Almost Famous

In the film Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe utilizes many different filming techniques throughout the movie.  First, when Elaine is on the phone with her son in Cleveland, Crowe uses a medium shot at eye level.  What this does to viewers is give them a sense of the worry in her eyes, while simultaneously making them aware of nobody in the background, showing she's alone, and most likely lonely.  Next, Crowe uses Dominant contrast in that same scene because Elaine is wearing a red/orange shirt in a dark room, symbolizing passion and longing for her son's return.  Russell's body language also changes throughout the conversation from dominant and enthusiastic, to dominated and apologetic. After that, Crowe uses panning and tracking shots while they are on stage.  This gives the viewer a recognition of the magnitude of their performance, and the crowd they perform to.  Without these shots, the set wouldn't seen as big or exiting, but rather somewhat stale.  Lastly, Crowe uses classical cross-cutting after each word in the conversation between Russell and Elaine.  Because of this each action/reaction can be examined to see who comes out on top of the conversation, which is obviously Elaine.  In the end, this whole movie is very well thought out and filmed with appropriate style to encompass an exiting true story.