Cinematography

Cinematography is the camera angles of a film which tell the story and show what’s happening in the film. I have chosen to look at the cinematography in the opening scene of Bridget Jones’s Diary directed by Sharon Maguire 2001.

One of the first clips we see is a tracking shot of Bridget walking up her parent’s driveway in the snow, they have a long drive way which shows the class of their family and gives us an idea what they are going to be like as characters. It shows us all the way up the drive way and the large shaped bushes.

We then see an over the shoulder greeting from Bridget’s mum when she answers the door which I think shows closeness of her and her mum when they kiss hello. This shows that they have a good relationship and are happy to see each other even if Bridget doesn’t think that her mum is being nice by making her wear horrible outfits and setting her up every year.

There is a shot looking down the stairs so we see Bridget and her mum at the door and also their hallway. This is as if there is someone sneakily watching without them knowing. I think it is a good view as it shows the characters costumes and the setting and what kind of character they are like.
Mid shot of Bridget, her mum and her mum’s friend talking to each other. This shows what we would see if we where there which makes it feel a lot more friendly.
The next shot we see is a close up of Bridget smoking a cigarette and the side of her mums head shows that Bridget has bad qualities (smoking) and she should change this about herself however as we find out not long later she tells Mark she wants to quit smoking. I think that the side of her mothers head shows what another party guest may see if they were looking at Bridget. Long shot of Mark to show Bridget making her first judgment of him as her mum and his mum are trying to set them up however Bridget doesn’t make a good first impression. This shot is a voyeuristic view of what Bridget is looking at and helps us to understand what she’s looking at. It also makes us feel like we are there with her and want to find out what the man she's being set up with is like.

Sound

Sound can be used for many reasons such as to give a very effective atmosphere or affecting us on an emotional level. Sound can make us feel happy or sad depending on the scene however sometimes the music does not fit with the image that we are seeing which creates a disorientating effect.

I watched the ending of Click when Michael is in hospital, shortly after he says goodbye to his children some sad, slow music plays as it helps to emphasize the emotion of the scene. After Michael’s children leave he gets out of bed and follows them however a nurse tries to stop him as he's ill and shouldn’t be leaving any time soon, this is when dramatic non diegetic sound begins to help show the seriousness and emotion that Michael doesn’t care what state he is in he wants to be with his children in his situation. I think that the music also makes us believe something could happen to Michael knowing that he shouldn’t be leaving. When Michael is running in the rain I think that it helps to fill in a gap with non diegetic sound as there is no dialogue and it makes us feel the emotion. As Benjamin realizes his dad is on the floor, ill in the rain he runs over and the music quickens to show the scared emotion of Michaels children. When Michaels ex wife, Donna comes and kneels down to see if he’s ok the music slows down, this is also when a character speaks.

The clip then changes to a clip on Michael, young, well and led on a bed with happy, upbeat diegetic sound in the background. This is when Michael realizes that he is fine and has his life back again, for this clip there is happy and louder music as he leaves the store. The music dips out when a character is talking and gets louder when Michael is driving. When Michael returns home the non diegetic sound changes into a fairytale, happy ending, sparkling music as we know that it is a happy ending and it helps to express Michaels new zest for life.

When we think that everything is fine again and back to normal Michael notices that the remote control is on the table with a bow and a note, the music then changes to a slow piano which helps us see that Michael is thinking and is worried what it could mean. Once Michael has read it and realized that its ok and he's been given another chance to do things right happy music starts and the film ends.

The Graduate

The graduate, directed by Mike Nichols 1964 is about a young man who is worried about his future as he doesn’t wish to continue his current career path however things get a lot more complicated when he drives his dads partners wife home which leads to an affair with Mrs Robinson. This has to end when Ben falls in love with Mrs Robinson’s daughter, Elaine.

