Pillow shots became recognizable on account of Yasujirō Ozus films. it links to the tradition of pillow words in classical poetry. They are single words or phrases that are usually five syllables, associated in poems with certain other fixed words or phrases and provided a poet to be able to add depth to their poems of heighten the tone of their rhetorical style.
Ozu uses pillow shots to ‘suspend the diegetic flow’ and break up his scenes, the pillow shots within his films never contribute to the progress of the narrative proper, they often refer to a character or a set, presenting or re-presenting it out of a narrative context. Pillow shots are used usually for a de-centering effect, this is achieved by lingering unexpectedly on a specific object or scene.
As pillow shots are used as more than just tools to break up a scene or as a transition between two scenes, they convey a sense of universality and immanence of the world in which the particular drama is unfolding. They can also cause a pervasive ‘isness’ Like in the Japanese language the term wabi directly refers to ‘isness’ and in the cultural tea ceremonies where wabi is expressed through the imperfections of the implements that are used in the ceremonies. Like in these ceremonies the pillow shots in Ozu’s films use these shots to introduce ‘imperfections’, as well as ‘bookend’ the start and ends of his scenes.
Like with Ozu’s work I wish to utilize pillow shots for my film so as to give a powerful effect to my film and to convey the deeper feelings of the emotions that I wish to express to the audience viewing my work.
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