what she’s doing . . . 1/2
What’s interesting here is what we DON’T see — Annie’s (Faye Marsay) face in the shot or the mirror.
Annie is small in frame, surrounded by a maze of stairs and hotel hallways. we can see the phone, it’s obvious what she’s doing . . . 1/2
December 6, 2025 at 11:00 PM
#TenPoundPoms loves a mirror shot!
What’s interesting here is what we DON’T see — Annie’s (Faye Marsay) face in the shot or the mirror.
Annie is small in frame, surrounded by a maze of stairs and hotel hallways. we can see the phone, it’s obvious what she’s doing . . . 1/2
What’s interesting here is what we DON’T see — Annie’s (Faye Marsay) face in the shot or the mirror.
Annie is small in frame, surrounded by a maze of stairs and hotel hallways. we can see the phone, it’s obvious what she’s doing . . . 1/2
This phone call is actually a ‘reveal’ — the punctuation mark on a sequence where Zack has pondered what to do.
The mirror lets us know Zack is still conflicted, even as his conversation lays out his decision.
This shot does the exact opposite of our phone call shot coming up tomorrow.
The mirror lets us know Zack is still conflicted, even as his conversation lays out his decision.
This shot does the exact opposite of our phone call shot coming up tomorrow.
December 5, 2025 at 11:00 PM
This phone call is actually a ‘reveal’ — the punctuation mark on a sequence where Zack has pondered what to do.
The mirror lets us know Zack is still conflicted, even as his conversation lays out his decision.
This shot does the exact opposite of our phone call shot coming up tomorrow.
The mirror lets us know Zack is still conflicted, even as his conversation lays out his decision.
This shot does the exact opposite of our phone call shot coming up tomorrow.
Reposted by Shot Zero
All week on @shotzero.bsky.social we're looking at how to dramatize phone calls on screen.
The focus pull, ‘opposite sides’ framing, stark colour difference between locations - these 45 seconds (only 30 actually spent talking) SHOWS us how these people feel, and how strongly they oppose each other.
see today's substack for a deeper look at this #MichaelClayton scene
see today's substack for a deeper look at this #MichaelClayton scene
December 4, 2025 at 10:07 AM
All week on @shotzero.bsky.social we're looking at how to dramatize phone calls on screen.
This scene from #TheMoretheMerrier spruces up what *could* be a boring phone call with framing, sets, and extras.
Constance is 'boxed in', but we also get a look out at a crowded dining hall and an attempting-to-eavesdrop waiter.
1/2
Constance is 'boxed in', but we also get a look out at a crowded dining hall and an attempting-to-eavesdrop waiter.
1/2
December 3, 2025 at 11:01 PM
This scene from #TheMoretheMerrier spruces up what *could* be a boring phone call with framing, sets, and extras.
Constance is 'boxed in', but we also get a look out at a crowded dining hall and an attempting-to-eavesdrop waiter.
1/2
Constance is 'boxed in', but we also get a look out at a crowded dining hall and an attempting-to-eavesdrop waiter.
1/2
The focus pull, ‘opposite sides’ framing, stark colour difference between locations - these 45 seconds (only 30 actually spent talking) SHOWS us how these people feel, and how strongly they oppose each other.
see today's substack for a deeper look at this #MichaelClayton scene
see today's substack for a deeper look at this #MichaelClayton scene
December 3, 2025 at 4:01 AM
The focus pull, ‘opposite sides’ framing, stark colour difference between locations - these 45 seconds (only 30 actually spent talking) SHOWS us how these people feel, and how strongly they oppose each other.
see today's substack for a deeper look at this #MichaelClayton scene
see today's substack for a deeper look at this #MichaelClayton scene
A phone call often ‘merely’ conveys information, so how do you make it interesting?
Focus pull, framing, shadows and smoke galore.
Then cuts juxtapose mobster and innocent - him sweaty in a dingy crowded room, her in a bright white room with her waitress hat as a sort of halo.
Focus pull, framing, shadows and smoke galore.
Then cuts juxtapose mobster and innocent - him sweaty in a dingy crowded room, her in a bright white room with her waitress hat as a sort of halo.
December 1, 2025 at 11:02 PM
A phone call often ‘merely’ conveys information, so how do you make it interesting?
Focus pull, framing, shadows and smoke galore.
Then cuts juxtapose mobster and innocent - him sweaty in a dingy crowded room, her in a bright white room with her waitress hat as a sort of halo.
Focus pull, framing, shadows and smoke galore.
Then cuts juxtapose mobster and innocent - him sweaty in a dingy crowded room, her in a bright white room with her waitress hat as a sort of halo.
ICYMI: our post on Aussie Christmas noir HEATWAVE is up (and free!) on our Substack
open.substack.com/pub/shotzero...
open.substack.com/pub/shotzero...
December 1, 2025 at 9:00 AM
ICYMI: our post on Aussie Christmas noir HEATWAVE is up (and free!) on our Substack
open.substack.com/pub/shotzero...
open.substack.com/pub/shotzero...