In The Graduate there is a scene when Mrs Robinson is stood over Ben which shows her power over him however this is reversed when Ben stands up and says no to the affair. Ben changes in the film after he sleeps with Mrs Robinson as he rebels more and more and he starts smoking. The lighting in the film is usually either a lamp or natural light however there is a scene when Mrs Robinson and Ben are talking and Bens face is hidden in the dark and Mrs Robinson is in the light this could show that Ben is the one who will be punished for the affair

There are a range of different cinematography shots in the graduate and one of the first few is the tracking shot when we assume he’s going up an escalator. There is also an over the shoulder shot and close ups which I think helps to show Bens worry about his future. There is a shot where only half the screen is of Ben and the other half is of people talking at his party which shows that they will be involved in this clip. There is a voyeuristic view when Ben looks at Mrs Robinson naked and we see flashes of her body. There’s also another voyeuristic view later on in the film Ben is in his pool with a scuba mask on and we see through his eyes. This means all we see for a moment in the film is water and we hear Bens breathing however we don’t know what’s going on. Another piece of cinematography used is a tracking shot when Ben is running which changes to a deep focus when Ben tells Elaine, Mrs Robinson’s daughter.

There is a clip that has been edited with a dissolve transition from the lilo in the pool this makes a smooth transition from two clips put together. There are continuity shots between Mrs Robinson and the phone and the desk and the door.

In the graduate there is some diegetic sound quite early on when the fish tank is behind Ben and there are sounds of bubbles. There is a clip in the film when there is silence and then the non diegetic music starts and even though it’s not supposed to be there lyrics relate to the film to help us understand.

I thought that the graduate was alright however I found it boring however I like how the non diegetic sound creates a link between the scene and how he’s feeling for example when Scarborough fair is playing and the lyrics are ‘she once was a true love of mine’ and ‘Then she'll be a true love of mine’. I like this because it links to what’s probably going on in his mind when he’s going to find Elaine however it’s not him that’s telling us what he’s feeling.

City of God

City of God, directed by Fernando Meirelles 2002 is about rival gangs in Brazil that have a constant battle which some characters hate and want to leave this rough life style as they have other ambitions like Rocket wants to become a photographer. As Brazil is such a poor country many people make their money by selling things such as fish or the best selling product, drugs. Drug dealers in Brazil are the richest and they show it off with their gold jewellery and designer clothing when many other people wear rags. Knowing this Lil Ze’s gang thinks that the best thing to do to earn money and shut down his rival gangs are to kill the drug dealers and take over their businesses.

Even the children of Brazil are getting involved in these gangs as it’s what they are growing up into and is all around them. They don’t know any better as it’s what men in their country are doing so they break the law and break into bakery’s to get their thrills and some money. They always seem to think they will get away with their conviction because of their age however they get punished by being either shot in the hand or the foot by Lil Ze’s gang. This shows that they don’t care about who they hurt even if its children who are copying their bad behaviour however the rival gang, Knock out Ned wont kill or rob some people if they take a liking to them for example a good looking girl in the bakery or a friends brother on the bus.

In the film there is a strobe light used in the club when Benny wants to leave with Angelica to get away from the gangs. The strobe light creates a disorienting effect when we don’t know what’s going on, we see that guns are being shot however we don’t see who until the light stops. Other lighting used is natural light as most of the film is shot in a location or in a dark room. There are some binary opposites in the film for example good and bad, ugly and handsome and

The cinematography in the film has many different shots for example a panning shot when a character turns his head and we see what he is looking at. There are also point of view shots when the characters look at something down the street or at each other. Nearer the end of the film there are many different camera angles of the damage done such as

There is both diegetic and non diegetic sound used in City of God both used to make things seem more realistic for example a gun fire and the non diegetic sound helps to build the atmosphere. An example of this is when the music is very fast moving which shows the busy life style of the film when we see the normal day to day life in Brazil to a gang fight with guns. I think that the non diegetic sound helps to build tension as when Lil Ze enters the room showing off his new image of clothing the music stops which shows drama and the reaction of the people currently in the room. I think that it could show the fear of the people in his gang and maybe even though they are with him they would rather be on his side than being the ones being shot at. Some examples of diegetic sound often used are gun shots and camera clicks when Rocket is taking photos of Lil Ze’s gang.

I liked City of God however its not something I would like to watch again as it was very confusing with the subtitles to keep up with and what’s going on in the footage. I thought that it was good that as the characters changed they changed their names either for better or worse as when Lil Ze changed his name from Lil Dice he changed it from being a boy to a man and that he ment business now. However when Rocket changes his name he changes it for respect as hes made himself a photographer.

