Blog Six

Gore Verbinski, director of Pirates of the Caribbean followed the 180 Degree Rule, the Rule of Thirds, and the 30s Rules in his film. His 180 degree line went through Johnny Depp if seen overhead and the camera moved in front of him and behind him on that line with any other angle coming from the right side of the arch. He also used the Rule of Thirds in the opening shots of the scene. One of the best uses of the Rule of Thirds in this scene was when Verbinski went from an over the shoulder shot of Johnny Depp to a medium shot of him from a long angle where he fell on the left third line with the horizon and part of the ship in the right half. This framing makes him appear dominating and in control of the situation when really he is not in control because his boat is sinking. Verbinski also used the 30s rule to do smooth cuts between all of the scenes to show the action happening. He opens with a close up over the shoulder with Depp’s head on the left third line then cuts to a medium shot of Depp staring into the horizon. He then moves the camera 30 degrees to the right and downward looking up to cut to Depp looking down and realizing the boat is flooding so he prepares to jump down. Verbinski cuts to a cutaway of Depp’s feet splashing in the water as Depp is jumping down from the mast and as he bends down to pour water out of the boat Verbinski then cuts back out to a wide shot of the boat at sea.

            Verbinski well utilized all three rules to create a beautiful scene that can arguably be filled with some of the best cinematography seen in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.