Big Brother Investigation: Final

In analyzing the screen shots, one thing that began to jump out at me was the prevalence of mirrors. Of course, the mirrors are there to hide cameras and other behind-the-scenes action, but they also provide more interest to the images. For one, not only can you see the action that the camera is intending to show, but you can begin to get "hidden" views of the same scenes - the backs of people or action taking place just out of view. They also provide more interest to the images through their reflection of inanimate things - specifically furniture and walls. By reflecting the walls and the furniture, the rooms take on an infinity quality and seem to go on forever.

Screen Shot 1

















The mirrors and dark edges around the mirror wall first struck me. It was almost as if the mirror wall could be on a track, and the wall can move closer or farther away from the action, hence the dark caverns on either side. The dark frames around the windows enhanced this image in my mind. The dark wall is also reflected in the right-hand window, deepening the sense that the wall continues beyond.



















Screen Shot 2
















This image to me was the strongest case for the imagined transparency in the mirror wall. By reflecting not only the bed, but the pattern of the wall, it appears as if the room continues on, and the mirror wall is simply dividing it.














Screen Shot 3
















I thought about this shot a little differently. Instead of the opposite wall from the camera being transparent or mirrored and informing the actions in that way, the wall is left in the shadows to push the action away and into the yard. Although this wall is mostly glazing, it is the least transparent and most divisive of all four screen shots.


















Screen Shot 4
















This screen shot had the most solid opposite wall. The lighting in this room is concentrated to the centers of each of the walls, leaving the corners dark and enhancing the idea that the wall as detached. Another detail to support the idea is the wainscoating and chair rail - they stop at the opposite wall.