ABSTRACT
One technique involves establishing the general look of a scene using lenses within the normal focal length range, and then switching to a more distorting focal length at a point when the audience is meant to experience events from the physical, emotional, or psychological perspective of a particular character. Director David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has a classic use of this technique in a pivotal scene where Lisbeth Salander, an anti–social outcast with extraordinary computer hacking skills, exacts revenge on Nils, a state guardian who abuses his position to sexually assault her. Using her knowledge of surveillance technology, she arranges to secretly record her abuser during one of his attacks. The use of the wide-angle’s distortion in this particular shot is primarily conveying the intense intimidation felt by her guardian, who is facing psychopathic insanity face-to-face at this moment, while simultaneously visualizing Lisbeth’s darkest character.
