Clever Shot Setups in Movies -- does this have a name?

Cafe Society
1

I caught part of Miss Congeniality, the Sandra Bullock movie I’d never seen, last week, and was watching the scene where she’s talking to the beauty pageant officials, played (to my surprise) by Candice Bergen and William Shatner. At one point, an indignant Bergen stands up, and her head just happens to “fit” into the crown the woman in the photo behind her is wearing.
The crown is not in perfect focus, and it’s not (INHO) an obvious sight gag, like the juxtapositions in , for instance, the Austin Powers movies. It’s meant to be a not completely obvious, sorta subliminal shot. This is by no means the only flick to do this.
John Frankenheimner famously set up a lot of shots in the original version of The Manchurian Candidate so that the eagle’s wings on plaques and such were behind people, making them sorta “angel patriots”.

In 1983’s Strange Invaders Michael Laughlin set up shots so that characters who were aliens had elliptical objects (streetlights, for instance) that suggested flying saucers.

Similarly, in the original Twilight Zone episode “A Passage for Trumpet”, Jack Klugman’s “guide” stops and turns as he’s walking away to give his name. He stops under a construction-site light, which from that perspective forms a halo over his said, as he gives his name as “Gabriel”, obviously supposed to be the angel.

In all these cases, I maintain, the imagery wasn’t meant to be overt, but was to suggest an idea to the viewer without the viewer being all that aware of how the idea was being planted.
Somewhat related are two examples from Reuben Mamoulian’s version of Dr. Jeckyll and Mister Hyde, where a character moves out of the shot and reveals what was behind him. In one shot, Hyde descends upon the streetwalker he’s brought home and behind him is revealed a statue of Cupid and Psyche. Later, at the end of the film, the detective who fires the fatal shot at Hyde ducks out of the way to reveal one of those anatomical skeletons hanging in Jeckyll’s laboratory.

So:

1.) Is there a name for this technique?

2.) There must be plenty of other examples. Can anyone post them? As I say – grossly obvious juxtapositions from comedies don’t count.

2

Well, basically it is composition. The art of putting an image together that ‘tells a story’.

Paintings and photographs do it all the time.

3

But it’s not merely “Composition.” “Composition” means a whole range of other things. I’ve seen plenty of examples of that, and it performs multiple functions. This is deliberately setting up a juxtaposed image to suggest an association, and has nothing to do with the usual properties of composition – balancing the picture, drawing the eye through the scene, etc.
William Hoogarth used to do this in his paintings and engravings, sometimes more obviously than others. In evening, the placing of the husband so that the cow horns appear behind his head is universally taken to indicate that he’s being cuckolded:

4

Would you accept “clever composition”?

5

In an episode of Criminal Minds where the unsub was a killer clown, there was a shot of Agent Prentiss standing in such a way that she blocking out the first two letters of a sign that said “LEGACY.”

Get it? [del]LE[/del]GACY

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bolding mine
I think that is your term then. Or simply juxtaposition.

7

Do sequential shots count? I remember in a Beautiful Mind, before his insanity is manifest, someone takes a picture of Nash at a party. One, two, three, say cheese! FLASH – and immediately cut to a close up of some bizarre Picasso-like painting hanging on the wall. Implication being, of course that that’s an image of his twisted soul or something.

8

Another example: In Lawrence of Arabia, when Lawrence has returned from being jailed 9and probably sexually assaulted) by the Turks, he gives a speech in Allenby’s office. Behind him is a mosaic of the Fall of Phaethon.

9

I think French cinema refers to it as mise-en-scen, the intentional arrangement of items within the scene to enhance the overall effect of the film. (At least, this is what I remember from my far off college class of Film Appreciation anyway). Another classic example is the farewell dinner for Painless in Altman’s MASH*, deliberately shot to evoke DaVinci’s The Last Supper.

10

Mise en Scene refers to design of a scene:

What I’m talking about is certainly part of compositoion or mise en scene, but not identical with it, and I was wondering if there was a term for such juxtaposition and “reveals” themselves.
In that light, the “Last Supper” thing in MAS*H, or in the title sequence in Watchmen isn’t an example of what i’m talking about, although it’s related. In these cases the placement of the actors itself invokes memory of a famous image. In the cases I give it’s the positioning of the actor and other elements to not-obviously suggest something, and not its resemblance to a famous scene or pose. There are so many examples of “shot resembling a famous pose” that you can make a separate category (or a separate thread, or entry in TV tropes) for that alone.

11

Reminded me of the “DANGER” sign during the opening credits of The Incredible Hulk TV series, shot in such a way that at first you could only see the word “ANGER.”

12

How about in architecture?

13

I’ve always heard it being called just “symbolic composition.”

14

I remember when Bush was President they would often stage photos to imply he had an angelic “halo”. You can see at least one example here.

15

Just thought that I’d chip in, continuosly through High Noon there is apparently nearly always a clock in the background.

The idea being that while the sherrif is desperately seeking help from the townsfolk (who all chicken out) against the outlaws who are going to kill him at twelve o clock, that time is ticking away.

16

It’s not totally uncommon, actually.

The Halos of Barack Obama

17

I think the technique the OP has in mind could be argued to be a form of foreshadowing.

Or, if the director is too heavy-handed with it, “telegraphing.” :wink:

18

Semi-related: This may fall into the “urban legend” category, but I seem to recall that during Iran-Contra, a presidential spokesman was speaking in front of a sign that said “The White House” and under it the word “Washington.” The spokesman was photographed in such a way that the sign said “The White Washing.”

Supposedly they redesigned the sign after this.

19

I think it’s still juxtaposition except that in these examples it’s understated rather than overt.

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But it can occur after the fact instead of beforehand – and it could even be that so-and-so only steps into the framing set-up for the very last shot of the movie.