That's a pretty bold artistic assertion to make, and I don't really agree. There are a million things any camera movement can be saying. Most of the time, they're just covering an actor movement or establishing a location.

The Psychologist will tell you they work...but for the average person going to see a film they don't do much. Artists usually plan something that comes from a deeper meaning, but for the most part it is overlooked by most of the audience.

I read in a filmbook about the scene in 2001 when one of the astronauts is cut loose by Hal and floats off to the right. the sames hot reversed didn't have the same sense of emptiness when he floated off to the left. I think there can be something to it if done properly.

In this case it's not progress so much as known on the left and unknown on the right. Same as reading in English, you've read the stuff on the left and not the stuff on the right of your eyeline.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

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Originally posted by rjschwarz

I read in a filmbook about the scene in 2001 when one of the astronauts is cut loose by Hal and floats off to the right. the sames hot reversed didn't have the same sense of emptiness when he floated off to the left. I think there can be something to it if done properly.

In this case it's not progress so much as known on the left and unknown on the right. Same as reading in English, you've read the stuff on the left and not the stuff on the right of your eyeline.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

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I think it also depends on the direction of the character: the astronaut moves backwards...

And also many people say that the symbolism doesn't work but that's on the conscious level. And I thought that it might work unconsciously so that the emotional power of the shot is stronger, even if spectators cannot conscioulsy explain why they feel in such or such way.