pan drama

 The term "pan drama" refers to any scene in a film that takes place between two events, in other words, a climax occurs, and a climax happens afterwards. The two most common types of pan drama are the closed-ended or closed-for-all moment, and the open-ended or open-for-sects moment. The closed-ended scenes are those that either end on a specific point, or at the conclusion of an act. The panning, however, allows for any actions to take place before the climax, which is why they are called open-ended. Here are some examples of this form of drama.

During the opening scenes of Kill Bill, a group of women are seen walking through the woods near an ancient mansion. As the girls approach the front door, they notice a man (Noah Taylor) standing there with his back to the girl (Sally Field). The man then walks up to the girl, grabs her arm and starts pulling her towards the front door. As the camera follows the girls, they walk up to the next floor and see the man brutally killing the girl. This pan shot immediately shifts the viewer's attention to the hallway, where the next shot takes place.

In American Beauty, the camera follows the girls as they enter the home, and pans one step behind them as they enter the stairwell. Just before they enter the stairwell, a shot is taken from the hallway, and the girls are seen talking to a man ( Calvin Coppola). The camera then pans down to the stairwell as they enter. This pan shows us the girls as they approach the top of the staircase, as they turn to walk away from us, the shot cuts to a close-up of the man pushing the woman down the steps. This shows us the momentum of the shot as it pans down, implying that the woman is falling down the steps.

One of the most famous examples of this type of pan drama occurs in the opening scene of Casablanca. As Jack Valentino (Adrian Seller) is leaving a bar, he passes a woman (Nancy spellman) on the street. She stops to help him, and he turns around to return to the bar. We pan up behind him, and we see that he is holding hands with another woman. This pan shows us the woman's face, and the camera angle also shows us the view from the other side of the street.

When the American Beauty character walks up the stairs after he and the woman have walked away, the camera follows them, and cuts to a close-up of their faces. As they reach the top of the stairs, the shot cuts to a shot of the woman's face being smashed against the tiled floor. Casablanca used this type of pan drama frequently throughout the film. Often it was repeated many times throughout the scene. As an example, when Bobby enters the dance club, a close-up of him dancing can be seen behind him, followed by his face being smashed against the wall and then being hit by the bar.

Pan shots are used so frequently in this movie that it becomes clear why they are used. They are very effective, but they are also simple. In fact, many directors choose not to use them. Instead, they opt for zoom-in shots, which can be more dramatic, but also can become annoying if a scene has many similar close-ups or if there is very little change between shots. But regardless, the use of pan shots made American Beauty what it is.