What better to take us from #Noirvember to the Christmas season than a deep dive into five of our favourite shots from Aussie Christmas noir "Heatwave" ?
November 30, 2025 at 11:00 PM
What better to take us from #Noirvember to the Christmas season than a deep dive into five of our favourite shots from Aussie Christmas noir "Heatwave" ?
Sherlock and Watson are a bit at odds in this scene, and the framing shows us as much as their conversation tells us: their singles are ‘clean’ looking far offscreen at each other, but even when they share a screen, they’re separated, first by a pillar, than a *distinctly* posed lamp.
November 30, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Sherlock and Watson are a bit at odds in this scene, and the framing shows us as much as their conversation tells us: their singles are ‘clean’ looking far offscreen at each other, but even when they share a screen, they’re separated, first by a pillar, than a *distinctly* posed lamp.
#Noirvember is for stark shadows!
We go from seeing nearly nothing, to silhouettes, to the tiny spotlight of a moving handheld torch, to nothing again, to click Nick’s ominous face, in this delightfully shadowy scene from Alias Nick Beale.
We go from seeing nearly nothing, to silhouettes, to the tiny spotlight of a moving handheld torch, to nothing again, to click Nick’s ominous face, in this delightfully shadowy scene from Alias Nick Beale.
November 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM
#Noirvember is for stark shadows!
We go from seeing nearly nothing, to silhouettes, to the tiny spotlight of a moving handheld torch, to nothing again, to click Nick’s ominous face, in this delightfully shadowy scene from Alias Nick Beale.
We go from seeing nearly nothing, to silhouettes, to the tiny spotlight of a moving handheld torch, to nothing again, to click Nick’s ominous face, in this delightfully shadowy scene from Alias Nick Beale.
#Noirvember is for Chase Scenes part2, from what else: THE CHASE!
This scene uses eye movements, very particularly modulated pacing, and stark light/shadows, to drive the tension and keep us guessing.
shotzero.substack.com/p/art-of-the...
This scene uses eye movements, very particularly modulated pacing, and stark light/shadows, to drive the tension and keep us guessing.
shotzero.substack.com/p/art-of-the...
Art of the Chase: THE CHASE
These tense scenes from The Chase (1946) shows Scotty (Robert Cummings) framed for the murder, and trapped by dirty cops seeking mob justice.
shotzero.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:26 PM
#Noirvember is for Chase Scenes part2, from what else: THE CHASE!
This scene uses eye movements, very particularly modulated pacing, and stark light/shadows, to drive the tension and keep us guessing.
shotzero.substack.com/p/art-of-the...
This scene uses eye movements, very particularly modulated pacing, and stark light/shadows, to drive the tension and keep us guessing.
shotzero.substack.com/p/art-of-the...
Yesterday we looked at how the earlier part of this scene used mirrors, but check out the transition at 24 seconds! [stills below]
The way it crossfades between Cody (James Cagney) and his Ma (Margaret Wycherly) clearly shows them to be cut from the same cloth / kind of psychopathy.
1/2
The way it crossfades between Cody (James Cagney) and his Ma (Margaret Wycherly) clearly shows them to be cut from the same cloth / kind of psychopathy.
1/2
November 28, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Yesterday we looked at how the earlier part of this scene used mirrors, but check out the transition at 24 seconds! [stills below]
The way it crossfades between Cody (James Cagney) and his Ma (Margaret Wycherly) clearly shows them to be cut from the same cloth / kind of psychopathy.
1/2
The way it crossfades between Cody (James Cagney) and his Ma (Margaret Wycherly) clearly shows them to be cut from the same cloth / kind of psychopathy.
1/2
#Noirvember is for chase scenes!
Check out how this dialogue-less chase scene in neo-noir TELL NO ONE shifts POV
It's an audacious sequence, but note it always ties the first-person POV to the proper angle and motion of the runner’s eyes through a shot of the runner looking.
full breakdown below
Check out how this dialogue-less chase scene in neo-noir TELL NO ONE shifts POV
It's an audacious sequence, but note it always ties the first-person POV to the proper angle and motion of the runner’s eyes through a shot of the runner looking.
full breakdown below
November 28, 2025 at 9:01 AM
#Noirvember is for chase scenes!
Check out how this dialogue-less chase scene in neo-noir TELL NO ONE shifts POV
It's an audacious sequence, but note it always ties the first-person POV to the proper angle and motion of the runner’s eyes through a shot of the runner looking.
full breakdown below
Check out how this dialogue-less chase scene in neo-noir TELL NO ONE shifts POV
It's an audacious sequence, but note it always ties the first-person POV to the proper angle and motion of the runner’s eyes through a shot of the runner looking.
full breakdown below
Shot-Reverse-Shot, but also make it a double reverse in a mirror!
As #Noirvember draws to a close, we take a closer look at how this scene from #WhiteHeat has fun with mirrors.
shotzero.substack.com/p/shot-rever...
