Freeze-frame shot
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In film and video, a freeze frame is when a single frame of content shows repeatedly on the screen—"freezing" the action. This can be done in the content itself, by printing (on film) or recording (on video) multiple copies of the same source frame. This produces a static
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that resembles a still photograph. ''Freeze frame'' is a term in live stage performance, for a technique in which actors freeze at a particular point to enhance a scene or show an important moment in production. Spoken word may enhance the effect, with a narrator or one or more characters telling their personal thoughts regarding the situation.


Examples


Film

*The first known freeze frame was in director
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
's 1928 film ''
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''. *An early use of the freeze frame in classic Hollywood cinema was Frank Capra's 1946 Christmas film ''
It's A Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern self-published in 1943 and is in turn loos ...
'' where the first appearance of the adult George Bailey (played by James Stewart) on-screen is shown as a freeze frame. *A memorable freeze frame is the end of François Truffaut's 1959 New Wave film ''
The 400 Blows ''The 400 Blows'' (french: Les Quatre Cents Coups) is a 1959 French coming-of-age drama film, and the directorial debut of François Truffaut. The film, shot in DyaliScope, stars Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, and Claire Maurier. One of ...
''. *
Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...
is known for his use of freeze frame shots. Notable examples include the last scene of ''
Charulata ''Charulata'' (Spelt as ''Cārulatā''; ) is a 1964 Indian drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray. Based upon the novel ''Nastanirh'' by Rabindranath Tagore, it stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee and Sailen Mukherjee. The f ...
'' (1964) and the first scene of ''
Jana Aranya ''Jana Aranya'' is a 1976 Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray, based on the novel of the same name by Mani Shankar Mukherjee. It is the last among Ray's Calcutta trilogy series, the previous two being, ''Pratidwandi'' (''The Adversary'', 197 ...
'' (1975).The last scene of Charulata is critically acclaimed. Charu and her husband are about to unite and hold their hands when the screen freezes and a small gap is left in between their hands. Another film known for frequent use of this technique is ''
Parash Pathar ''Parash Pathar'' ( bn, পরশ পাথর ''Porosh Pathor''; English: ''The Philosopher's Stone''; French: ''La Pierre Philosophale'') is a 1958 Bengali language Indian fantasy comedy film. It was Satyajit Ray's first film outside of '' The ...
'' (1957). The same technique is also used by Ray in
Mahapurush ''Mahapurush'' ( bn, মহাপুরুষ; ) is a 1965 film directed by Satyajit Ray, based on a short story ''Birinchibaba'' (বিরিঞ্চি বাবা) by Rajshekhar Basu. Plot After the death of his wife, Gurupada Mit ...
to introduce Ganesh Mama, one of the characters in the movie. *Director
George Roy Hill George Roy Hill (December 20, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American film director. He is most noted for directing such films as ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973), both starring Paul Newman and Robert Re ...
used the technique frequently when depicting the death of a character, as in ''
The World According to Garp ''The World According to Garp'' is John Irving's fourth novel, about a man, born out of wedlock to a feminist leader, who grows up to be a writer. Published in 1978, the book was a bestseller for several years. It was a finalist for the Natio ...
'' (1982) and in the memorable ending to the classic
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'' Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969), with
Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...
and Robert Redford. The freeze frame ending of ''
The Color of Money ''The Color of Money'' is a 1986 American sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film was created from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis. Th ...
'' (1986) also featured Paul Newman. *Hong Kong director
John Woo John Woo Yu-Sen SBS (; born September 22, 1946) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, known as a highly-influential figure in the action film genre. He was a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films (a crime action film genre involving Chinese triads) and the gun ...
also makes extensive use of freeze frames shots, usually to gain a better focus on a character's facial expression or emotion at a critical scene. *This technique is used quite a lot in Peter Hedges' 2003 film '' Pieces of April'' to capture moments he feels particularly significant. *It has also been used in the ''
Oceans The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the worl ...
'' film series directed by
Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's direc ...
at the end of the film.


Television

* The original 1965 series ''
Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...
'' used a "Freeze-frame cliffhanger" its first two seasons (59 episodes). *The 1970s television series of ''
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
'' had its episodes end with a freeze-frame of
Diana Prince Diana Prince is a fictional character appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, as the secret identity of the Amazonian superhero Wonder Woman, who bought the credentials and identity from a United States Army nurse named Diana Pri ...
smiling. *The opening sequence of the
Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moo ...
ended with a freeze-frame of Moore tossing her hat in the air. *The American TV show '' NCIS''—a spin-off of the series '' JAG''—often uses freeze-frame shots. In the production they were referred to as "phoofs" or "foofs" due to the sound effect that accompanied them, which was created by ''NCIS'''s creator and executive producer
Donald P. Bellisario Donald Paul Bellisario (born August 8, 1935) is an American television producer and screenwriter who created and sometimes wrote episodes for the TV series '' Magnum, P.I.'' (1980), ''Tales of the Gold Monkey'' (1982), ''Airwolf'' (1984), ''Quan ...
hitting a microphone with his hand. These short black and white freeze frames depict an event that will occur later in the episode, and usually last for three seconds. The technique first appeared in the fourth episode of the second season of ''NCIS'', ''Lt. Jane Doe'', and was employed in every episode since, with a typical episode containing four or five freeze frames with main characters or occasionally one-off or recurring characters. *Freeze frames were parodied in the 1982 sitcom ''
Police Squad! ''Police Squad!'' is an American television crime comedy series that was broadcast on the ABC network in 1982. It was created by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, starring Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin. A spoof of police procedu ...
''. Each episode ended — and the credits rolled over — a "freeze frame" shot emulating those of 1970s dramas. However, the scene was not actually frozen. The actors simply stood motionless in position while other activities (pouring coffee, a convict escaping, a chimpanzee throwing paper) continued around them. *The freeze-frame
cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...
to Part Three of the ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' serial ''
The Deadly Assassin ''The Deadly Assassin'' is the third serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 30 October to 20 November 1976. It is the first seri ...
'' (1976) has been described as "notorious in
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...
history" and "caused such uproar when it originally aired that it had to be altered for future broadcasts".


References

Cinematic techniques {{filming-stub