# Clever Shot Setups in Movies -- does this have a name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 24, 2010, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862 "2010-09-24T11:25:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/1 "2010-09-24T11:25:50Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/2 "2010-09-24T14:03:28Z")
Well, basically it is composition. The art of putting an image together that ‘tells a story’. Paintings and photographs do it all the time. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/3 "2010-09-24T14:09:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, basically it is composition. 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: > **[File:Hogarth's Evening.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hogarth%27s_Evening.jpg)** > > This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. > This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930. > Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. > You cannot overwrite this file. > **[File:FourTimesEvening.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FourTimesEvening.jpg)** > > The author died in 1764, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. > This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930. > Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. > You cannot overwrite this file. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/4 "2010-09-24T14:17:38Z")
Would you accept “clever composition”? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/5 "2010-09-24T14:18:10Z")
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](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/6 "2010-09-24T14:20:07Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Well, basically it is composition. > > 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: > > [File:Hogarth's Evening.jpg - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hogarth%27s_Evening.jpg) > > [File:FourTimesEvening.jpg - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FourTimesEvening.jpg) bolding mine I think that is your term then. Or simply juxtaposition. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/7 "2010-09-24T14:30:01Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/8 "2010-09-24T14:41:51Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/9 "2010-09-24T14:42:45Z")
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 _M_A_S_H\*, deliberately shot to evoke DaVinci’s _The Last Supper_. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/10 "2010-09-24T14:57:53Z")
> [@](#): > > 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 M_A_S\*H, deliberately shot to evoke DaVinci’s The Last Supper. _Mise en Scene_ refers to design of a scene: > **[Mise-en-scène](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_sc%C3%A8ne)** > > Mise-en-scène (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}French pronunciation: \[miz ɑ̃ sɛn\] ⓘ; English: "placing on stage" or "what is put into the scene") is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in the visual arts through storyboarding, visual themes, and cinematography and in narrativ Mi... 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 **M_A_S\*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. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/11 "2010-09-24T14:59:00Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > 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](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy) 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.” ---
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/12 "2010-09-25T12:08:43Z")
[How about in architecture?](http://img227.exs.cx/img227/4259/ragewarehouse5ka.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/13 "2010-09-25T13:09:31Z")
I’ve always heard it being called just “symbolic composition.” ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/14 "2010-09-25T14:49:43Z")
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](http://www.theocracywatch.org/bush2.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/15 "2010-09-26T12:34:30Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/16 "2010-09-26T13:03:13Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > 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](http://www.theocracywatch.org/bush2.htm). It’s not totally uncommon, actually. [The Halos of Barack Obama](http://www.centerforinquiry.net/forums/viewthread/4096/) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/17 "2010-09-26T16:12:40Z")
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.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/18 "2010-09-26T21:08:05Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/19 "2010-09-26T23:51:28Z")
I think it’s still juxtaposition except that in these examples it’s understated rather than overt. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862/20 "2010-09-26T23:59:15Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I think the technique the OP has in mind could be argued to be a form of foreshadowing.) 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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-shot-setups-in-movies-does-this-have-a-name/554862.md?page=2)