BULLET BOY

How are cinematography and editing used to create meaning in rio`s shooting?

In bullet boy rio getting shot is an important scene in the film. It is a test of both Rio and Curtis friendship; will Rio forgive curtis for shooting him? Also through editing and cinematography questions and enigmas arise of who is bullet boy in the film.

The scene opens with a long shot of the setting which shows the audience that Curtis and Rio havea sense of freedom through the open space of fields. This is a contrast to the estates and blocks of flats, which links to the binary opposition of urban vs rural. The camera movement in an up and down motion shows the excitement of the two children. This is because they have Ricky`s gun and play a childish game, hide and seek. This is a link to Ricky and wisedom because they`re hiding in a car park from Godfrey, While Godfrey`s crew are seeking them out. The long shots of the white hourse and the quick editing of to the children show something is going to happen. The connations of white is pure however due to them holding a gun, there is an irony factor of the young kids stuck in the cycle of violence.

Concluding on, a point of view shot was used before Rio`s shooting. This added tension to the scene but also put the audience in rio`s shoes.This is a good way of including the audience into the narrative. The director used long shots or slow paced editing, this adds to the tension as well because we can see every little detail in the scene.

After the shooting the camera focuses on Curtis which asks the question who is bullet boy. This is because throughout the film Curtis is potrait as innocent compared to his older brother Ricky. We as the audience wouldn`t associate Curtis with a gun or shooting his best friend. We could see it was an accidental shooting as Curtis runs and calls for help. The close up of his feet shows this as when your in panic you run faster and the pace of his moving feet were rapid. This is a contrast to the slow editing which is a build up to the shooting, and the reaction of the shooting. There was a long shotof Rio which shows us that even though he got shot he is not the main protagonist of the film.

We saw the immediate reaction through the cinematography as the camera movement was fast and quickly spun around to show panic. This made the scene more realistic as it catches the natural reaction of someone in that situation.

GOODFELLAS ESSAY

Goodfella`s is a film about a drug dealer`s rise to fame and how he is powerful, intimatdating to others and popular. He has generated a lot of cash and is on a first date woth a lovely lady friend, trying to impress her with his charms. This is done through movement, editing, cinematography, sound and the mise en scene.

The movement of the camera follows the main charater and his partner through the back door. This immediately tell us that he is powerful walking through the back door as he doesnt have to wait in line like the others. This gives the audience a sense of following the couple to see what they are doing. This happens when they turn the corner and the camera pans from left to right. As the characters walk down the staors the cinematography of the camera was at a high angle shot. This interprets to the audience that we are still spying on the main character. The audience could tell the setting was in a nightclub beacuse the camera panned to the main presenter on a stage introducing the next act.

In the nightclub the dominant colour was red . Low key lighting was added to show the dominant colour which builds up tension, as the shadows fading in the background. The connations of the dominant colour which are danger,love,blood shows the audience that there is trouble ahead further on in the film, and all is not what it seems to be. We know this through him lying to his date when she asks him a question, what do you do? He replied construction which we know he is not in becasue of the drum roll straight after his answer. He is a well respected man because a gentlemen on the table next to him gave him compliments with a bottle of champagne. This isnt normal as people do not buy expensive bottles of champagne to give out.

The restaurant owner knew the main charater aswell complimenting him and offering his services, which shows the main actor is superior to others. He wore a blue suit standing out from the rest of the crowd of men who wore black. The women were in elegant dresses which is streotypical of what women and men would wear on nights out. We could assume from this that Goodfella`s is a typical 1970s film. The sound reflects this aswell as the introduction music was from that generation. The director used a sound bridge;only cutting the music when the presenter started speaking, showing the audience the two characters are going for a night out. We know this is a date between the two because as the lyrics from the song reflect this.(becasue he kiss me) signifying a first kiss.

Diagetic sounds were present in the nightclub with the crowd talking. This is to make the film look like it is real as there would be a lot of noise in a nightclub. This was present also in the kitchen with the sounds of knives chopping food. However you could argue the sound bridge was non diagetic as it is an added sound.

Editing of the film takes a lot of time and effort to cut what the director doesnt need. However in the films opening the director used one continuous shot following the couple through the backs doors till there seat. This gave the sense of travelling throw the back doors with a sense of anticipation created.