GL: Looks and Reactions

This entry was started back in September, a few days after the last episode of Guiding Light aired, but completed in November, as real life sometimes gets in the way. The old saying a picture tells a thousand words is one that I'm reminded of when watching soaps. A simple facial expression can illuminate the motives of a character.

Watching the oddly named Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday show, and seeing the Guiding Light parody tribute gave me pause. Not because I was surprised they mentioned Guiding Light as they had back in the spring when the cancellation was announced, but it reminded me of the reaction shots that soaps used to be known for and that I missed them. I felt kind of daft, and nearly burst out in laughter at this realization. The production model GL employed in its last couple of years made them scarce and the other shows I watch use them much less than in the past even if to many they are a hallmark of daytime television soap opera especially the kind in which a character talks and then as the scene ends we see them hold their pose. Of course, that perhaps may be one of the reason they are so easily mocked.

Since then a regular episode of SNL had a shout out to reaction shots, during the episode in which Ryan Reynolds was the guest host. While performing his monologue, we see him stand wordlessly while two types of music played denoted the genre of movie he was appearing in (action/romantic comedy), and the facial expression he had was the same, which was completely ludicrous. Later while watching an episode of "The Bonnie Hunt Show", they had a parody of soaps called Misguided Light. Bonnie would read a description of what was going in the fictional town of Foreclosure Falls, and then the camera would focus on a person in the audience, whose life Bonnie was describing. The audience member's look was to match that of the character. So within a matter of weeks, I saw three instances of the use of reaction shots (outside of on soaps themselves.)

Reaction shots, close ups and such were used on soaps back when I started watching in the 1980s as was the freeze frame. All those techniques when used in moderation can be effective tools to tell a story. This was part of what made soaps soapy for lack of a better term like how in the black and white days organ music was used or an announcer’s words would end a radio soap opera. Tune in tomorrow to see if A tells B that he loves her...

Reaction shots in some ways became the laughing stock of the soap world with the "what’s that smell?" explanation, and Friends Joey Tribbiani School of soap acting. In the real world, we react non-verbally to situations, so characters should do the same. The reaction shot used to be a large part of the "standard" soap opera skill set that actors would employ. Nowadays it seems to have taken a backseat to fancy editing or the quick cut. It takes ability to wordlessly express the emotions of a character.

These kinds of shots can be used in varied situations. Here are some examples without using names as I’ve seen so many kinds of these scenarios over the years. The audience knows a character is lying to their significant other. As they hug, we see the look on their face whether it is happiness that their deception has been effective or guilt-ridden as it is taking a lot out of them to mislead their soul mate. There is a wedding and during the ceremony, we see each person walk down the aisle. Of course, not everyone is smiling and some people smile more when they see certain people than others. The flower girl and ring bearer appear first, they are adorable. The proud parents beam at their little ones, the man who thought he was the father of one of the kids looks wistful and the couple that can’t have children have pasted on smiles to belay their sadness even on such a happy day. We see reactions between the bridesmaids and the important people in their lives along with the parents. Finally the bride appears, if it is a happy wedding, we see her shining eyes and the matching look from her groom waiting for her. All of this is done wordlessly. Another scenario is the large party, everyone is assembled, and things go awry. We see a character act out; everyone reacts, while watching the meltdown. Some feel pity, others scorn and sometimes surprisingly even respect as a character may wish to be free enough to be able to express themselves so honestly.

The slow motion scene has also become one of ridicule especially in a romantic setting. Slow motion in sports and action sequences are not looked down upon. A shot of a man looking at a woman, the woman looking at the man, they move slowly towards one another into a clinch, while scored with a ballad. Yes it is schmaltzy, due to the cliché the world stops when we are together, but effective. A few years ago, Geico did a commercial parody of this convention, which has been used in many different movies and television shows. If a daytime soap did that now, I'd laugh and smile in a good way even if I felt it was cheesy.

With greater use of large screens and the advent of high definition television, it is understandable that close ups are used less frequently. On a 60-inch screen, a shot of just someone's face can be overwhelming even without high definition, so watching a show in 720 or 1080 dpi the amount of detail can be staggering. Do most people want to see every blemish, fine line or evidence of plastic surgery? It was just the norm to film a scene that way and over the years, different styles became more popular. Perhaps some of these close up shots also disappeared due to time considerations.

Just thinking the word "Freeze frame" or seeing one causes a 80s song to blare in my brain with the same name. Reaction shots can be used as a freeze frame, but other times it would be a wordless action like two cars about to collide or two people about to kiss. When Michael Laibson was at Another World, he ended the episodes with a freeze frame, which was eventually retired by the show. The Another World HP site has a list of all the different freeze frames that were featured. During his time at Guiding Light, Michael Laibson put that touch on the end of that show as well. When Laibson was let go, GL quickly eliminated that change.

Freeze frames are still sometimes used for dramatic effect and can be paired with slow motion. Combine that with reaction shots and a musical montage, and what do we have, but a glimpse of old school soapy goodness. So while I am open to new camera styles and different kinds of editing, the use of reaction shots, slow motion, close ups and freeze frames can also be employed. Whenever any show puts all these elements together I fondly flash to the past.