Eyes
of the Overlook Hotel
Viewing
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining for the
first time was quite a different experience. I was immediately perplexed with
the shooting design and techniques. Not only was the camera usually focused on
the back or side of a character, but it followed each actor as if it was
stalking them. After reading Garrett Brown’s article on the Steadicam it was
brought to my attention that Stanley Kubrick’s production of The Shining was greatly affected by the
use of this mounted invention. The Steadicam is able to turn around quickly
without making any sudden movements or jumps. It also allows the shots to take
sharp turns creating an eerie point of view that seems like something is
trailing the character. Unlike traditional horror films, The Shining’s use of the Steadicam implies a point of view that
does not come from a living organism but to a motionless object and space,
namely the Overlook Hotel.
The
point-of-view shot is one of the main ingredients in telling a story. In Edward
Branigan’s book Point of View in the Cinema he says that “A picture
initially is atemporal and will remain so unless the discourse assigns it a
temporal reference; nevertheless, a picture invariably discloses its spatial
determinations for the reason that the picture must necessarily be taken from
some angle and location” (44-45). Without point of view and a worldly site
storytelling would be useless. Branigan also suggests that plots can be
manipulated by the point-of-view shot. An audience can assume
that a character knows or sees something by showing different angles and point
of views such as when Laurie sees Michael vanish behind the laundry hanging
outside in the film Halloween. Horror
films dating back to the eighteenth century have typically filmed movies from
the character’s point of view. Through this style of shooting the camera
enables the viewer to become emotionally connected to the mise-en-scene and
plot of the film or a character’s personality and demeanor. For example in the
classic film Frankenstein the irritated
monster is seen through the point of view of the doctor as Frankenstein is
brought to life. Many customary point of view shots in traditional horror films
come from the monster or killer. A viewer identifies with the monster or killer
through their point of view by creating a mysterious sensation that horror
films depend on. Carol Clover proposes on horror films and their identities
that “they exist solely to horrify and stimulate, not always respectively, and
their ability to do so is the sole measure of their success: they “prove
themselves upon our pulses” (69). Identification with a character permits an
audience to flip back and forth between good and evil without having any
consequences; a state of mind which may be alien to the person.
From
the opening credits it is obvious that Kubrick does not use the traditional
point of view associated with most horror films. The camera swiftly flies low
over water and an island then spots and follows the father of the family, Jack,
who is in his car driving on a windy road in the mountains. The focus shifts
from Jack’s car to the Overlook Hotel which seems to disappear into the
mountains. During these shots the point of view is unknown; it could be
anything from a bird to a plane or even a spirit since in each shot the camera
is at a high angle.
Most
of the evident Steadicam shots happen during pivoting moments in the film. The
first scene in which the Steadicam is used is when Jack walks confidentially in
to the Overlook Hotel before interviewing for a job. The Steadicam is
positioned about fifteen feet away from jack as he walks through the lobby.
While he speaks with the front desk operator the camera shoots the side of his
body at about shoulder length. The camera seems to watch and pursue jack as he
walks down the hall to the hotel manager’s office. Jack is seen in this entire
sequence. Traditional horror films would have omitted Jack’s presence and
instead focused on the layout of the hotel from Jack’s point of view. The Steadicam
gets right behind Jack’s head as he walks into the office. It is bright and
open with all sides being visible demonstrated by the Steadicam. The framing of
the screen shakes slightly as if the hotel is breathing. Another employee walks
in to the office and the camera is situated in the upper right-hand corner of
the room indicating that the point of view is not coming from any particular
character but rather of the hotel’s. Another sequence that is important is when
Dick, the hotel cook shows Wendy, the mother, and Danny, the son, the kitchen.
The Steadicam gets in front of the three and allows them to look into the
refrigerators and pantries. At this moment Dick and Danny realize that they
both have the gift of “shining.” Every corner of every wall is seen while the
three explore the kitchen. The kitchen scene was perfect for the Steadicam
since there was no room for a dolly. Garrett Brown says, “even if there had
been room to wheel a dolly along this path, the camera would have been required
to stay more or less centered, which would have meant some very sudden pans as
the camera’s axis swung around corners” (827). Other worthy Steadicam shots
were produced in the hedge maze which I will later discuss and also a couple
stairs scenes when Wendy realizes her husband has gone mad as she swings a
baseball bat at him.
