'Camera Techniques Used In The Wizard Of Oz'

A director’s choices and specific decisions on something as simple as how to angle the camera during a certain scene can leave a tremendous impact on the movie itself. Each little detail counts for something, and makes a difference. In The Wizard of Oz, there a variety of noticeable choices made which benefit the movie greatly and represent the Populist Era. Dorothy’s house is taken away by the tornado, and put down in a strange new place: The Land of Oz. During this scene, Dorothy exits her home and realizes that she and Toto are “Not in Kansas anymore.” The first shot is a wide shot, where the scenery behind Dorothy is in black and white. When she finally enters The Land of Oz, the scene changes and it changes from black and white to color. The scene is accompanied by

The “beauty” of Oz actually represented a “vibrant and ironic portrait of America on the eve of the new century” (Littlefield 1964, 50). Taking into consideration that Baum worked as a journalist before writing The Wizard of Oz and focused greatly on politics in his writing (specifically the formation of the Populist Party), it makes sense that he would incorporate that time period in his life into his “fictional” writing as well. The second shot is a close-up where Dorothy is looking at the territory around her and holding Toto close to her, later leaving the shot. The angle is directly focused on Dorothy and the camera stays still, focusing clearly on the moment. The sounds around them both are still there, having been there the whole time, and continue to be pleasant and tuneful. Shot three consists of a long shot which includes a look at Munchkin City, center frame. Dorothy looks at her surroundings in astonishment, taking everything in. The camera goes right slowly and keeps going up more so it shows the area more and more, making it viewable in one