Iris Shots - THE ACOLYTE (episodes 5-8)
More Circles, Opening and Closing (and one remaining static)
This week’s socials feature iris shots through the decades, and we already looked at iris shots in the first four episodes of The Acolyte.
Here are the rest of the irises, from episodes 5-8.
warning: heavy spoiler territory ahead
A Tale of Two Twins
Mae and Osha (both played with distinction by Amandla Stenberg) finally meet again in Episode 5 “Night,” and the first two iris shots of the episode literally centre them.
From One to The Other
When this iris transitions us from one scene to another, it takes us directly from Mae grabbing the lightsaber to Osha running through the forest. We can differentiate them because of their clothing, but this reminds us how close they are getting, literally as well as figuratively.
From Both to Another
After Mae has caught up to Osha, she makes a dramatic gesture . . . I mean, who amongst us hasn’t had a Big Emotional Event and chopped half our hair off, even if we didn’t have such a good / nefarious reason as Mae.
As she raises her head, we see Mae now looks exactly like Osha, before the iris closes down on her face.
Then, into the centre of frame where the iris has drawn (and the framing keeps) our attention, pieces of droids fall, hinting at what her Master has been up to as Mae confronted her twin. The falling parts are followed by the Stranger — whose identity we have just learned — floating down into the middle of the forest and shot.
Capping It Off
The episode ends with an iris drawing down to the Stranger and Osha, with the director’s name being revealed as the iris fully closes.
Final Episode
Episode 8 “Doom” technically has two and a half iris wipes . . . because one doesn’t wipe at all.
Changing Locales
The first iris of the episode closes on someone watching a ship fly away, transitioning to the place the ship is flying to.
The colour and landscape differences between the dark, ocean-side crags and the wide open mountain under a cloudy white-grey sky make the contrast distinct; as the transition progresses, we can see quite clearly where the edge of the iris is.
A Faux Iris
This shot of Mae and Osha running out of a small tunnel looks like an iris — and indeed, the scene returns to this shot to make the transition, which cuts to the very group of Jedi trying to track Mae and Osha.
Star Wars, of course, is full of cool shots like these, but the series heavily deploying iris wipes makes this shot and transition particularly in keeping with its visual style; note, all the irises in The Acolyte grow from / close into the centre of frame, even though that’s not always the case for iris wipes.
Full Circle
Bringing us full circle (pun intended), the last shot of the entire series is an iris shot, closing on the back of a very familiar head!
Takeaways
An iris is a big stylistic swing, but can be a lot of fun.
Leslye Headland was the showrunner for this series, and she directed the pilot which set the visual tone, as well as Episode 2.
It’s clear Headland wanted to lean into the old-school wipes and scene transitions of the original series. Iris shots are just one of the many different stylized transitions she whips out, including diagonal wipes, ‘curtain raisers,’ etc., and the rest of the directors do the same.
Not every episode uses an iris transition — episodes 3 and 6 use various other wipe transitions; episode 7 uses only one wipe at all, the remainder are straight cuts.
When they are used, the choice of techniques — why an iris as opposed to a diagonal wipe, whether they open or close, where in frame the action is, etc. — is all clear and sensical and often quite playful; sometimes moving with the flight of a ship, other times creating an air of mystery, still other times drawing the audience’s eye.
Film Details & Further Reading
The Acolyte (2024)
Directors: Leslye Headland, Kogonada, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Alex Garcia Lopez (2 episodes each)
Cinematographers: Chris Teague, James Friend (4 episodes each)
Editors: Cheryl Potter, Miikka Leskinen (4 episodes each)