Cinematography

Task: Choose two extracts from different eras (e.g. one from the 1940's and one from 1990's) and analyse the cinematography. What are the key differences?

The film trailer for "Pride and Prejudice" is from the 1940's and therefore this is the reason for why the trailer is in black and white (no colour). During the "Pride and Prejudice" film trailer, the types of shots which have been used are mainly medium shots or long shots. The medium shots have been used when a character is introduced in the trailer. The use of this is to inform the audience watching, which character in the film is played by which actor and hence the reason why the shots are not long shots otherwise the audience would not be able to see the actor properly. A medium for this is most appropriate and sensible to ensure that the audience know who is who in terms of the characters in the film.

The long shot in the film trailer; which took place at 0:43 seconds; creates suspense as we as the audience do not know what the characters are doing. Also the shot is taken in the perspective of a character therefore we are able to see what they are apparently seeing. This is known as a point-of-view shot which is used in order for the audience to feel as if they're in the characters position  This creates the feel as if you're in the characters shoes and are in the scene. On the other side of this, this shot creates much tension due to the fact that the other 5 characters in the scene are staring right back at you with a suspicious look on their faces therefore we as the audience are unsure on what exactly has gone on.

The film trailer for "Rocky V" is from the 1990's and comparing it to the previous film there are obvious differences such as the colour. "Rocky V" is in colour whereas "Pride and Prejudice" is in black and white. Another clear difference is the genres in which they both are; "Pride and Prejudice" is a romantic film and "Rocky V" is a boxing film. Looking at the types of camera shots used in the film trailer for "Rocky V", you are able to see a lot more of a variety of them compared to the previous film. For example, the types of shots which have been used are as followed...
- Long shots
- Close ups
- Medium shots
- Low angle shot

The trailer portrays the main character as a hero due to the long shot used in the beginning of the trailer. The use of a long shot is used in order to show almost a silhouette of the main character which therefore shows his achievements and him succeeding in whatever he does/did complete. The use of the close ups in the trailer emphasis's the amount of hard work, dedication and training he had to do in order to succeed however despite this, he still achieved his goal. Another shot which has this same effect on us as the audience is the low angle shot of the main character as he stands over the person which is has defeated. The fact that he is shown in a low angle shot and we are able to see him standing over the person he's beaten therefore portrays him as a winner and represents the power which he has at that moment in time. On the other end of the scale, the use of low angle shots also portrays another person in the trailer with power at 0:47 seconds which therefore suggests the fact that their could be tension or a dilemma between the two characters shown in the trailer with dominance.

Linking back to the first point about the use of long shots, they are also used in the trailer to represent the main characters downfall in terms of what he does in the film. The use of other long shots used in the trailer allows us to come to the prediction that there will be a downfall in terms of the main characters life and this may lead to him possibly being defeated or something similar to this.

Looking both these film trailers, I've come to the conclusion that "Pride and Prejudice" has less camera angles and camera views which is probably due to less technology during the time (1940's), whereas the "Rocky V" trailer consists of way more camera angles; as the film was produced in the 1990's; therefore were more advanced in terms of the available technology. Another fact which should be taken into consideration is that they are both different genres of films hence why you are not going to see a lot of low angle shots in "Pride and Prejudice" as the main character(s) would not need to be portrayed as the dominant person or vice versa.