Definition
The big plan is that of the emotions. It fits closely at the faces, and helps to reveal the feelings of the character to the viewer. The lower expression (eyes, mouth etc.) will be apparent and interpreted by the viewer. This may have the effect of promoting the identification or, on the contrary, the rejection vis-à-vis a character.
The close up shot isolates the character’s face, by cutting it at or just above the shoulders. It is very often used to display, set before the eyes of the character, in order to bring the viewer back into the intimate thoughts of it.
Often used in dialogue scenes, the big plan will usually last for less time than wider shots. It will also show the sadness, the anger or even the surprise of a character.
For a close up on an object, we talk more commonly of close-up.
The point of view of Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir, one of the greatest directors in the history of French cinema, wore a look very interesting on the big plan, ” something extraordinary, something that is not explained “. For him, it was neither more nor less the only differentiating factor between film and other art forms !
For more details, you can discover the interview of Jean Renoir on this subject by clicking here.
A few examples
This big plan, from the movie Korean Old Boy, has for vocation to give us the madness that wins the main character due to her confinement. Some elements of the scenery remain, all the same, in the background to recall the reason which leads the character to become crazy, this room it leaves more for many months.
This big plan is from the horror movie French inside. The main character, played by Alysson Paradis, is kidnapped and abused in her home by a sociopath, incarnated by Béatrice Dalle. The face covered with blood of the personage reminds us of the hell that the character is experiencing. The close up on the face also helps to convey the fear felt by the character.
This big plan is involved in one of the scenes of the most intense of the masterpiece of P. T. Anderson, Magnolia. The character of Tom Cruise is going to let them explode all his anger vis-à-vis his dying father. The big plan was the best possible choice for this sequence. Tom Cruise delivers a performance that deserved to be valued as a single can make a large plan. It is clear from this scene marked by what one comes to ” live “. It has literally been overwhelmed by the pain of the character.
To go further
If you want to deepen your knowledge of the big plan and the other plans to develop your know-how, you can get the books “plans for the cinema : the big effects movie that every filmmaker needs to know” and “Carry out his films shot by shot“, two works very successful on the subject.
Keywords: film cunili.gus big pla., the plan together