In the movie “Easy Rider”, there were two main characters, Wyatt and Billy. They traveled from Los Angeles to New Orleans in hopes of discovering America. During their trip, the different use of camera angles and distances provided details of the scenes, as well as the overall movie. One scene that this is evident in is when Wyatt and Billy were at the brothels with the two prostitutes. The camera zooms to an extreme close up shot in Wyatt’s and his girl’s face. With the camera being so close to their face, one can tell what Wyatt and the prostitute are really thinking according to their facial expressions.
Wyatt is obviously not interested in the girl, but clearly focused on what is happening outside in the Mardi Gras. The camera switches from his close up shot to her. She seems tired and not too interested in her job. From there, the camera cuts to Billy and his prostitute. They are obviously having more fun as they are talking, laughing and having a good time. Another scene is when Wyatt and Billy met Lawyer George Hanson while in jail. The scene starts off with the police officer and Mr. Hanson sharing a pack of cigarettes.
The camera is at about a medium shot with the height at waist level. This was to show the significance of the hand gestures and facial expressions. When Billy asked the police officer for a cigarette, the officer slightly pulled away from Billy while denying offering Billy a cigarette. He didn’t receive one until Mr. Hanson convinced the officer that Billy was a good person to share with. From there, the camera showed their movement from the cell door to the seat. The camera was “panning”, or on a pan during that time.
The gesture of offering Billy a cigarette sparked a relationship between Wyatt and Billy and M. Hanson, eventually getting them out of jail. The last scene was the very ending when the two guys in the pickup truck wanted to mess with Wyatt and Billy. The scene opens with Wyatt and Billy back on the road. The background music is playing and the camera is following them riding. The camera goes to a close up in the pickup truck. They wanted to mess with them because they looked different and were obviously not from around there.
The guy in the passenger seat grabbed the double barrel shotgun from the back. He then began interrogating Billy with no intentions to kill. When Billy didn’t’ respond. He got mad and shot at Billy. As the truck drove by, it cuts to a close up shot of Wyatt as he stares the truck down. Wyatt goes back to check on Billy, then drives out again to find help. The truck decides to turn around and shoots again, this time at Wyatt. His motorcycle catches fire and blows up. The final camera cut scene zooms out to a long shot to show the significance of the fire, proving that Wyatt was killed.
