City of God - Edits

A graphic match cut is showing a musical instrument mirroring a blade to show that violence is key to their life just as much as music is.

Flash frame of knife being scraped off of a rock using hyperbolic sound suggests that the movie is quite clearly going to contain violence and that the characters will obviously encounter some violence. Also indicates that death is going to occur.

Camera flash mirrors sunlight again by using a graphic match cut to show that the sunlight is just as important to him as the camera is as if sunlight is the root out of this poor lifestyle.

Immediately cuts to a dark, blue image to show the state of his current situation – a moody, dangerous world with no hope. Then cuts to him behind bars of some sort to show that he is imprisoned and may never escape the lifestyle he currently lives.

POV shots (from the chicken’s perspective) are used in various shots to almost show that the chicken is aware of what’s going around it due to its facial reactions from seeing other dead chickens being prepared as food along with many knives being used. The chicken practically mirrors the main character Rocket’s situation to how dangerous life is where they are currently living and how they both find it very hard to escape. This is also achieved through shot – reverse shots to show that the chicken is in some way able to communicate with its surroundings.

Gladiator (Ridley Scott, 2004)

Gladiator (Ridley Scott, 2004)

The close up of his hand shows us he's married as it fixates on a ring on his hand. The fact that the shot is in a warm colour in comparison to the cold blue of the battle suggests it is a flashback or a dream sequence of a place he would rather be. This is evidenced by the cut to a medium close up of him lost in thought. The sound of a woman humming and the noise of children playing (non diegetic sound) suggests he misses his family. As we move to the battlefield a guitar strum is heard which quicker the pace indicating the fight is about to begin. The shot reverse shot between him and the robin not only suggests it is a cold bleak landscape but also signifies his desire to escape back home to warmer climes. The use of a crane shot allows us to see the size of the Roman troops. The low angle shot of Marcus Aurelius in combination with the gold chain and the dark blue cloak indicates he is the Emperor. The use of a tracking POV shot permits the audience to see the man from his perspective. They bow down before him and greet him warmly indicating he is a well respected and liked officer. The dialogue in which he says "Range is good." indicates he is confident with battle strategy.

Shot techniques used in Reservoir Dogs



Shot Reverse Shot

The Shot Reverse Shot camera technique is commonly used in this scene where the camera angle keeps switching from Mr Blonde's actions to the officer's facial expression in order for the director to place you in a position where you're able to see the clear sense of fear that is shown from the police officer.

Match On Action

A Match On Action shot is used within this sequence as we see the character Mr Blonde attack the officer as we see the camera cut to his hand as he attacks him. This simply just reinforces the violence and craziness that we have already seen from Mr Blonde, again clearly showing that he has psychopathic tendencies.

Camera Panning Away

During the torture scene where Mr Blonde cuts off the officer's ear the camera pans away to an empty space and then returns. It does this to make the viewer create a more brutal and vivid image inside their heads and ask the questions such as "What could he possibly be doing to him?". When the director Quentin Tarantino does this he essentially making the viewer do the work on their own as the mind is more evil than the film sequence.



Tracking Shot/Close Up

The Tracking Shot is also used in this sequence in addition to a Close Up which is commonly used to show the emotion a character feels which can be conveyed from their facial expression, in this case fear. The tracking in this case is used to lead you into thinking that the police officer is about to be tortured, something the character also himself feels within the scene.



Sound used in Apocalypse Now and Reservoir Dogs



Apocalypse Now

Juxtaposition of the loud, diegetic music of Wagner and the helicopters sound effects versus the calm/peaceful Vietnamese school/town highlight the horror that shall befall them. By comparing and contrasting between each of the scenes, it shows the most likely case that will occur where pain and violence will be brought towards the Vietnamese. All this can be conveyed just through the use of sound within a scene.

Reservoir Dogs

Contrapuntal sound is used (music that doesn't really fit the emotion or feeling of the scene) within this scene in Reservoir Dogs. The contrapuntal sound of the song "Stuck in the middle with you" in addition to the enjoyment clearly demonstrated by Mr Blonde's dancing reinforces the character's sadistic and psychopathic tendencies.