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Easy
R ERider
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TIO
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Camera

 In the opening sequence of the film, the camera goes behind and in
front of the actors using a handheld camera showcasing the scenery in
the background while the characters are travelling between
destinations.
The use of hand held camera and specifically using it behind the actors
to shows the scenery and contributes to the theme of freedom the film
provides.
The use of the camera in the front of the actors highlights very subtle
character interactions by the two characters. By doing so the audience
is able to see the characters enjoying the freedom they have as shown
in the second picture.
By using the camera in this way the director is able to show the journey
of these people.
The shot if framed with a lot of space above the characters, placing
emphasis on the background and setting the characters are in.

00:16:57

The moving shots taken from a vehicle following the two hippies riding their motorbikes features
heavily throughout Easy Rider. The characters only take up a small portion of the frame in these
shots, the rest being taken up by the natural environment and scenery.
This smooth track coupled with the natural imagery adds to the easy-going attitude that the
hippies have and the peaceful and tranquil approach to life they have.
In the closing sequence of the film, a similar tracking shot is utilized to create a peaceful feeling
within the audiences mind. This is interrupted by the abrupt killing of the main characters. The
juxtaposition of the smooth track and the senseless killing boosts the shock felt by the audience.

This scene uses a tracking shot that follow across multiple characters who are in a
small house in a hippie commune.
The use of this allows the audience to see the scale of the community and the
camera capturing the characters faces the audience is able to sense desperation.
The hopelessness is enhanced as the one shot continues for approximately 40
seconds making it seem like a continuing trend and contrasting one of the main
themes of freedom in the film.
The lack of vertical movement to compensate for the shorter characters in shot
highlight the differences in the people within this community

01:04:53

A.

01:05:03

01:05:16

C.
The protagonists enter a caf in the deep South where they are stared at by members of the public representing
three different social demographics. Shot A shows small town workers, shot B shows a county sheriff and his
redneck friend, and shot C shows flirtatious, young girls.
Each of the shots has multiple people in it shot in a medium-close up for A and C, and a close up for B. In shot A
and C, the protagonists can be seen through the reflection of the mirror. In shot B, the reflection in the mirror is
of the sheriff out of focus even when speaking. This is done to emphasize the facelessness of the authority
figures in Easy Rider, grouping them together as a single faceless entity to show the lack of care for the main
characters
The similarity between the composition of the three shots allows for the difference in the reaction to the
protagonists to be more obvious as the audience is seeing the same angle for each group. The only thing
changing is the way each group reacts to the them.

B.

01:20:29

The protagonists, accompanied by prostitutes, are walking through the streets through Mardi Gras.
This scene is shot handheld on grainy 16mm film as it allowed the camera operator to go relatively unnoticed
as they walk through New Orleans in the actual event of Mardi Gras.
The handheld camerawork, overexposure and soft focus gives the audience a personal link to the characters as
if it could be them, and this is because of the rise in prevalence of super 8 film in the late 60s in which people
were readily able to make their own film.
The use of 16mm and seemingly poor camera technique (over-exposure and soft focus) could also be seen as
an emulation of cinma vrit in which, a documentary style that attempts to highlight the truth and honesty,
drawing attention away from the cinematic feel in order to give a feeling of reality.

01:33:39

The protagonists are shot by two redneck characters while riding their motorbikes along a road in the deep
south.
Helicopter shot The camera tracks out from the burning wreckage of one of the bikes. The beginning of the
track is fast paced as if it were being thrown from the explosion, and as the audience becomes more accustomed
to what has taken place, the speed of the track away from the bike is slowed.
The track away from the burning wreckage shows the natural and empty land. This brings forth the notion that
the death of these two characters are just going to disappear into nowhere; that these two nomads have had no
real influence on the society, and that no one will remember them after theyre gone.
The camera technique encourages the audience consider the reasons for why the protagonists were shot and
thus makes the audience consider the social implications.