# Trunk shot > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Trunk_shot > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Trunk_shot.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trunk_shot > Source revision: 1352091729 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Camera angle}} {{More citations needed|date=June 2019}} {{Original research|date=November 2022}} [[Image:Blonde white pink trunk-shot.jpg|right|300px|thumb|A trunk shot in ''[Reservoir Dogs](/source/Reservoir_Dogs)'']] The '''trunk shot''' is a cinematic camera angle which captures film from inside the [trunk](/source/Trunk_(automobile)) of a car. Though the trunk shot can be produced by placing the [camera](/source/camera) inside the trunk, the considerable bulk of a conventional [movie camera](/source/movie_camera) and [camera operator](/source/camera_operator) makes this difficult. Therefore, the shot is usually "cheated" by having the [art department](/source/art_department) place a trunk door and some of the trunk frame close enough to the camera to make it appear to be shot from within a car. The trunk shot is a specialized type of [low-angle shot](/source/low-angle_shot). ==In film== This camera angle is often noted to be the trademark of filmmaker [Quentin Tarantino](/source/Quentin_Tarantino).{{Cite web|author=Reitman, Matthew|url=https://www.insidehook.com/article/movies/tarantinos-signature-trunk-shots|title=Tarantino's Signature 'Trunk Shots'|website=InsideHook|language=en-US|date=May 17, 2016}} Although he did not invent it, Tarantino popularized the trunk shot, which is featured in ''[Reservoir Dogs](/source/Reservoir_Dogs)'', ''[Pulp Fiction](/source/Pulp_Fiction)'', ''[Jackie Brown](/source/Jackie_Brown_(film))'', ''[From Dusk Till Dawn](/source/From_Dusk_Till_Dawn_(film))'', ''[Kill Bill: Volume 1](/source/Kill_Bill%3A_Volume_1)'' and ''[Inglourious Basterds](/source/Inglourious_Basterds)''. In ''[Death Proof](/source/Death_Proof)'', Tarantino's traditional shot looking up at the actors from the trunk of a car is replaced by one looking up from under the hood.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/quentin-tarantino-8-famous-trunk-784995/5-death-proof|title=8 of Quentin Tarantino's Famous Trunk Shots (Photos)|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=27 March 2015 |language=en|access-date=2019-06-06}} The earliest trunk shot can be noted in the 1948 movie by [Anthony Mann](/source/Anthony_Mann) (though credited to [Alfred L. Werker](/source/Alfred_L._Werker)), ''[He Walked by Night](/source/He_Walked_by_Night)'', when the police are inspecting the contents of a murder suspect's trunk.{{Cite web|url=https://lwlies.com/articles/eight-great-uses-of-pov-perspective-in-movies/|title=Eight great uses of POV perspective in movies|website=Little White Lies|access-date=2019-06-06}} Another use of the shot is in 1967 film ''[In Cold Blood](/source/In_Cold_Blood_(film))'' (directed by [Richard Brooks](/source/Richard_Brooks)) after the two outlaws cross the borders to Mexico in a stolen car. In the [thriller](/source/Thriller_film) ''[Spasmo](/source/Spasmo)'', directed by [Umberto Lenzi](/source/Umberto_Lenzi) in 1974, this shot can be seen when the main character opens the trunk and a dead man appears. A trunk shot appears also in [George Miller](/source/George_Miller_(director))'s 1985 movie ''[Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome](/source/Mad_Max_Beyond_Thunderdome)'' when Max, Master and the savage children are following Jedediah's son while escaping from their chasers guided by Entity. It is also used in the [John Hughes](/source/John_Hughes_(filmmaker)) film ''[Uncle Buck](/source/Uncle_Buck)'' (1989), wherein Buck ([John Candy](/source/John_Candy)) opens his trunk to reveal a tied up teenager who cheated on Buck's niece. ''[Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead](/source/Don't_Tell_Mom_the_Babysitter's_Dead)'' has a trunk shot where the kids are discussing whether the babysitter's body will fit. The 1992 film ''[Sneakers](/source/Sneakers_(1992_film))'' contains a trunk shot when Robert Redford's character is kidnapped. There is also a trunk shot used in ''[A Good Day to Die Hard](/source/A_Good_Day_to_Die_Hard)'', when John McClane and his son Jack find a trunk full of guns