Film Analysis: Behind Bars

While much of the neighborhood appears on-screen in the beginning of the shot, one important thing is notably off-screen the whole time: The view from which the camera pivots. Behind the camera was the apartment of L.B. Jeffries, and the camera pans to the left, inside his window, to finish with a brief tour around his living room that teaches us his most important character traits. We see first, in an extreme close-up of a cast, that Jeffries has a broken leg. And then the camera pans left and we see why: A broken camera appears on screen, and a rack focus shift to the background shows a photograph of an automobile accident with a tire flying straight at the camera. Then several other framed photographs of exciting events appear on the screen, telling us Jeffries is a photographer who craves adventure and excitement.

The camera movement from one side of the street to the unknown neighbor's house illustrated how unwilling they were to listen to Will’s reasoning yet determined to inflict violence upon a presumed “terrorist family”. The previous examples revealed that with the correct camera movement you can enhance feelings, and foretell them too. In specificity to these scenes, the reoccurring slanted motion appealed to the feeling of disarray and foreshadowed the mayhem to come. While the camera movement from one house to another depicted the wrath of the mob; proves that the cam movement allowed the viewer to receive a better sense of what unreasonable fear the characters are feeling.

When Truman does not walk into his workplace the show’s audience respond with excitement and a sense of pride. High angle tracking shots are used as cameras follow Truman and his every step, unable to anticipate his next move. The reverse shot in the side mirror of a car closely follow Truman and as several people obstruct the view it appears as if Truman is trying to get away and disappear from the scrutiny of the cameras. Truman tentatively surveys the area and for the first time listens to conversations around him. Close up shots of several conversations position the audience to also question those around Truman. These techniques used position the audience to respond with enthusiasm and delight towards Truman and his suspicions about the world he lives in. It is no longer seen as perfect.

To see what they see, and compare our own thoughts with the evolution of the characters and the story. The dexterity of the images, and the impact that each scene has in portraying this theme, guide the viewer throughout the film with little use of dialogue and action. Our central character “Jeff,” is struggling with his casted imprisonment, his need for adventure is apparent as he watches outside his window. Conflicted with his girlfriend and conflicted with his theories, his character becomes more palpable, we begin to realize what is going on not only on the outside of him, but the inside of him as well. The aspects of the outside courtyard and the visual isolation of each apartment, help depict the humanity of each individual and sympathy for even the darkest characters. Hitchcock uses his camera, just as our protagonist does, to focus with him. The camera angles are depicted in a way to which we react with the character, rather than at the character, and eventually expose the minor elements of the story that bring to fruition the suspense of the movie and the thrills of discovery.

The viewer is introduced to the dolly zoom in the first scene when they look through Scottie’s eyes as he hangs from the gutter and looks down to the pavement below. The dolly scene gives the sense of vertigo. In this scene it makes the ground seem so much farther below than what it is. Hitchcock uses this shot throughout the film to give a feeling of false reality. The shot works by moving the camera back on a track while zooming in at the same time. This shot is also known as the vertigo shot. In the bell tower, this shot clearly puts the viewer into what Scottie is feeling at the time. It makes the viewer seem uneasy like they might suffer from Vertigo. In addition to this, Hitchcock perfectly uses the camera angle and the actors to tell a separate story. In the scene where he meets with his old friend, Gavin Elster, Hitchcock basically choreographed the actor’s movement and camera angles to set a mood and give foreshadowing. In this scene, Elster is sitting down while Scottie is standing in front of him asking the questions showing dominance. Once Scottie sits down, Elster stands up and stands on the steps to the second level, giving this sense of him being higher than Scottie. The camera follows Elster but then once Elster confesses why he wants Scottie to follow him, the camera pans in tight to his face. At this point Elster blocking is extreme in this shot. After his confession, the two men stay in the same position as the camera angle retreats on a dolly bringing both men into frame. This example shines light onto Hitchcock’s use of blocking and camera use that is evident throughout the film. Another major use of the camera is the way it used to show Scottie’s point of view. The narrative is restricted so that means the viewer can only see what the protagonist is seeing at that time. This is clear in the scene where Scottie is following Madeline as she

American actor Anthony Mackie once said “There are a lot of limitations and stigmas that are placed on young actors, specifically young black actors.” You have probably seen black male actors play the leading role of a drug addict, drug dealer, abusive husband or a even a thief. Although they do get a chance to be displayed on the media, they more often than ever are represented or viewed as the antagonist. Why? Because they are set up according to certain limitations in which they must obey. The lack of accurate representation on black actors in the media today is the result of prejudice and racism occurring in society. Racism and prejudice which are demonstrated in the films directed by Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever.

