Camera Techniques In Wizard Of Oz

No movie is more famous for creating a world of wonder than the Wizard of Oz. Beyond the 124 little people and it’s ten leading roles, this film broke the mold of how children’s stories could be adapted onto the big screen. The Wizard of Oz truly inspired fantasy and excitement in its era. Some believe that its inspiration was through the recent children’s novels that had been successfully adapted into Disney movies. Some of the original producers actually believed that the audience might reject the film as too ridiculous for its time. However it was quickly realized that audiences are drawn into the fantasy of Dorothy’s dream and is now one of the most well known and respected classics. Camera techniques were crucial to creating this. The …show more content…
In the long shot of Munchkinland, the town is mostly in left third. The trees that we are “looking through” are in the middle third leaving the left third to show the enormous amount of grasslands between Munchkinland and the mountainous background through aerial perspective. As the camera pans, it has a bird’s eye perspective. The shot moves closer to the town, however the depth of field remains huge because of the continuous aerial perspective which is keeping the background visible as it gets even smaller and more hazy in the left third. In the extreme long shot, it shows Dorothy’s house in comparison to Munchkinland as it takes up the entire left third. This gives the audience perspective on how huge the house is in relation to Munchkinland. Without the emphasis on the rule of thirds, it would be challenging for the audience to appreciate that in Oz, size is one of the things that are vastly different from Kansas. The next shot reveals the enormous land while also showing that in Munchkinland everything is in miniature. The buildings become more relative in size, not figurative. The emphasis here is less on depth and more on detail so rule of thirds is very important here. The rule of thirds is artfully employed as the Good Witch arrives in her bubble. It is completely centered over her head although it is tiny in the distance using the size diminution technique. As Dorothy turns and …show more content…
One could not watch the Wizard of Oz and not be moved by its orchestral accompaniment. The orchestra filters in gently and increases in volume to create a sense of unpredictability and fantasy. The non-diegetic sounds play an extreme role in drawing the viewer into the fantasy of Oz. When Dorothy lands in Oz, there are no diegetic sounds. As the scene begins where she walks out to explore, the orchestra slowly begins quietly, slowly getting louder, adding instrument by instrument. The fantasy increases through the emphasis on the non diegetic sounds, and lack of diegetic. Dorothy is alone with Toto so all is very still and quiet. Diegetic sounds slowly are added to show how Dorothy is now beginning to look around excitedly, rather than terrified and timid, in exploration of this new world. The birds start beginning to chirp and then start singing. Simultaneously, the orchestra has a sudden change in instrumentation from violin to oboe which strongly emphasizes a change of pace in mood and tone all non-diegetically. This signals the audience that the fantasy is only beginning. Dorothy is now becoming entranced by the birds, which are now obviously diegetic sounds, as the audience becomes entranced by the growing non diegetic music. The audience is now sympathizing and understanding how Dorothy is feeling as she nervously