An iris shot is a technique used in

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

and television sometimes to emphasize a detail of a scene above all others, more commonly to end or open a scene. The film camera's iris is slowly closed or opened, so that what is visible on film appears in a decreasing or increasing circle, surrounded by black. The iris shot used at the start of a scene is an iris in and an iris out is used at the end of a film/episode or a particular scene. ''Iris in'' is also used after a previous ''iris out'' to allow different episodes or scenes to begin in a more natural way. Iris shots are also used to put emphasis on a particular aspect of film, usually something of importance. After the silent film era, the technique became less used, and has mainly been used only for ironic or comedic effect. An example of non-ironic iris shot as part of the grammar of film is found in "Life Lessons", the

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

-directed segment of ''

New York Stories ''New York Stories'' is a 1989 American anthology film consisting of three segments with the central theme being New York City. The first is ''Life Lessons'', directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Richard Price and starring Nick Nolte. The s ...

'' ( Touchstone, 1989). Non-silent era slapstick and animation—such as that of

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program '' The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor, singer and writer. He is remembered for his television programme ''The Benny Hill Show'', an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and double ente ...

, and the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Road Runner cartoons—sometimes employ or emulate the iris shot as an homage to the silent film era. In

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

cartoons, after the title card, they usually begin with an iris in and end with an iris out. In some cartoons and live-action films (and certain television shows like ''

The King of Queens ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the show ...

'' and ''

Mike & Molly ''Mike & Molly'' is an American television sitcom created by Mark Roberts on CBS. It premiered on September 20, 2010, and aired 127 episodes over six seasons. The series stars Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as the eponymous Mike and Molly ...

''), iris shots are used as a way to

break the fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

, usually for comedic purposes or to allow characters to interact with the audience (as opposed to a simple

fade out Fade out, Fade-out or Fadeout may refer to: Technical engineering * Fade-out or fade, a gradual decrease in sound volume * Fade (lighting) or fade-out, a gradual decrease in intensity of a stage lighting source * Dissolve (filmmaking) or fade-o ...

or cut to an end). Examples of this include characters trying to escape through the closing iris, addressing the audience with a one liner before the iris closes, or holding the iris open to try and continue a monologue. ''

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001, and was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series ''Misterogers'' deb ...

'' uses this technique at the beginning and end of the Neighborhood of Make Believe segments, usually when the Trolley goes through the tunnel on the left side of the Castle, and through the right side of Mister Rogers' house. Occasionally, graphic overlays are applied to an iris following it to achieve an effect like the iris tearing on the ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...

'' segment "Frazzle" (the ripped paper image) used for the 1997 home video release. In rare cases, the iris stays closed to a fixed point for the entire shot. This is mostly used to make the audience feel like they are in the film watching them, or hiding watching something that they probably shouldn't. In ''

The Truman Show ''The Truman Show'' is a 1998 American psychological satirical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir, produced by Scott Rudin, Andrew Niccol, Edward S. Feldman, and Adam Schroeder, and written by Niccol. The film stars Jim Carrey as Tr ...

'' (

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

, 1998), for instance, shots are presented as from hidden cameras positioned in small objects such as buttons on shirts. In some cases, the iris shot is used partially to make a more modern use of it. An example is '' The Tom and Jerry Show''. The 2014 show doesn't have an ''iris in'' but it has an iris out after the episode is over. This iris shot is seen twice on the show with the character Toodles requesting an iris out and when the characters discover they are on a live television set, the

cue cards Cue cards, also known as note cards, are cards with words written on them that help actors and speakers remember what they have to say. They are typically used in television productions where they can be held off-camera and are unseen by the au ...

request an iris out.

References

Cartooning Film and video terminology {{film-term-stub

See Also

References