Relationships Between Shots: Forrest Gump

For this assignment, I chose to observe a scene from Forrest Gump where Forrest first meets the school bus driver. I believe that because of the nature of this scene, each shot had to be very effective in introducing new characters and pivotal moments for the first time.

The first shot shows Forrest with his mother, and then zooms out to the right to reveal the rest of the world that Forrest is about to experience, starting with the school bus. The camera angle then changes to show a back and forth conversation between Forrest and driver Dorothy Harris, starting from when the bus door opens: From Forrest's angle, it is a two shot revealing the back of Forrest's head from his height and most of Dorothy's body down to the knees. Then when the driver speaks, the camera shows also the back of her head in a two shot, but from a much higher angle. Forrest's body is also shown cut off from the knees, but revealing of his body language and facial expressions. In the duration of the conversation, the camera switches back to facing Forrest before Dorothy has finished speaking in order to show his expression and reaction to speaking with her for the first time. The camera switches to Dorothy only briefly as she speaks, but after consciously observing, the focus immediately snaps back to Forrest. Finally the moment ends between the two as Forrest gets on the bus and the camera pans, first facing the door of the bus, then toward the side where he meets other school children for the first time. The cuts are seamless, following the flow of the conversation without being too jarring.

The next moment shows Forrest trying to find a seat on the bus, though most openly object to sharing a seat with him. A medium close up shot is used to reveal Forrest's expression after being rejected, and alternates between his view of the world, panning and zooming slightly closer to show him walking up the aisle. As he gives up looking for a seat, the camera changes to a medium shot of young Forrest leaning up on the side of a seat, as older Forrest narrates. The older Forrest is shown in a medium shot to introduce how he felt the first time he met the love of his life, Jenny. The phrase is completed as the camera returns to a medium close up of young Forrest again, this time tilting downwards as young Jenny invites Forrest to sit. In a very captivating and charming moment, Forrest is shown with his mouth gaping and backing up slightly when he sees Jenny for the first time. The camera shows Forrest in a medium shot to reveal the change in his body language and facial expression at that moment.

The pacing of the shots here are great in the way that it goes with the narration. None of the shots seem too abrupt, as the change usually goes to facilitate a change in the emotions of Forrest and to get a good look at the characters' facial expressions.