Relationship Between Shots

This scene from When Harry Met Sally uses continuity editing as opposed to montage editing. The shots focus on the two characters talking in the car. We first see a two shot of Harry and Sally in the car, Harry on the left and Sally on the right. This establishes the scene and setting of them carpooling. From then on, the camera proceeds to follow the 180 rule as no camera angles break the 180 line, which would imply that the camera is facing their backs or sides of their backs. When Harry says "grapes," the film cuts to a medium close up of Harry in focus towards the left of the frame (using rule of thirds), holding the grapes out towards Sally. It is seamless editing since Harry is inviting Sally to eat with him and thereby inviting the audience to watch from a more intimate shot. The shot still has Sally in it too, but she is not in focus and is off to the right. After Harry rolls down the window, the film cuts to a medium close up of Sally. It is the same type of shot as the one of Harry, but with Sally in focus this time around since she is the one who will begin talking. The camera continues to edit with these same shots back and forth so the person who is talking at the time is in focus. There is no real need to worry about eyeline match since the two are in the frames of the shots the entire time. After a shot of Harry talking to Sally about her death in New York, the film once again cuts to a shot of Sally, but this time with no words coming out of her mouth. This reaction shot is pivotal in letting us know how she feels weirded out by Harry. Then the camera fluidly cuts to a pan shot, tracking the car driving on the highway. It’s clever because as soon as we see the conversation get gloomy and cause “distance” between them, the camera cuts to a shot in which the car is moving along a “distance” and the two are forced to be held inside of it the whole way to New York. Then, the film goes back to the establishing two shot as they are seemingly strangers again. After, the film continues showing Harry and Sally trying to get along again through these medium close up shots. Ultimately though, they end up having opposing opinions and the scene ends with the same establishing two shot.