Five Shots: HEATWAVE
just what it says on the fire index sign
Five of our favourite shots from Australian Christmas noir Heatwave.
Sweaty Stills
The movie happens during (shocker) a heatwave, and you can see and feel it, even in the dark; a lot of reds and yellows, a lot of damp shirts and faces.
Office Jungle
Scenes often open with a wide or establishing shot, but this scene of Stephen (Richard Moir) being scolded by his boss (and his boss’s boss) concentrates on character.
All shots are close or medium of one or two people, UNTIL . . .
The very last shot is a wide view of the office and all three participants.
This saves the full impact of the rugs, bright florescent lights, etc., as a punch line, clearly communicating Stephen is in a jungle he doesn’t fully understand.
Smoke and Shadows
One jump scare for the audience, followed by another for the character — you could imagine this tense, shadowy scene in a slasher film!
We watch Kate (Judy Davis) enter in a long tracking shot which feels voyeur-y (like this shot from The X-Files “Squeeze”). She walks across frame, then someone moves in the shadows, which we pick up on because three things draw our eye:
Kate has just come from that space
Kate is still, so the only motion in frame grabs attention
the sliver of light and smoke stand out starkly against dark shadow
After a brief struggle, the man relights his cigarello which was put out in the skirmish, ominously shining orange onto his face.
Summing Up
This 30-second scene Heatwave sums up relationships and foreshadows arcs.
We did a longer breakdown on the cleverness of the blocking here, but just looking at these stills tells you
which characters are aligned and which are at odds (photo 1, 2, 3)
Stephen is in some danger (photo 3)
Stephen’s life is being taken over by the Eden project (photo 4)
Dreamy Car Travel
An unbroken shot in the office leads us into Stephen’s trance-like state, giving us the ‘in shock’ feel from the newspaper front page, followed by numb response.
The transition is a crossfade from the flouro-lit office to the neon-lit car, where he’s framed in a similar side profile, but facing the opposite way.
The effect is dream-like, showing him going through the motions while somewhat disconnected.
The next scene transition is also a crossfade, though continuing the R-L motion across the screen as Stephen walks into a scene already in chaos.