Film techniques

Every form and variety of our emotions can be portrayed in film. They allow us to escape and have a broadening perspective. Film provides us with a source to every theme we can identify with the human condition. Film has allowed us a visual alternative to literature that can exuberate our senses. Various elements of the film such as theme, cinematic techniques, and genre helps beguile us into worlds we have never explored, people we have never met and lives we have never lived. Although a…

The film, Blackfish, was a phenomenal movie; it convinced and informed the public, that orca whales in captivity should be free, by the using the art of persuasion. A plethora of persuasive rhetoric was evident throughout the duration of the film. It is clear orcas should stay in the ocean since they are killing more people when captive. In addition, killer whales are better off in the wild since they are cruelly captured and handled by humans. The motion picture used an exceptional variety of…

‘Schindler’s List’, directed by Steven Spielberg in 1993, is a hard-hitting and gripping film that deals with the key issue of persecution and war. It is a shocking account of the Nazi’s and the Jews during the oppressive era of WWII and by using various, effective cinematic techniques such as camera angles, lighting/colour and sound/music, Spielberg grips the viewer with numerous shocks and twists throughout. The film follows the main character Oskar Schindler as he encounters the realities of…

The aspect of characterisation is conveyed through two techniques - acting and lighting. We see this when side lighting is combined with a close-up shot. This highlights only half of Willy's face, leaving the other half in shadow. This makes him appear intimidating, emphasising his tough exterior. It also suggests how he is torn between staying true to himself as a gang member and wanting to escape his unfulfilling life in a gang. The low key lighting in the house contrasts with the high key…

Bryan Singer film, The Usual Suspects (1995) American neo-noir and mystery film shows the audience how a small-time con man “Verbal” Kint and one of two survivors of a massacre and fire on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles. Kint tells a convoluted story about the events and mysterious mob boss known as Keyser Soze. The movie The Usual Suspects a non-linear tale shows the mystery surrounding the investigation of a crime and the focus and efforts of the investigator solving the crime by of…

A modernized rendition of Shakespeare’s classic play, Hamlet, the 2009 film starring David Tennant, makes use of various film techniques to create mood, develop characters, and expose themes, as is seen in Act Three, Scene Four – a scene of crisis. An atmosphere of foreboding and gradually increasing horror is created through the clever staging and usage of props; the bedroom, conflicted in its marriage between antique furniture and modern decorations, is very dim and sombre, with only the bed…

del Toro’s first drug-themed rodeo, either, having played each side of the fence, thus far (protagonist in Traffic and antagonist in Savages). This time, though,, del Toro is secluded in shades of gray – and is left on the outskirts for much of the film. Sitting in wait, if you will… There isn’t much emphasis put on Gillick’s past, despite plenty of early pokes and prods from Blun’t character. However, the film’s unforeseen climax thrusts del Toto into the spotlight, and from thereon out, he…

did not win best picture, it has shown to be one of the strongest movies both in content and visual quality. In contrast, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner did not rise to fame until after it was on cable. However, there is a strong link between the two films. Citizen Kane utilizes camera angles to symbolize power and weakness. The power struggle of Citizen Kane is shown in the plot and through symbolic upward and downward facing shots. Blade Runner gives viewers an unsteady camera view of an…

Walking the Camino de Santiago is a dream for many walkers, hikers, wanderers, adventurers and explorers. The Way (2010), a film produced by David Alexanian and Emilio Estevez, directed by Emilio Estevez, and starring Emilio's father, Martin Sheen (Tom), as well as Deborah Kara Unger (Sarah), James Nesbitt (Jack), Yorick van Wageningen (Joost), and even Emilio Estevez himself who plays Tom's son, Daniel, is a sincere story about grief and faith. It takes us on an inspiring journey through the…

My favorite film is Remember the Titans. The film is about a football team and their struggles with integrating an African American high school and a Caucasian high school. Taking place in Virginia in 1971, the film shows the racial tension of the community using techniques to make it cinematic. One of the ways that allows the viewer to understand the tension in the movie is with camera angles. The director, Boaz Yakin, uses multiple camera angles to show both segregation and also unity of the…