Take A Screenshot. It'll Last Longer.

Okay, now that we know the different camera techniques, what's the purpose of them? We were tasked to choose 4 screenshots from the film and write one SEXXXY paragraph for each of them using this guideline.


Close ups are used both frequently and effective throughout Dragonheart. This is demonstrated at the beginning of the film when Bowen has caught Einon by the throat with his sword outside of the castle. This scene shows the current relationship between the two characters, a teacher and his student. We can interpret that this was done to introduce us to these characters, who end up being apart of the main story, and their backgrounds together. When combined with an appropriate use of a close up, joking dialogue between the pair, joyful music, and later scenes where one or the other betrays or goes against the other, the audience can begin to get a good sense of betrayal and feeling between these two characters who were seemingly good acquaintances throughout the film.

Appearing quite routinely in film, medium shots are decently common and methodical camera shot in Dragonheart. For instance, after Einon almost had a man’s eyes burnt out, Bowen comes in, frees the man and pins him to the ground and borderline lecturing him, resulting in a close up of Bowen staring almost threateningly into Einon’s eyes. Bowen talks about how no man nor woman is above the ‘Old Code,’ especially the king, rejoicing against Einon’s snarky comment of “The king is above the code!” The scene, paired with dramatic music, switching shots, and great use of dialogue, shows us, as the audience, how much Bowen truly cares about Einon, the code, and his reign as king. Bowen tends to come across as a father figure for Einon in this scene, further strengthening our understanding of their relationship. This concept pairs well with later scenes, bringing out the strength in the feeling of betrayal later in the film.

Close-ups, used frequently in Dragonheart and many other films, are an efficient way to show the emotion of a character in any given scene, whether it be an upsetting or happy moment. An example of this would be a scene at the end of Dragonheart. In this scene, both Einon and Draco have died and Bowen is watching as Draco’s soul becomes a constellation in the night sky. The look on his face is content, perhaps even prideful, truly showing the audience the strong that had formed between Draco and Bowen through the film. This was done to give the film a strong, happy ending, showing us that good has one once again. When combined with a great use of close-ups, serene yet somewhat dramatic music, and little to none dialogue, the scene really draws us in and gives us that full feeling the ending of a film should give you, leaving us as the viewer feeling content ourselves. This reminds me a lot of other films where the endings are similar, ones that leave the viewer wanting more but not so much it ruins the ending.

Throughout Dragonheart, close-ups
are used fairly efficiently.  An example of this is following the act of an older King Einon relentlessly shoots Kara’s father in the chest with an arrow, we watch as Kara says her final goodbyes. The audience is made to feel some sort of sympathy towards Kara,  and a newfound irritation, in some cases, hatred, towards Einon as we watch him turn from this innocent boy who swore to never become like his father to this “king” with a bloodlust instead of empathy. This scene is used to show us how truly corrupt and merciless Einon has become and begins to introduce us to Kara’s feelings towards her new king. When paired with dramatic and saddening music and a great use of a closeup, the scene becomes even more of a feel trip, though we currently barely know the characters. This aspect can be contrasted to an earlier scene between Einon and his father, where when his father dies, he cares more about the crown than his father himself while Kara obviously cares more about her father than the king.

What am I learning?
I am learning to understand the purpose of different camera techniques in film.

How does this work show my learning?
This work shows my learning by showing that I can understand purposes through how I write about them

What am I wondering
How could I improve my paragraphs? Did I misread a scene? Do people see these scenes in a different way than I do?