The Frontline film Separate and Unequal discussed about creating a new school system; however, there are opposition by others who wants to maintain the current school system. If we look at the perspectives of the two groups, it is understandable in why there is support and opposition from the people of the city. The supporters of the new system wants a system that can provide better opportunities for their children without any violence. As the film claimed “the school was not teaching and were only babysitting the children”, which was likely a reason why there was a need for a new school system. With the chaotic and uncontrollable situation in the current system, many supporters have push forward the idea of a new system in a new city. From

     Charles leaves the room, and intentionally walks toward and past the two men as a challenge. They ignore him, but chase after their suspect (filmed from high above) in a desolate, abandoned lot, quickly losing his track and appearing astonished by his abrupt disappearance. The camera turns up and to the left, discovering the cigar-smoking character in profile on a rooftop. From a cinematography point of view this is the most Film Noir portion of the film. In a dark and dirty setting it introduces us to the good guys and the bad guy, culminating in a chase scene.

In the very beginning of this scene the director uses a wide shot to show how massive the group of people searching for Truman really are. This section of the scene can refer back to the

John Anderton, the police chief, is forced to not only flee from his position but prove the system that is never wrong has made a mistake. The movie sets up the premise of pre-crime, identifying its popularity with safety. And the usage of character placement ultimately reinforces the idea that specific roles and actions must be in place in order for the scene to climax in a meaningful and powerful manner. The movie highlights these moments through the struggle of its main character—John Anderton— the police chief of the pre-crime system. Anderton runs the pre-crime system to prevent tragedy after the death of his own child. But after John becomes tagged for a future murder, he travels to clear his name. The usage of blocking is very important during the first climax of the film, where the characters and their emotional state are reveling in the hotel room. This specific scene uses a ton of blocks. In specific shots we can see where actors and props move around, in and out of focus, ultimately blocking the scene to make a point. Here, during the struggle and fight scene, the viewer shows specific characters and their relation to each other and the overall plot. An example of this is Agatha, her shot is completely blocking the camera, yet we can still see Anderton and Crow still fighting in the back. Agatha needs to be presented in a shot like this because it’s her vision that allows the scene to transpire in

Also Ross shows the darkness to the story, he sets the mood by describing the dark night when Duncan was murder. In act 2 scene 4 Ross and old man talk about what has happen even though they do not know of the murder. They discuss the unnatural events that happen on that nights Duncan was murder. They talk how it was really stormy how they heard load screams of death and how horses eat each other.

The camera tracks the character walking into the kitchen where the mobster’s meeting is being held. This camera track also makes you feel like you’re in the scene as it flows as if you were there seeing it for yourself. These types of camera shots and camera movements are what help the film to connect to the audience as well as engage them. As well as the over the shoulder shot and tracking, there is a point of view shot of them which also engages the audience. The use of cinematography really helps to engage the audience and make it seem you are in the scene which heightens the tension of it.

1. In the film, scientific management was demonstrated in a variety of ways. The first instance is when the President of Electro Steel Corp. flips through the cameras of various areas in the factory. The cameras are used to ensure work is being ran efficiently. In addition, the cameras keep tabs on employees (including bathroom breaks, as you saw when Charlie Chaplin was on his "break").

A handful of amazing scenes throughout this film depended on the camera positions. The opening of the film shows an incredible long shot of the prison to give the viewers a sense of it is completely closed off with gigantic walls. An important medium shot of Andy and Red was taken when Red was rejected again. The two of them sat together and Andy gave him a harmonica. That was a perfect two shot of them showing how Andy had Reds back after something bad happened. The close-ups in this film made those certain scenes so powerful and dramatic. When Andy and Red were in their jail cells at night there was a close -up of red staring at the harmonica given to him by Andy. Then another close up of Andy staring at the poster given to him by Red. This shows how having each other's support can get them through the hard times.

This scene begins with the camera using a straight angle, eye level shot and switches between Alex’s (Chris) facial expressions and shots of his surroundings from his point of view. McBride describes point of view as “a shot from a particular character’s subjective perspective as if seen through that character’s eyes.” (McBride 188) The use of this technique gives the viewer a realistic view of what Alex sees and feels as he walks through the streets of Los Angeles. Whenever we see the various shots of other people, from Alex’s perspective, there is a split second freeze frame. The usage of this technique leaves a bigger impact on the audience and exemplifies the discomfort that Alex feels. This scene also has a low shutter speed, which makes it feel like you’re walking through the city –again adding to the realism of the scene. The lighting of this scene changes often and is mostly very dark; at some points all we see is a silhouette of Alex. This lighting choice gives the scene a negative, depressing, atmosphere.