Cinematography in 'Elephant'

In this blog I will be talking about how cinematography is used in the film 'Elephant' as well as features of mise-on-scene.

Firstly, I noticed that many tracking shots were used. One example of this can be seen when one of the characters' was walking into the school from the field (red hoody). The camera followed him all the way from the outdoors right through the corridors of the building. Another example of a tracking shot takes place whenever a character was in a car as the camera was placed in the back-seat to capture everything that the character(s) did or said. During these shots we can only see the back of the particular character's head. This is a clever idea as cloaks the character in mystery, causing the audience to wonder where the person is going, what they look like and what they are like in terms of personality.

Another interesting use of the camera was when it did a slow, 360 degree rotation inside a classroom where students were having a debate about what makes a homosexual recognizable. I think this was to possibly show that there was more than one character in the room and to see other people's reactions to what was said in the scene.

Moving on to mise-on-scene, a lot of the sound used in the film was digetic, but there were moments where the audience had to think about it. For example, at one point we can hear an acoustic guitar. We first presume that this is non-digetic as we cannot see it on-screen. However, a few seconds later, we see that a student is sat outdoors playing it, making us realize that the music in this scene is actually digetic. Another point in the film that used digetic sounds involves one of the students at home playing the piano.

A lot of the lighting used was very natural. We know this as some of the film was shot outdoors, meaning that only the light from the outdoors would be seen. Also, the lighting used in the school corridors was very dim, giving us the impression that the only lights actually being used were the ones in the school, with no additional studio light added in. This gives a very naturalistic feel to the building. Off-screen space was also well used - we know this as there are many classroom doors and windows along the corridors, which makes us wonder what is going in them.

Coming back to cinematography, There was a moments during a tracking shot when a pupil walked over to a dog. When the dog jumped up, it was in slow-motion. If I remember correctly this is basically the only moment when slow-motion is used in the film. The impact of this is that it marks a turning point in the storyline - the shooting is about to begin, which changes the atmosphere and tone of the film.

Cinematogaphry in 'A New Hope' (Star Wars 4)

Chosen scene: Sand people ambush

Firstly, we see a point of view shot from Luke's binoculars to show what he is looking down at (two banthers and one sand person). Since this is basically the only point of view shot in this scene, we get the impression that it is not too non-naturalistic.

The next shot consists of the sand people ambush where we see some good use of angle of framing. The sand person is shown from a low angle looking upward at it, possibly another point of view shot from Luke. It is used here to signal that the sand person is powerful and dangerous and this is further explored by having his metal post raised up in the air to add to the overall height of the creature.

For my third shot, I have to chosen to show a screenshot of a small battle between Luke and the sand-person. This is where level of framing is well used here as it shows the contrast between the two characters' level of strength. The sand person has the higher ground, which makes him appear more powerful, whereas Luke is on the lower ground, showing him to be much weaker.

In the the fourth shot, There is another point of view shot, but this time through the eyes of the sand-person. He is looking down at Luke after attempting to hit him with his metal post. The camera faces downwards on Luke. It shows entirely what what is on the camera-screen, from where the metal post hit the ground to where Luke's head is.

In my final selected shot, the camera is focused on part of the landscape. This is known as exposure. As the lighting in this particular shot is moderately bright, it is known as being exposed, unlike overexposed, where light get too bright to see anything properly. In this scene it shows no one else is about to help the recently fallen Luke and C-3po and that it is dead silent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swp4_QakFak&feature=related

Watch the clip from 6:30 to 6:52.

How editing is used in 'Good Burger'

Establishing shot
In the establishing shot of the film, we are introduced to Ed, an employee at Good Burger and Good Burger itself. We also pick up the film's tagline "Welcome to Good Burger, home of the good burger, can I take your order?" which is heard again throughout the duration of the film.

During his conversation with the burgers, we see shot/reverse shot being used to show Ed's reaction. Match on action is also used, which shows Ed flying with the burgers from two differnt angles. There is also a quick shot of Crosscutting, which is used to show what is going on at Good Burger whilst Ed is on his way there.