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
#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 2/2
It’s obvious is how lost and confused Annie feels.
Unlike Joe’s shot (from yesterday) which reveals his decision, the point of this shot is not a reveal, but to sit with Annie’s confused emotions in this moment right after her fight with her husband Terry.
It’s obvious is how lost and confused Annie feels.
Unlike Joe’s shot (from yesterday) which reveals his decision, the point of this shot is not a reveal, but to sit with Annie’s confused emotions in this moment right after her fight with her husband Terry.
December 6, 2025 at 11:01 PM
#TenPoundPoms 2/2
It’s obvious is how lost and confused Annie feels.
Unlike Joe’s shot (from yesterday) which reveals his decision, the point of this shot is not a reveal, but to sit with Annie’s confused emotions in this moment right after her fight with her husband Terry.
It’s obvious is how lost and confused Annie feels.
Unlike Joe’s shot (from yesterday) which reveals his decision, the point of this shot is not a reveal, but to sit with Annie’s confused emotions in this moment right after her fight with her husband Terry.
#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.
#TheMoretheMerrier 2/2
Meanwhile on the other end of the line, Charles J. Pendergast tries to talk while Benjamin Dingle eavesdrops in the background.
Meanwhile on the other end of the line, Charles J. Pendergast tries to talk while Benjamin Dingle eavesdrops in the background.
December 3, 2025 at 11:01 PM
#TheMoretheMerrier 2/2
Meanwhile on the other end of the line, Charles J. Pendergast tries to talk while Benjamin Dingle eavesdrops in the background.
Meanwhile on the other end of the line, Charles J. Pendergast tries to talk while Benjamin Dingle eavesdrops in the background.
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" ?
More delightfully lit shots from Alias Nick Beale: shotzero.substack.com/p/tricks-of-...
November 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM
More delightfully lit shots from Alias Nick Beale: shotzero.substack.com/p/tricks-of-...
#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.
But the shots immediately before Cody's single and after Ma's single also draw parallels , as their 'gang' is arraigned around them in similar fashion!
November 28, 2025 at 11:02 PM
But the shots immediately before Cody's single and after Ma's single also draw parallels , as their 'gang' is arraigned around them in similar fashion!
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
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!
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...
See our Substack next week for a full breakdown of the scene above, but meanwhile check out our episode on #VeronicaMar's voiceover!
draft-zero.com/2024/dz-110/
draft-zero.com/2024/dz-110/
November 22, 2025 at 11:01 PM
See our Substack next week for a full breakdown of the scene above, but meanwhile check out our episode on #VeronicaMar's voiceover!
draft-zero.com/2024/dz-110/
draft-zero.com/2024/dz-110/
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-...