Part 1: Even though the video is in a different language, the images in the video allow us to be able to truly understand what’s happening. For example, when the boy is raising the flag, it’s an image that familiar and universal in our own culture as we raise the American flag every day. We can tell by the flag that it’s in Africa but seems to be controlled by an outside party. The audio in the video is very well done, and clear, we can hear distinctive sounds, like the rubbing of rope, or the yip of a puppy. The video starts with a boy raising a flag, first focusing on his hands, then the whole picture. We see where he is, and what flag he is raising, and as the video continues we see the people who work with him, possibly his family. The close-up shots allow the viewers to see the emotions of the characters, especially at key points. For example, when the “owner” of the farm or land is kicking the dog, the camera zooms in on the boy and we see his look of confusion, sadness, anger and possibly contempt. Later in the video, the change in the flag, the worn rope, the dog growing shows the viewer that they’re in the future. At the beginning of the movie, we see how the man treats the puppy, by beating it and making it turn on the boy. It was for the owner’s personal benefit I guess, for the dog to bond with him and not his servant. This ends up biting him in the butt because when he has a heart attack, the dog won’t let his servant near him. So it’s either his servant kills the dog, the boy who was defending the puppy, or the owner dies. He beat the dog, but later on, the dog is the one who keeps his servant from saving his life.
Part 2: When and how characters are introduced into a film, can leaving a last impression of their character and values on the audience. In Inja, the characters are introduced without their names being said at first. Most specifically we see a young boy raising a flag and a little puppy. We don’t know the boy’s name at first, but we see how kind he is, he plays with the puppy and pets him. With a spare rope he makes a collar for the puppy, he could’ve done something else for himself, but he chose to use his free time to make the collar for the puppy. When the boy’s master is beating the dog, the boy tries to defend it, he sees it’s innocent and that what his master is doing is wrong. So even though he is very young he obviously knows what is right and what is wrong. In a different genre of film, a character or characters will be introduced in a different way, like them bursting through the door, or a window etc. In Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones is introduced in a scene that shows him taking a gold statue from its a sacred chamber. This particular opening scene gives the viewers a look into his character. He’s clever because he takes sand out of the bag that’s going to replace the statue. He’s trusting because he throws the statue to his “friend” and expects him to give him the whip. Although his “friend” betrayed him, we can see the sadness in his eyes when he sees the man impaled by the walls spikes, he holds a value for life, both his and other peoples. How a movie’s setting is portrayed is very important, it gives the viewers some basic information, that’s needed to guess what the movie is about. In Inja we hear singing in the background and see people in all the same clothing working. So the viewer’s can assume by the landscape that it’s most likely in Africa and that the people are either slaves or servants, most likely slaves due to their similar clothing. The wide shots give a feeling of an expanse, so the viewers get the idea that it’s a plantation or something similar, and a rather large one based on the shots of the land. The final key is when the boy is raising the flag, the smaller British flag imprinted on the main flag, shows that this is possible colonization. The flag allows the viewers to infer that the British are the authoritative power in this area or country. However, in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, viewers get a far different setting. The Main character is trying to take a golden statue from its a sacred resting place, is he a thief? An archeologist? Someone trying to protect it from others? The answers aren’t given right away, but the urgency and danger are felt, with the gloomy, dark surroundings, the ancient ruins, and the looks of intense focus on the character’s faces. When a movie is being filmed, different shots and camera angles can give certain feelings to the scenes, urgency, safe, dangerous etc. In the film Inja, they use close up shots to show viewers the boy’s face. First an extreme close up on his hands while he raises the flag, and then a close up on his face. In order to show his kindness and his playfulness with the dog, they use a two shot, the objects/people being the boy and the puppy. Later in the movie, we see a couple of close-ups of the boy ten years later, and when his master is having a heart attack, we can see the stress on his face. His sadness, and confusion as he needs to choose between his master or the dog who used to be his friend, but the master turned it against him. A bird’s eye view or an above shot of the master, while he’s experiencing his heart attack, allows viewers to see his pain, and make him seem isolated. His servant is probably less than ten feet away but the situation would seem less dier if the boy was in the shot with the man. While how the shots are done is important, the rate at which they are viewed can create a feeling of speed, and urgency or danger. