Analyzing Visual Semiotics Employed in the Film "The Greatest Game Ever Played"

WARNING: If you haven't seen the movie "The Greatest Game Ever Played" this blog entry may ruin it for you. Proceed carefully.

In "The Greatest Game Ever Played," several of the shots used in the movie help the viewers make connections between events in the movie, and create specific emotions about the events in the film.

The first shot is a "God Shot" taken of the main character, Francis Ouimet. In this shot he is about to make a pivotal putt, and before he does the camera angle switches to the overhead view. This gives the viewer a sense of omnicience, as if they know that Francis will sink the putt as soon as the angle is changed. Also, having the camera angle from above at a turning point in Francis' golf game alludes to the idea that God has a hand in how well Francis plays, and the fact that he goes on to win the American Open.

The second two frames of importance take place at the beginning and end of the movie. In the first, a longer (somewhere between medium and long) shot is taken on the green with Francis on the left, and the hole on the right. At the beginning of the movie Francis must make a putt on this hole in order to make it into the American Open, but he misses it. Evenutally he gets another opportuinity, and ends up playing in the open. At the end of the movie, the exact same scene is created on the last putt, only this time Francis is playing for the American Open title. In order to help the viewers associate these two scenes, the camera angles are carefully constructed to maintain the same shot range, and keep francis on one side of the screne, and the hole on the other without breaking the 180 degree plane that is formed.