Elephant

In Elephant there were many different types of cinematography such as tracking shot, point of view shot, camera pan and more. The film shows a day in school from different student’s point of views so that we get an insight to what happened from the selection we were introduced to. When we are introduced to Alex and Eric we don’t think anything of it as they just seem like ordinary students however we see a clip of them outside of school which indicates importance to them as every other student is at school. This is when they buy their weapons and we realise what could happen. What I liked about the camera shots was that each student’s view of where they were etc leads onto the next person by a camera panning.

The many different camera angles help to tell the story and to add suspense for example nearer to the end of the film when a student is walking around the school, shown with a tracking shot, and there is so much focus you think that something is going to happen to him however he is just the same as everybody else and gets shot also. There was a large amount of tracking shot scenes in the film as it follows students around school however also when John and his dad are in the car and when John’s dad wonders off.

In one of the beginning scenes a student is signing into school however there is a deep focus on the back of his head and we can not tell where the boy is until later in the film. This helps to keep the audience interested in the film to find out where the setting is.

The costumes in Elephant help to signify different social groups in the school such as the three girls wore very girly clothes and the sports players wore sports kits. However when Alex and Eric turn up to school with their guns their every day casual clothing changes to army uniforms possibly to show they mean business but also to resemble a war between them and their school mates. The fact that they also had large bags and the army clothes were out of the ordinary it made John realise that something was going on and warned people from going into the school as he knew they would be killed.

The slow motion used in the film helped to show importance to a certain clip so that it doesn’t go un noticed. There is non diegetic sound used in Elephant of a piano which I think shows sadness and the fact that something terrible is going to happen. I think that elephant was a slow film however it had many good examples of cinematography and I did want to watch more as nothing happened for so long it had to be building up to something big however I didn’t expect Alex and Eric to kill everyone in the school including the principle and other staff.

Editing

Editing
Editing should go unnoticed in a film as it is the process that puts all the scenes together smoothly from different angles, shots and transitions. The editing in films help to show atmosphere of the scene for example fast passed or calm. I looked at two films to see different types and examples of editing between each scene, National Security and You, Me and Dupree.

In the beginning of National Security when some unknown people breaking in there is a cross cut to show many different things happening at once during the break in for example pouring liquid, chains being opened and passwords being accepted. There is then a jump shot to the policemen outside a tocco restaurant as they are having a quiet night, when one of the policemen returns he notices a security guard and mocks him as he is a lower rank and nothing compared to him. The camera is behind the policemen so that the security guard is still in the picture when there’s continuity cut to show the guards reaction, then the shot is back looking at the cops as a voyeuristic shot. When the policemen get a call to leave there is a match cut from the location they left, outside the restaurant to the factory they arrived at. This is to save time from clip to clip as the travelling isn’t needed to be shown.

I also looked at the editing in You, Me and Dupree and noticed there was many different cuts for example the film starts with a panning shot which then changes to a continuity shot when the camera zooms into Molly and Carl in the sea. This then changes to a jump cut of the couple walking back to where they are staying and the next time we see them they are sat on a decking talking to each other, this is edited with a match cut so that is makes sense to the audience. After Carl opens the door the scene changes as he has to go and meet his lost best man this is edited with a jump cut from talking at the door to driving outside simply to save time of going out to the car and showing the drive there when its not needed.

Costume and Make up

Every piece of clothing worn in a film is part of a costume they are very important as they help to tell the story and are often used to tell us about the character and their personality. Costumes can also tell you the time period, where the film is set, what mood the characters are in and the characters age.

For example in Juno, Juno wears very scrappy, tom boy like clothing right down to her underwear which shows that she is a girl who doesn’t care too much what she looks like. This also helps to show what Juno is like as a person as what you wear reflects what’s on the inside. The fact that Juno wears her hair up and doesn’t wear make up helps to show how young she is to be pregnant as she is only 16. I like that Juno wears different clothes to everyone else in the school even different from her best friend Leah who is very girly and wears mini skirts and pink quite a lot. This shows that they are friends for their personalities and they aren’t judging each other on their clothes.

