Sets and costumes are not the only way in which we are made aware of a world we are watching. Film style, particularly the use of camera angles and movement, is an important indicator of where the action is taking place. One of the conventions of film is that we never see the camera. This works well in portraying the world of the production crew and television audience of ‘The Truman Show’ as it gives us the feeling that we are watching a ‘real’ world.
Peter Weir wanted to convey the idea that Truman was being filmed under surveillance and enable responders to distinguish when they observing the world of Seahaven. To do this he used a variety of techniques:
· wide angle lenses
· unusual camera angles (not used in dramatic filming)
· shooting through oval or circular ‘masks’ giving the impression that these hidden cameras are built into various parts of the landscape
· special ‘cameras’ hidden in more mobile and surprising places (in a ring which Truman wears, another in his wife Meryl’s necklace and the ‘buoy cam’ bobbing along the surface of the water ready to capture Truman should he venture offshore)
The idea of having hidden cameras for surveillance scattered around the town of Seahaven influenced the way in which the town of Seaside was adapted to function as a film set. Certain buildings had architectural features added so that the miniature hidden cameras could shoot the story.
The elegant piece of sculpture near the entrance of the insurance building, where Truman works, was specially designed so that not only could it house a camera, but also act as a sentry for the nerve centre of production for the ‘The Truman Show’ television series.
Draw a diagram of the inside of Truman’s house in Seahaven. Use your imagination to do this. Mark up any places in particular where you can remember there is a camera positioned. Now indicate on your diagram all the other places where a camera would need to be. Think carefully about the positioning of certain cameras to give Truman some amount of privacy in his own home and not offend network audiences. Design a prop for the Truman set which would house a hidden camera.
A distinctive feature of this film is the use of perspective shots. Key scenes from the narrative are often presented from the perspective of a hidden camera in Truman's world. These cameras may be mounted within street lights, garbage bins, briefcases and cars but may also be attached to people, typically inside buttons and badges.
These perspective shots are alluded to via the fish-eye lens, where the edges of camera are shown as fuzzy black ovals, making the audience feel like voyeurs who are peeping into the life of Truman Burbank. These hidden cameras reinforce the feeling that Truman is being 'spied upon' and emphasise the idea that privacy and personal freedom are being impinged upon.
Furthermore, this device highlights the surveillance aspect of the reality television genre, bringing into question its ethics.
Finally, the use of fish-eye lens is a visual metaphor expressing the way Truman is like a fish trapped in a glass bowl, being peered at by strangers, highlighting the lack of freedom he has in his artificial world.
Another type of perspective shot is when we are given access to the lives of the viewers of the show. These snippets of life and commentary are presented from the perspective of their television sets. This creates the effect on viewers of the film that they are themselves being watched by the viewers of the TV show, thus mirroring the experience of Truman. Through this metafictional technique, Weir is encouraging responders to empathise with Truman and to therefore question the authenticity of our media-saturated lives.
Another interesting device used by Weir is the contrast in camera movement where the camera may be unsteady when it is focussed on scenes of dialogue between characters/actors and in action scenes, but it is unnaturally stead during the product placements, where the camera slowly zooms in on the person speaking about the product (usually Meryl). This reflects the style of television informercials.
Unsteady perspective shots are used more frequently when Truman is beginning to discover the truth and this helps to convey the disruption to his normal world and his perspective of his life.
Diegetic sounds are those which come from the narrative world of the film and are able to be heard by the characters.
Non-diegetic sounds are those which come from outside the narrative world.
The use of music in particular works effectively to create emotion and action. However, the (film) audience is often left questioning whether the non-diegetic sounds we are hearing are meant to be those added in by Christof's production team to manipulate the viewers of the show or by Weir to work on the emotions of us, the responders. This accentuates the slippages or overlaps between the world of the TV show and the world of the film, highlighting the constructed nature of both.
Diegetic sound effects are also used to emphasise Truman's growing awareness of the artificiality of his world. One important catalyst for Truman's suspicion is the car radio glitch:
"He's heading west on Stewart. Stand by all extras. Gloria, he'll be on you in about 90 seconds, props make sure the copies out. Okay he's making his turn onto Lancaster Square...Oh my God! He knew we were following, something's wrong, uh, change frequencies!"
The film acts as a form of metafiction; that is, a film that consciously comments and reflects on the artificiality of film. We are watching a film about a television show and the ways in which it manipulates representations of reality, which then makes us question how Weir is using editing to manipulate us. The layered nature of the film - The Truman Show - the real world and the perspective we get from Weir, means that the editing is crucial to shaping the film's meaning.
The use of frequent, quick cuts between cameras creates the impression we are viewers of 'The Truman Show' like those shown in the film. Also, we are shown the film through the layer of a television screen, presumably that of the viewing public, which visually reinforces the contrived nature of television which is purporting to be 'real'.
The film is a social satire that uses dark humour to examine the failings of contemporary society, specifically in relation to media and advertising. Weir's decision to cast a comedian, Jim Carrey, in the lead role gives this film the ability to engage and inform the audience in a light-hearted manner. Carrey uses a combination of verbal and physical humour to communicate Truman's experiences. Weir couches his critique of commercial media in this humour, thus making it less didactic and more acceptable to responders.
A memorable scene of slapstick humour that acts as a moment of realisation for Truman is when he is sitting on the beach it rains solely on him. An overhead long-shot shows Truman walk out of the rain and then the rain quickly moves back over him and he rushes out of it again. His moment of discovery, his perception that he has some bizarre powers, is seen through his crazed laughter as he gesticulates wildly up in the air.
Another moment of realisation for Truman is when he sees his father dressed as a homeless man and two people begin to pull him away. The drama of the scene is undermined when a small dachshund puppy runs across the road with its lead trailing behind it. Moments earlier this dog was being walked by the lady who ended up taking Kirk away on the bus. These small moments provide comic relief after a tense scene, such as when Truman smacks the bottom of a man who is on a ladder and then runs away in order to see what the consequence will be, which of course is nothing.
When Truman decides to follow Meryl, a nurse, into work the actors create a diversion by pretending that an amputation is about to take place but Truman insists on seeing the amputation. This scene includes visual and verbal humour as we watch the actors anxiously decide how to maintain the pretense of being doctors and actually cut off the leg of the 'patient'. We hear the doctor say "I'll jus let someone else tidy up here', which is amusing because we know he has just made a mess of an actor's leg, and also terrifying as we realise how far these actors will go to maintain the façade of the show.