Compare / Same director A Streetcar Named Desire vs On the Waterfront Shot length, color & pacing compared
Both films are directed by Elia Kazan, 3 years apart. On the Waterfront averages 8.5 seconds per shot, while A Streetcar Named Desire holds each shot 43% longer, at 12.1 seconds.
Each stripe is the average color of a slice of the film, from the first frame (left) to the last (right).
By the numbers Metric A Streetcar Named Desire On the Waterfront Average shot length 12.1s 8.5s Total shots 620 764 Cuts per minute 5.0 7.1 Runtime analyzed 125 min 108 min Close-ups or tighter 65% 71% Setup: avg shot 15.4s 10.1s Middle act: avg shot 11.8s 9.0s Final act: avg shot 10.4s 6.6s
Shot scale mix
What the data shows 01 A Streetcar Named Desire has 620 shots (5.0 cuts a minute); On the Waterfront has 764 (7.1 a minute). 02 Both films use close-ups at a similar rate (65% and 71% of shots). 03 The most common framing in both is the medium close-up. 04 On the Waterfront is the brighter film overall: its average frame brightness is 53% higher than A Streetcar Named Desire's. 05 A Streetcar Named Desire cuts fastest in its final act (10.4s per shot) and slowest in its setup (15.4s). 06 On the Waterfront cuts fastest in its final act (6.6s per shot) and slowest in its setup (10.1s).