Case Study

        Today in class I studied a movie clip of my choice and talked about some movements, angles, and focuses that we see in the film. I chose the movie opener of white chicks since it is an old classic from my childhood. Here are my findings from the clip: 

The opening begins with deep focus (0:01) which ensures every element, prop, and background as well as foreground is clearly visible to the audience. This allows the audience to take note of where the characters are situated. Then a tracking shot (0:02) is used to draw attention to one of the characters that are a part of this clip. As the camera follows the character who appears to be dancing around connoting to the audience a cheerful and playful mood, an establishing shot (0:04) is used to present the other characters which allows the audience to reflect on the background of the scene. It displays how the scene is set in a grocery store which then adds to the context of the conversation between the characters. A close up (0:07) is then used to focus on the face of the protagonist who proceeds to turn and talk to the other side characters. The close-up is mainly used to draw focus on to the main character’s eyes who shift focus to the people coming into the store. Following this a mid-shot (0:10) which is held all throughout the scene maintaining the audience focused on the one-on-one conversation between characters who are then revealed later into the scene. A wide shot (0:14) is then used to adequately display all the characters in one scene. It focuses on how many people are now in the store and adds context to the background, the mood of each character, and the conversation that is being had. The conversation between the characters seems to be serious but the focus on the dancing and the Hispanic music, as well as the maracas create a lively and active environment. Subsequently the close-up is used again to focus on a new character who contributes to the plot of the story. (likely the deuteragonist).   

Clip:https://youtu.be/z8svCzoKIjY?si=kxGL52EiApog-EdOLinks to an external site.
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