Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

Another thing that Hoffman uses to portray Helena’s childish and unintelligent demeanor is through the use of
the camera position in the scenes that she is in. In the first scene that she makes an appearance, he uses the
technique of both a high angle and low angle shot. When Demetrius appears out on the balcony, the camera
is positioned up where he is and looking down on Helena. The camera position shows how she is looked
down upon in the film as a lesser character. This outlook on her expresses Hoffman’s vision of her being
somewhat excluded from society and lacking in intelligence and maturity. Hoffman then switches to the
low angle shot, with the camera down by Helena looking up at Demetrius. This position of the camera
shows how Demetrius is looked upon as superior and more important than Helena in the eyes of the
director. She is a much more unintelligent being and acts very childish throughout the film. The use of this
camera angle puts more emphasis on her being an unintelligent and childish being that does not fit in well
with the society around her. In the next scene that Helena takes part in, the director also uses different
camera positions to express his vision of Helena. The scene opens up with her walking with her bike down
the street through the pouring rain and the camera shot is that of an extreme long shot. This use of the
camera captures the whole street around her and all the people on screen with her. It enhances her
disassociation with society and how different she is because it is able to capture how everybody has an
umbrella except for her. This use of the camera better portrays the director’s viewing of her as a childish
and unintelligent being because it is able to capture how she is disregarding the weather and everybody else
is not doing so. This shot makes it easy to see that she is much more childish and immature than the society
around her. Through the use of the camera position it is easy to see Hoffman’s vision of Helena.
Hoffman clearly shows his vision of Helena being an immature and unintelligent character through
his direction of her actions, tone of voice, and use of the camera position. Helena clearly is seen as an
unintelligent being and acts very immature throughout the entire film. This vision by Hoffman is shown
throughout the whole film every time that Helena appears on the screen. It is a unique way of viewing
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