Shot progression and camera angles are an integral but often overlooked part of filmmaking. As an audience member, one rarely notices these tools unless they are improperly or clumsily used. Generally, a good shot is one where the camera goes unnoticed; its effect is meant to be subconscious.
In “The Noteook”, soon after Allie and Noah have met for the first time, there is a scene where Noah asks Allie if she wants to dance. As he leads her out into the street to dance, without music, the shot focuses on the couple from a low angle at a medium distance in order to convey a sense of empowerment that the two hold by breaking conventions of the need for music and a dance floor. Their closeness in the medium shot conveys their growing bond.
In the scene in “The Notebook” where Noah and Allie are riding in Noah’s canoe just before the storm hits, the cameraman uses a variety of long shots and medium shots. The camera pans the boat repeatedly in a long shot in order to orient the audience with the lake and give the illusion that the canoe has traveled a significant distance. This long shot also connotes loneliness, which both of them feel due to their complicated relationship with each other and others.
In this same scene, medium shots are used to give the audience information about character relationships. In the medium shots, Allie and Noah are not shown together until after Allie’s confrontation (“Why didn’t you write me?”). This physical distance reveals their emotional distance to the audience.
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