and ammo in a car they are about to steal. [Paul Thomas Anderson](/source/Paul_Thomas_Anderson) used the shot in his short film ''[Cigarettes & Coffee](/source/Cigarettes_%26_Coffee)'' (1993) and [Jonathan Mostow](/source/Jonathan_Mostow) in ''[Breakdown](/source/Breakdown_(1997_film))'' (1997). In ''[Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest](/source/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean%3A_Dead_Man's_Chest)'' (2006), there is a scene with a similar perspective, where Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth and Norrington find a buried chest and the camera looks up to them from inside the hole in the ground that the chest is in. This shot was also featured in a south Indian film named Aavesham (2024) in a song sequence which features the lead character’s birthday celebration. ==In television== In episode 11 of the first season of ''[Parker Lewis Can't Lose](/source/Parker_Lewis_Can't_Lose)'', a series of trunk shots are used during the episode's intro. In the CW's ''[Supernatural](/source/Supernatural_(American_TV_series))'' TV series, trunk shots can be seen looking up at the protagonists, [Dean Winchester](/source/Dean_Winchester) and [Sam Winchester](/source/Sam_Winchester), in both the pilot episode and the second season's finale. In the Amazon Prime Video series ''[The Boys](/source/The_Boys_(TV_series))'', a trunk shot is used many times throughout the show. Both ''[Supernatural](/source/Supernatural_(U.S._TV_series))'' and ''[The Boys](/source/The_Boys_(TV_series))'' were developed by [Eric Kripke](/source/Eric_Kripke). The trunk shot is also used several times in AMC's ''[Breaking Bad](/source/Breaking_Bad)''. A trunk shot can be seen in the episode ''18 Miles Out'' (episode 10) from the second season of ''[The Walking Dead](/source/The_Walking_Dead_(TV_series))''. On ''[The Andy Griffith Show](/source/The_Andy_Griffith_Show)'' season 8 episode 18, "Emmett's Brother-In-Law", Andy, Howard, and Goober are seen looking under the hood of Emmett's brother-in-law's car. In the [Netflix](/source/Netflix) series ''[The Umbrella Academy](/source/The_Umbrella_Academy_(TV_series))'', season 1 episode 3, a trunk shot is seen when the two hitmen open the car to reveal Klaus in the trunk. ==In music videos== * In Colombian pop-singer [Shakira](/source/Shakira)'s music video "[Objection (Tango)](/source/Objection_(Tango))", Shakira is shown from a trunk shot, smiling sadistically at her ex-boyfriend and his mistress, who are bound and gagged in the trunk of her car, which she then slams shut. * In [Axelle Red](/source/Axelle_Red)'s 1998 music video "Rester Femme", Axelle is shown from a trunk shot looking at her husband, who is bound and gagged in the trunk of her car, which she then slams shut and blasts off.{{Citation|last=Axelle Red|title=Axelle Red - Rester femme (Clip Officiel)|date=2011-03-22|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhbL9rs6dYI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/FhbL9rs6dYI |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2019-06-06}}{{cbignore}} * In [Coolio](/source/Coolio)'s 1994 video "[Fantastic Voyage](/source/Fantastic_Voyage_(Coolio_song))," the singer and his crew drive a [Chevy Impala](/source/Chevrolet_Impala) [lowrider](/source/lowrider) to the beach, collecting partygoers along the way. After they arrive, a trunk shot is used as they open the trunk to let the party out. ==Other uses== The trunk shot was used in the 2002 video game ''[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City](/source/Grand_Theft_Auto%3A_Vice_City)'', in a scene resembling the trunk shot scene of Tarantino's ''Pulp Fiction''. In it, [Tommy Vercetti](/source/Tommy_Vercetti) and [Lance Vance](/source/Lance_Vance) pull weaponry from a car's trunk before storming in on [Ricardo Diaz](/source/Ricardo_Diaz_(Grand_Theft_Auto%3A_Vice_City))'s mansion. ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Cinematic techniques}} Category:Cinematography Category:Cinematic techniques Category:Films about automobiles --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Trunk shot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trunk_shot) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trunk_shot?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.