Thinking Points
	What characterizes the classical Hollywood film, both in terms of plot development and visual style? What distinguishes high-key from low-key lighting, and where is each appropriate?

Hollywood films, as opposed to art films or some types of foreign films, embrace a narrative that is highly economic and that is determined by cause and effect. The opening of a film typically plunges us in medias res, to an immediate understanding of an individual character who is a causal agent with a specific desire or goal. The chain of action proceeds from this character's goal. While natural causes, like floods and earthquakes, or societal causes, such as wars, economic depressions or strikes, might prod the character or serve as a backdrop, the narrative inevitably centers on the individual's choices, desires and traits.

The character's main drive or goal is generally countered with a conflict, which is usually introduced into the plot quite early on. "Real" time and space are subsequently subordinated to the line of action--a film presents life with no boring or static parts. The plot generally cuts out significant durations of time, and one of the first things student filmmakers realize is how few shots you actually need to communicate, say, "he got up and left the room."

This swift movement toward resolution of the conflict has been made systematic in what is often referred to as the three-act structure. As celebrated screenwriter Ernest Lehman has put it:
In the first act, it's who are the people and what is the situation of this whole story. The second act is the progression of that situation to a high point of conflict and great problems. And the third act is how the conflicts and problems are resolved.

The Hollywood film assembles a tight cause-and-effect chain of action. There may be more than one line of action smuggled along with the main plot line, and it's most frequently heterosexual romance. But by the end of the film, the plot reaches complete closure, meaning that all the conflicts and lines of action are resolved.

Visual elements of the continuity style
This kind of narrative economy is enhanced by an invisible visual style, aided with continuity editing. The viewer shouldn't notice when cuts are made or when the camera moves. The space of the story,

	Ready Reference
	frame/framing reverse shot motion picture photography Reproduced with permission from The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2000 Columbia University Press. All Rights Reserved.

and a character's movement through it, should appear totally natural. As a scene introduces the basic setting and characters, it generally moves from a wide, or establishing, shot to a medium shot, and then to close-ups of the characters. This process is commonly referred to as "coverage."

This general understanding of the space is then preserved by observing a set of rules. The first rule is the 180-degree rule, or "not crossing the line." This means that if a viewer is introduced to a space in which person A is on the right and person B is on the left, the camera should not rotate beyond 180 degrees, because that would invert the relative positions of person A and B (person A would suddenly appear on the left and person B on the right).

Fathom

Crossing the 180-degree line inverts the relative positions of characters in a scene and alters a character's spatial relationship to other objects. In Figure 1 (left), the yellow box is in the foreground. Figure 2 shows the position of the objects and characters after the camera has moved beyond the 180-degree line: the yellow box is in the background and the characters appear to have switched positions. Cinematographers follow the 180-degree rule to preserve spatial relationships in a particular scene.

As the scene proceeds, particularly for dialogue scenes, the film will typically utilize a shot/reverse-shot sequence: each character is framed in a close-up that preserves the viewer's orientation to the space. This shot sequence is enhanced with cuts made to match action or sight lines, the practice of "eyeline"

A QuickTime animation of the 180-degree rule.

matches. At every point in the narrative the viewer will know exactly what he or she is supposed to be looking at. Through selective focus, ideal vantage and tight editing, the Hollywood film strives to give the viewer the optimal view for every scene.

Another aspect of the continuity style involves three-point lighting. A key light (the brightest light) is supplemented by a fill light, to one side, and a light in back. This allows subjects in the frame to appear three-dimensional. Otherwise, the subject may appear flat or blend in with the background. This kind of lighting also softens and idealizes characters, and stars throughout the classical period often preferred certain ways of being lit to maximize their beauty.

Lighting is often manipulated to fit the situation. It might, for example, be advantageous not to fully light a criminal hiding in a back alley. Again, however, lighting is always used to support the tone and mood

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of the narrative moment. Comedy, for example, often uses high-key lighting, with comparatively little contrast between the light and dark areas. Low-key lighting, on the other hand, creates a strong contrast between light, dark and deep shadows by decreasing the fill light--a practice perfected in film noir.