The
Overlook Hotel is not a living breathing life form yet the Steadicam creates a
relationship between the audience and the hotel. Danny often rides his big
wheel down the long open halls of the lodge. Following closely behind and low
to the ground the Steadicam produces an uncanny effect, human yet inhuman, gaze
on Danny. While turning sharp corners with the big wheel it is noticeable that
no one else is around. The Steadicam is able to shoot the large corridors of
the hotel as Danny peddles along. It is as if the hotel itself is chasing Danny
and mimicking his height on the big wheel. In the second big wheel scene the
Steadicam is even closer and lower to Danny’s back. When Danny stops at room
237 the camera slowly rises along with Danny. There is an overwhelming feeling
that the hotel is trying to tell Danny something even though the hotel is not
physically alive. The third big wheel scene starts with the Steadicam being
farther away than in the first two big wheel sequences. It cuts to the back of
Danny’s head once again but this time a little higher than before. The hallways
are tighter and the wallpaper is different. Each big wheel sequence is a little
dissimilar, but they are hinting at the possibility of an entity, the lodge,
warning Danny of the danger that awaits him.
The
point of view in The Shining is not apparent like that of habitual horror
films. In conventional horror movies the camera switches back and forth from a
character to what the character is seeing through his or her own eyes. The
hotel does not move or morph into another object nor does it possess an actual
monster with terrifying qualities. The Steadicam gives life to the hotel by the
point of view and shots of the film. As Wendy and Danny walk hand-in-hand
through the tall bushy maze of the hotel the Steadicam reverses to watch the
two then trails closely behind as they try to navigate their way through.
Simultaneously the Steadicam films Jack’s back throwing a ball down a hallway
and walking over to the small model of the maze. In once sense this shooting
style gives the hotel a mischievous personality. At first the point of view
implied by the hotel seems to be excited and curious to see Wendy and Danny in
the maze by jumping from front to back and following them. The hotel’s
curiosity is demonstrated again as the camera inquisitively watches Jack throw
the ball down the open hall of the hotel which ironically is the exact place
where Jack later kills Dick. After Jack turns into a lunatic he chases young
Danny in the second scene of the hedge maze. The Steadicam quickly trails Danny
as he runs through the maze. Around every corner and with each stumble it is
apparent that the hotel’s point of view is running with Jack and pushing him to
escape the wrath of his father. The camera looks back at a close-up of Jacks
mad face while he hobbles through the snow. Brown claims that the “50mm
close-ups traveling ahead of Jack or Danny at high speed” were the most
difficult shots (853). The Steadicam shots of Danny and Jack running through
the maze craft a suspenseful feeling that the hotel’s point of view gives.
Unlike
conventional horror films the Steadicam suggests that the point of view is
coming from the Overlook Hotel rather than that of a character’s. Without the
use of the Steadicam in The Shining
it would not have given off the same effect as it would with a typical camera
and dolly. The film is about a father trying to live the “American dream” of
having a good career and being able to provide for his family. Does the mere
fact that the family must live in solitude for months contribute to Jack going
crazy? No one knows. The Steadicam implies that the hotel, though not an
animate being, is watching and experiencing the life of this family through its
own eyes. The Shining does not
contain an abject monster nor does it allude to any significant frightening
sequence. The film includes some quick moments when blood entrenches a room or
when a beautiful woman turns into an old ugly hag covered in lesions, but for
the most part the film is a thrilling slasher with small plots throughout. The
Overlook hotel is not like other terrifying places in that there is no visible
object haunting the family in the lodge. The place is peaceful and quiet with
warm lighting and patriotic décor, but with the help of the Steadicam the hotel
brings upon a life of its own.
By: Carissa Mollick