Paulie Bleaker, the baby’s dad is quite geeky and not the kind of boy that people would expect to be such a young father which is kind of why Juno’s best friend and dad was surprised and they tease him. Paulie is on a running team and often wears his running kit of gold shorts, sweat bands and a school jumper. I think that this shows his age also that he is still in school and that he’s a little geeky but in a lovable way. When he tells Juno that he thinks she is beautiful and he wants to stay with her and supports whatever she chooses to do about the baby its so sweet of him and I think that the fact that he is geeky and he wears polo shirts and is doing his homework at the time it works as if he was wearing jock clothing the words he’s saying to Juno wouldn’t create the same effect.

Another example of costume and make up is in Grease as it shows the year, the 50’s, which we can tell by the girls dresses and the boys leather jackets. It shows Sandy’s change of personality from when she is sweet and innocent to sexy at the end when not only does she change her clothes but she changes her hair and make up also she changes so drastically you couldn’t recognise her. The t-birds in grease use their costumes to act cool and tough however we see a different side to Danny at the beach to when he is with his friends as he puts up a cool front to hide his feelings for Sandy as they don’t think its cool to like a goody goody.

Leon

Leon starts with an establishing shot of New York City showing the audience the setting of the film. The shot starts with a birds eye view shot going across water and buildings when the camera looks upright at the buildings when the title of the film shows. The next camera shot is New York at street level followed by blackness. When the light comes back on all you see are people’s body parts such as eyes and hands keeping the identities of the characters hidden and mysterious. You also get a glimpse of the character opposite the hidden identity man in glasses and movement on the table however nothing is fully revealed.
The next scene we see, a man is in his apartment when he is told an unknown character is coming up to his room when he finds out his watchers are bring killed on his way. There are a lot of shooting when he runs out however when he comes back the mysterious character is behind him with a knife in the darkness which I think shows the darkness of Leon’s job. In this clip there is diegetic sound of his heart beating to tell us that he is scared and something more could possibly happen.

When Leon returns to his apartment there is calm non diegetic music which is similar to a child’s lulla bye when we meet a young girl named Mathilda who isn’t a regular child in New York City. She is only 12 years old even though she tells Leon she is 18. Mathilda is hiding a cigarette and bruises on her face and she tells us she’s got enough problems and gets beaten by her family. We are then showed a little information about Leon when he is looking after his plant, working out and going to the cinema like a normal person would behind their job. The next time we meet Mathilda, Stansfield and his gang threatens her dad and comes back the next day and kills her dad, little brother, step mum and step sister. There is a binary opposite between Stansfield and Leon as Stansfield doesn’t care who he kills unlike Leon’s rule “no women, no kids”. Mathilda returns to the apartment after shopping to find her family dead and the guys still in there so she goes to Leon when she is let in his home.

Leon’s job as an assassin then becomes clear to Mathilda and she is more than interested and wants to be taught his skills to make revenge on the gang who killed her family. Leon and Mathilda have a strange relationship as she develops loving feelings for him and he is uncomfortable about this from the line “cute name”. to when she states that he is her lover.
The film as a strange twist to it as it has small funny comments such as when they play a dress up game and when Stansfield copies his accompanies by saying things such as “the cops are here we should go”.

Mathilda and Leon are very different to each other as Leon is very dependant and doesn’t work with anyone and is possibly unsure how to react with other people however Mathilda is caring and helpful and wants to be with Leon as much as she can including working together. All that Leon has is his plant which I think represents life and when Mathilda plants it at the very end after Leon is dead the plant keeps living.

The lighting used throughout the film is mainly natural or from lamps when the curtains are shut. There are many dark points in the film which shows suspense and danger.
A favourite part of Leon is when Leon is walking slowly down the corridor and he is at the end of the tunnel and he has won however Stansfield is behind him with a gun and shoots him. I think this is a really effective part of the film as there is no sound when the bullet is shot you just see a voyeuristic view from Leon and the viewer knows what’s happened. However when we think it’s all over he pulls a grenade and the place blows up.

I enjoyed Leon because it always keeps you in suspense during the film as you can never tell what’s going to happen next. I was surprised i enjoyed the film as it’s not usually the genre I would watch.