Blog 6

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A Fistful of Dollars was one of Sergio Leon's first movies. It was part of the "The man with no name trilogy" starring Clint Eastwood. Unlike most westerns before, this movie was different because Leone changed the space from the tradition flat space to a more ambitious space. Some of the elements he used were 180 degree rule, the rule of thirds and the 30 Rule. The first shot placed the figure on the right side of the rule of thirds with the head in the upper right intersect. Furthermore, the figure walking was located in the lower left side. The 180 rule was obeyed because there was no change in camera between the two subjects. The 30 rule did not change either because the camera did not move. The cut to the next scene obeyed the 30 rule because it jumped to the subject which was much greater than 30% zoom. The camera switched sides than the previous shot but because a new character was introduced the previous one was cut out a new line was drawn and therefore the 180 rule was not broken. The rule of the thirds was obeyed because Clint Eastwood was placed in the left side of the frame while the camera dollied with him as he walked in front of the undertaker. The next shot cut to four men behind a fence watching Eastwood walking off screen. The four men were not placed in the rule of thirds intersect. Since the cut was to a different object the 30 rule does not apply. The 180 degree rule does remain faithful to the side it was formerly on. We then cut back to Eastwood walking in front of the bar. Again he is placed in the rule of thirds and the 180 rule is faithful. The 30 rule does not apply because its a different shot than the previous. The next shot looks at a different view of the first shot from the point at where Eastwood originally walked. The subject is placed in the rule of thirds with the lines of the building highlighting him. This does not break the 180 rule because other shots have occurred between the original establishing shot and this shot. Furthermore the 30 Rule does not apply because its a shot of a new object.