By Ezra Haber-Glenn, lecturer in the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP)
When used judiciously, establishing shots are one of the most useful techniques in film and television. As the curtain opens on a new scene, a director is able to convey a whole range of important information â the when and where of the setting, as well as the overall mood and moment that we are about the enter â all through a single short shot. Such is the power of imagery.
The first season of Amazonâs new serial adaptation of Philip K. Dickâs alternative-history thriller, âThe Man in the High Castle,â has already made excellent use of this technique, often lowering the viewer into scenes of Nazi-occupied New York or Japanese-occupied San Francisco with shots of key buildings or landmarks. We know and love these cities and we immediately recognize these places â only to be jarred by the superimposition of the familiar (Times Square, the Golden Gate Bridge) wi