Exploring the Use of Camera Angles Through the Beloved American Horror Story

In American Horror Story season three, episode one, viewers are introduced to the new season as well as new era and plotline of Coven. The setting is New Orleans, 1834. The opening scene depicts an older woman at the head of the table, and cuts from her face, to the three men that she is addressing (a point-of-view shot, nonetheless), back to her face, before eventually panning over to her daughter. The use of a point-of-view and panning shot in this scene practically gives the viewer whiplash, making them feel as though they are actively following and participating in everything that the narrator (in this case, the older woman) is doing or saying. Shortly after, in a new scene, viewers are shown the same woman now in a choker shot, where we closely follow her as she does her makeup. Oddly enough, in this case, “doing her makeup” consists solely of dipping the brush in a bowl filled of blood, before wiping it on her face. The camera pans from the brush dipping into the blood, back to her face as the audience watches her lather her face in the blood.

 In another scene, an over-the-shoulder shot is used when the same woman is hitting and yelling at her daughter. This puts the viewer in the daughter’s shoes, allowing the audience to feel the same fear that is felt by the daughter.

 The woman is shown walking down a long corridor, through a full shot, and we watch the woman as she passes through cells of abused slaves, crying out for help.

 Everything prior to this moment was solely from the opening scene, which established the setting, plot, and showed viewers what to expect from the upcoming season. Now, the story has reached present day (at least, for that story line). We follow the main character through another over-the-shoulder shot as she approaches a door. This type of filming could also be seen as a follow shot. The use of both an over-the-shoulder as well as a follow shot almost makes the viewer feel as though they are walking alongside the subject.

 A point-of-view shot is shown once again as the subject’s mom informs her that she will be attending boarding school in New Orleans due to her newfound witchcraft. This is clearly something that the main character is upset about, so we, as an audience, are able to feel that

sadness and frustration with her due to this shot. Soon after, a never-ending group of men in black suits enter the girl’s bedroom to take her away. This is done through a head-on shot, as the men one-by-one walk past the camera towards the girl, it feels as though they are about to hit the camera head-on. A close-up of a presumably irrelevant side character shows her gloved hand wrapping around the mother’s shoulder, as she shares her grief and condolences at the temporary loss of her daughter.

 The use of these multiple different types of shots creates an overall haunting yet captivating aura that surely a show titled American Horror Story would aim to create. The use of these different shots is essential to the production of this, as it truly does establish the creepy and, again, haunting mood of the setting and plot.