As #Noirvember draws to a close, we take a closer look at how this scene from #WhiteHeat has fun with mirrors.
shotzero.substack.com/p/shot-rever...
November 27, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Shot-Reverse-Shot, but also make it a double reverse in a mirror!
As #Noirvember draws to a close, we take a closer look at how this scene from #WhiteHeat has fun with mirrors.
shotzero.substack.com/p/shot-rever...
As #Noirvember draws to a close, we take a closer look at how this scene from #WhiteHeat has fun with mirrors.
shotzero.substack.com/p/shot-rever...
When Abel (Louis Garrel) finds a gun in his mom’s boyfriend’s jacket, the scene makes clear how he peeps to spy on said boyfriend through a crack in the door without showing them 'in context' of each other.
How?
#TheInnocent 1/2
How?
#TheInnocent 1/2
November 26, 2025 at 11:01 PM
When Abel (Louis Garrel) finds a gun in his mom’s boyfriend’s jacket, the scene makes clear how he peeps to spy on said boyfriend through a crack in the door without showing them 'in context' of each other.
How?
#TheInnocent 1/2
How?
#TheInnocent 1/2
Reposted by Shot Zero
people think noir isn't funny . . . that bit with the cigar is simply HILARIOUS
Like yesterday's scene from Guilty Bystander, everything here relies entirely on blocking and camera/actor movement in and out of lights and shadows.
Such fun!
Such fun!
November 26, 2025 at 12:34 AM
people think noir isn't funny . . . that bit with the cigar is simply HILARIOUS
Like yesterday's scene from Guilty Bystander, everything here relies entirely on blocking and camera/actor movement in and out of lights and shadows.
Such fun!
Such fun!
November 25, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Like yesterday's scene from Guilty Bystander, everything here relies entirely on blocking and camera/actor movement in and out of lights and shadows.
Such fun!
Such fun!
If you’re going to be one of the most iconic femme fatales in history, you really gotta know how to make an entrance . . .
shotzero.substack.com/p/character-...
shotzero.substack.com/p/character-...
Character Introductions 004: Phyllis Dietrichson
Double Indemnity opens with Fred MacMurray’s Walter Neff stumbling into his office, drenched in sweat and guilt.
shotzero.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:49 AM
If you’re going to be one of the most iconic femme fatales in history, you really gotta know how to make an entrance . . .
shotzero.substack.com/p/character-...
shotzero.substack.com/p/character-...
Some of the tension in this wordless scene comes from just waiting to see if Max Thursday (Zachary Scott) exactly hits the beam of light with his eyes as he moves . . . and he always does!
November 24, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Some of the tension in this wordless scene comes from just waiting to see if Max Thursday (Zachary Scott) exactly hits the beam of light with his eyes as he moves . . . and he always does!
Today we look at five of our favourite shots from neo-noir #GetMillieBlack.
shotzero.substack.com/p/five-shots...
shotzero.substack.com/p/five-shots...
November 23, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Today we look at five of our favourite shots from neo-noir #GetMillieBlack.
shotzero.substack.com/p/five-shots...
shotzero.substack.com/p/five-shots...
Stu and Mel (and Chas!) did a whole Draft_Zero episode on #VeronicaMars’ voiceover [link next skeet]
1.12 “Clash of the Tritons” uses it to toy with the audience! Here the VO / internal monologue gives us information . . . then makes us reconsider what we've just seen and heard.
1.12 “Clash of the Tritons” uses it to toy with the audience! Here the VO / internal monologue gives us information . . . then makes us reconsider what we've just seen and heard.
November 22, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Stu and Mel (and Chas!) did a whole Draft_Zero episode on #VeronicaMars’ voiceover [link next skeet]
1.12 “Clash of the Tritons” uses it to toy with the audience! Here the VO / internal monologue gives us information . . . then makes us reconsider what we've just seen and heard.
1.12 “Clash of the Tritons” uses it to toy with the audience! Here the VO / internal monologue gives us information . . . then makes us reconsider what we've just seen and heard.
Similar to how White Heat used prison bars to make the whole frame look like a spiderweb, this shot from Safe in Hell shows us that even though Gilda thinks she has escaped, she is in fact still trapped . . . she just doesn’t realize it yet.
November 21, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Similar to how White Heat used prison bars to make the whole frame look like a spiderweb, this shot from Safe in Hell shows us that even though Gilda thinks she has escaped, she is in fact still trapped . . . she just doesn’t realize it yet.
Spike Lee's first foray into neo-noir uses stairs, stairs, and more stairs, to demonstrate his characters ascending and descending #Highest2Lowest
shotzero.substack.com/p/highest-2-...
shotzero.substack.com/p/highest-2-...
November 20, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Spike Lee's first foray into neo-noir uses stairs, stairs, and more stairs, to demonstrate his characters ascending and descending #Highest2Lowest
shotzero.substack.com/p/highest-2-...
shotzero.substack.com/p/highest-2-...