Analysing film clips

In todays lesson we went through a few different camera shots/angles and what they can mean and why a producer might use them. We then watched the following clip and looked for different camera angles to show how Superman is presented to the audience.

In this clip Superman stops the bullets and saves the police, many different camera shots were used to show Superman was in control and had the power over everyone else.
Some shots used were:

• Extreme close up on Superman's eye when the bullet bounces off it. The extreme close up is used to clearly show his emotions and how he isn't worried or nervous. It also shows the lack of effort he needs to put into stopping the bullet linking to how powerful he is.
• Low angle shot from the policemen's point of view looking up to the villain, this shows they are inferior compared to him, it also shows he is currently winning and has more power compared to them. This makes the scene a lot more intense from the audience as in regular life the police are the most powerful and having someone more powerful than them shows the severity of the situation.
• High angle shot of the villain looking down on the policemen, this links to the low angle shot as it shows status and powerful. There is also a high angle shot looking down at the police coming up the stairs which also shows how they are losing the fight.
•  Close up on the villain after he sees superman break the bullet. This shows his emotion and fear once he realises he no longer has the control and power.

Another clip we looked at was from American Gangsta. The main focus of this clip was to look at who was in charge. To do this we looked at camera shots and how they showed who we thought was in charge. In the end we decided the man in the hat was in charge.
Here are some reasons why we thought this:

• He is either always in the scene or the camera will pan to him.
• He is the last shot in the clip, this shows his significance.
• The audience never fully see his face adding mystery and unnerving to his character. 
• Close up shows he is an important character and will continue in the movie's plot.

Camera shots can be used to show a lot about a character without saying anything. They can give the audience an idea of status and power but also what will happen in the next scene and further in the film/tv show.