Buster Keaton's Use Of Short And Long Shots In Our Hotel

Buster Keaton's attention to detail and alternating use of short and long shots in Our Hospitality serves to create an authentic narrative for the film. Since Our Hospitality was created in the 1920s as a silent film, Keaton cannot rely on dialogue or music to engage his audience in the story he wishes to tell with his film. By employing long shots – wide angle views of full scenes – Keaton can orient the audience, so they feel like they are not seeing a contrived movie set, but a larger scene from real life. At the same time, Keaton also employs close-up "short shots" on the actors' facial expressions and body language to convey their feelings without words. Finally, Keaton's attention to detail in his selection of props for the film enhances

By starting with a long shot that captures both the train and its passengers and some townspeople going about their normal life, Keaton invites the audience to feel like they are present in the town. Keaton then switches to a close shot of the inside of a train car with two passengers –– Willie McKay (Buster Keaton) and Natalie Talmadge, his girlfriend. As the audience watches Keaton's facial expressions as he attempts to put on his top hat in front of his girlfriend but fails because the roof of the train car is too low, they feel as though they could be sitting across from Keaton in the car. The train itself looks incredibly authentic – it perfectly replicates the early steam engines that were developed in the 1800s in England. As the train progresses through the countryside, Keaton continues to alternate between long-shots that emphasize the authenticity of the scenery, and short-shots that capture humorous details of the character's actions and facial

To make the audience feel that the woman is in real danger, Keaton focuses in on the detail of how fast the water is moving with a short shot. At the same time, he uses short shots portraying the women's distressed facial expression to highlight the seriousness of the situation. A long shot of the waterfall and Keaton acrobatically diving to save his girlfriend, furthers the sense of real danger of the scene. However, the situation immediately switches from serious to humorous as the broad camera angle subsequently shows the two characters flailing in a ridiculous manner as they swing back and forth on the