Blog Post #4: Say Something Bunny

Thelma (2017) is a film with one of the most chilling opening scenes. The scenes starts with an extreme long shot of a man and a young girl crossing a frozen lake. Then, it jump cuts to a below eye shot level of the little girl looking down at the pond. The next shot then cuts to the little girl’s point of view following the fish swimming under the frozen layer, then to the point of view from the bottom of the lake. The shot cuts to a medium shot of the little girl then she looks to her right. The editing is in accordance with continuity and the 180 is not broken. When the little girl looks to the right and up, the next shot is a medium shot of the man she is with as he looks back at her. The next shot is an extreme long shot of a third-person’s view of the two walking across the pond. The accordance with continuity is broken and jump cuts to an extreme long shot of a third-person’s view of the two sitting in the snow. There is another jump cut of a medium shot of the little girl watching the man load a gun. There is another jump cut to a extreme long shot (side) of the two walking through the woods in the snow. The accordance with continuity returns and action is matched when the side extreme long shot becomes an extreme long shot from the front. It jump cuts to a medium side profile shot of the little girl, then a shot from behind to reveal that she spotted a deer. When the man makes a “shhh” sound, there is a jump cut to a medium shot of the two (side profile), then back to the back shot showing the view of the little girl, and cuts to the two of them in the same shot again. This time, the man aims his gun, and when it makes the slightest sound, the shot cuts to a wide shot of the deer alone. It jump cuts to a medium side profile shot of the little girl, the same one used at the beginning of the accordance with continuity. As the scene comes to an end, there is a jump cut to a a wide shot from behind that shows the man aiming at the deer and standing next to the little girl, who is to the left of him. He moves his gun and aims it at the little girl, but before he gets to perfect aim, the scene cuts to a medium shot of their side profiles. There is a cut back to the same wide shot from behind, then a jump cut to a medium close up of the man pointing the gun at the little girl without her in frame. When he sets the gun down, there is a jump cut to the deer running away due to the noise, then a jump cut to a medium close up of the little girl looking back at the man. The exchange in glances follows the 180 rule. There is a cut to black to end the scene. The only color the pops out in these shots is the little girl's pink outerwear. Each shot shows the bare minimum of movement. The ambience is consistent and there is very little sound except for the slight breathing, sipping of a hot drink in one shot, and the sounds of the gun being moved. There is almost not dialogue except for the words "come" and "hush."