A Shot in the Dark

In keeping with the theme of continuous shots from last class on Wednesday I was watching an older film the other day called A Shot in the Dark. For those of you that don't know this is the precursor to the Pink Panther films starring Peter Sellers. Although there are a few cuts in this opening sequence the camera work in the opening scene in this film is very interesting.

This opening shot is very interesting mainly because of how much choreography and planning has to go into the shot. It is really cool because of all the different people in this mansion sneaking around the house and just missing each other. Much like the Before Dawn I found myself much more involved with scene. Films nowadays use drastic quick cuts to create frantic movements. Now obviously camerawork changes but even in dramas and other films today we don't see continuous shots like this. It is interesting because I never payed attention to this shot in the film before but I do find it really interesting how involved I got in the scene.

This opening shot really sets the pace for the entire film. Although this is a comedy about a clueless detective trying to solve a murder. You just don't see films with this kind of pacing now. I thought that this was a very refreshing change of pace from the films today.