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the shots of Indiana taking the statue are slow, and deliberative, like his movements. When he springs the trap unknowingly, the shots quicken, first a shot of him running away, then one turning the corner and dodging falling debris. A upward shot shows how deep the hole is when he tries to jump it. When he finds his “friend” who betrayed him dead, viewers get a medium close shot of him, allowing them to see the sadness in his eyes, before moving on. Pacing in a movie can let the viewer infer what type of a movie it will be. For example, in Inja, the pace is slow, it allows the viewers to take in the beautiful imagery of the landscapes, and the similar clothing that the people wear who work in the fields. The singing gives a warm-hearted feel, but when viewers see similar clothing, something seems a bit off-putting. The slow pace also allows for viewers to see the love between the boy and his master’s puppy, the filmmakers don’t edit out the warm and fluffy moments. They want there to be those heartwarming moments because they make the next few scenes so much more heartbreaking. Seeing the connection between the young boy and the dog is like a kick to the stomach when the next few scenes show how the master beats the puppy, and the boy looks up at his master with anger and disgust. The few clips are cut quickly, but the clips showing the faces of the characters are longer to provide the audience with emotional input, the master being cruel enough to beat a dog, and then let the boy be blamed for it, the boy being relatively innocent and kind-hearted. An action movie would be an exact opposite to his, filled with quick shots, and some close-ups to show emotion. One particular movie that does this well is Raiders of the Lost Ark form the Indiana Jones Franchise. Viewers get a few slower scenes in the beginning to provide context and setting, but the rest are of Jones running for his life, weaving around debris and death traps. The pace quickens as the clip goes on, until he’s finally out of danger, or so the viewers think. Some key shots to show his character are a little slower than the rest of the pace for the scene, but they’re not as slow as the ones in Inja. For example, when Indiana reaches for his whip under a dropping door, the viewers seen how this object means a lot to him, it represents his iconic character. Visual elements of a movie can enhance the storyline and the characters. If viewers see a person being afraid of an animal, and they see it’s a domesticated cat, the danger and feeling of suspense is lost, however, if it’s a large tiger the danger and suspense are kept in the film. Such visual aspects in Inja, allowed for emotions to be heightened as viewers not only saw the puppy being beat, but the boy’s face, and the calm, determined look on the master’s face. The sounds of this scene are just as important, if we saw the puppy being beat, then we would be upset, but the little, yelps and whimpers of the puppy had the ability to break even the coldest of hearts. In the last few seconds of the movie, when the master is having a heart attack, and he orders the boy to shoot the dog, viewers don’t see the dog getting shot. What they see is an image of a dog basking in the sun, calm, loyal and loving, and the sound of gunshot fills the air before the screen goes black. Seeing this is perhaps worse, than actually seeing the act of the dog being killed, because we don’t see it as the angry, dangerous animal it was when protecting its master, but as the loyal companion it was. The visual elements in Raiders of the Lost Ark create a sense of danger and action, the skulls still impaled from failed adventurers act as a warning for all others, but also a challenge for someone else to step forward and test their cleverness and luck. The way the statue is position on an altar, in a large room, makes it seems that much more valuable and important. It makes it feel as if the room itself was built for this sacred object, that the people who valued it so, made a sacred area and put numerous traps and fail-safes in case someone came looking to make an easy profit. Overall, I thought both short films were good, I didn’t really understand what the purpose of Inja was, whether it was to speak out against slavery, or dog abuse or something else, but overall it was a powerful short film, that left me wanting to know what happened next. Personally, I love the Indiana Jones movies and this scene is so iconic from my childhood because my father loved the movies as well, and we would watch them together. The character is lovable, with his sarcasm and wits. His double life is thrilling to watch, from his lectures in a classroom to him stopping evildoers from taking over the world. The Indiana Jones franchise is one of my favorite franchises and I was really happy that it was in the list of opening scenes Professor Blais chose.
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