Lesson plan
Iris shot
An iris shot is a technique used in silent film and sometimes television to emphasize a detail of a scene above all others, more commonly to end or open a scene. The film camera's iris is slowly closed or opened, so that what is visible on film appears in a decreasing or increasing circle, surrounded by black. The iris shot used at the start of a scene is an iris in and an iris out is used at the end of a film/episode or a particular scene. Iris in is also used after a previous iris out to allow different episodes or scenes to begin in a more natural way. Iris shots are also used to put emphasis on a particular aspect of film, usually something of importance. After the silent film era, the technique became less used, and has mainly been used only for ironic or comedic effect. An example of non-ironic iris shot as part of the grammar of film is found in "Life Lessons", the Martin Scorsese-directed segment of New York Stories. Non-silent era slapstick and animation—such as that of Red Skelton, Benny Hill, and the Warner Bros. Road Runner cartoons—sometimes employ or emulate the iris shot as an homage to the silent film era. In Walt Disney cartoons, after the title card, they usually begin with an iris in and end with an iris out.…
Article summary
An iris shot is a technique used in silent film and sometimes television to emphasize a detail of a scene above all others, more commonly to end or open a scene. The film camera's iris is slowly closed or opened, so that what is visible on film appears in a decreasing or increasing circle, surrounded by black. The iris shot used at the start of a scene is an iris in and an iris out is used at the end of a film/episode or a particular scene. Iris in is also used after a previous iris out to allow different episodes or scenes to begin in a more natural way. Iris shots are also used to put emphasis on a particular aspect of film, usually something of importance. After the silent film era, the technique became less used, and has mainly been used only for ironic or comedic effect. An example of non-ironic iris shot as part of the grammar of film is found in "Life Lessons", the Martin Scorsese-directed segment of New York Stories. Non-silent era slapstick and animation—such as that of Red Skelton, Benny Hill, and the Warner Bros. Road Runner cartoons—sometimes employ or emulate the iris shot as an homage to the silent film era. In Walt Disney cartoons, after the title card, they usually begin with an iris in and end with an iris out.…
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.