Camera Techniques In The Third Man

The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949, UK) is an investigative film that intrigues the audience with the plot and most importantly the camera techniques. How the camera films the scenes adds to the intensity and mysterious nature of the film. The different angles and movement of the camera lets the viewer experience the film as though they are also investigating the strange murder. When Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) first shows up in The Third Man, the camera pans the street that he is walking on to get to his destination Harry Lime’s (Orson Welles) house. This camera panning mimics how a person would turn their head as though they are watching Holly walk down the street and see him as he is passing by. This gives the viewer a personal feel because it matches their natural movement. Another way the camera panning affects the viewer is it makes it seem as though Holly is being watched by an unknown figure. Later in the film, this technique is used when Harry is on a building and the camera pans so it looks like he is watching for anyone he does not want there to protect himself. When Holly first starts to investigate Harry’s death, he has a …show more content…
This shot prevents the viewer from seeing who is in the coffin. This leaves the viewer to only see the reaction of the characters that are trying to see who is in the coffin. The high angle during this scene conveys who has the power or in this film, who has the knowledge. Other characters who have the knowledge of what happened to Harry, for example Dr. Winkel (Erich Ponto) is often filmed at a high angle and he is discovered knowing where Harry had been hiding. The high angle is usually accompanied with a medium close-up, which lets the viewer see the character’s facial expression more clearly, which in Dr. Winkel’s case, is smug and