A
A:
The Film begins with a wide shot of a child farming with some other older people and then leaving to play with a dog. I Think the director chose this shot as an opening to give first some background about what the characters do (farming) and then introducing the two characters and that will be the main topic of the film (the child and dog). The next scene consists of close shots of a flag being raised. This is an important scene because later in the film a different flag is raised and the viewer is supposed to infer that this film takes place during a change in political movements. The next scene depicts the child taking rope from the flag to use as a leash for the dog. Soft music is played to suggests a mood of peace and happiness between the child and dog. A man is introduced into the film with a shot of him looking out a window. The man has a gun and takes the child for a walk. The gun suggests power. In the next scene this man exercises his power over the boy by hurting the dog and the scene mostly consists of close shots of the boy and the mans face, suggesting emotion. Facial expressions are important in this scene. The dog no longer likes the child and music is played and the next scene shows a new flag being raised, suggesting time passing. A shot shows the man taking medicine this foreshadows something that will happen later A scene shows the boy and the man working on putting a stake in the ground together. It seems like the man who hurt the dog is either the boys friend, boss or master. A shot shows the man fall to the ground in pain. It seems that the man is having a heart attack and because he made the dog mean at a young age the boy is not able to give the man medicine. If the man had not made the dog mean the boy wouldn’t have had to shoot the dog. This scene where the boy shoots the dog shows a lot of close shots of the boy and the dogs face. This is reminiscent of the scene in the beginning where the boy is young and playing with the dog because both scene showed a lot of close shots of the boy and the dogs face suggesting emotion.
B:
1. How are the characters introduced? Through the course of the movie, how do their actions define who they are?
Inja: The Boy the dog and the older man are the main characters in this story. The Boy is introduced along as he works in the farm, this shot is succeeded by a shot of the boy playing with the dog. The two seem very close and the boy seems to care very much about the dog. This seen is succeeded by the title seen, signifying the importance of the boys relationship with the dog. The older man is introduced in a shot where he is seen from a distance looking out of a window at the boy and the dog. This introduction is ominous and suggests that the older man may bother the boy and his dog.
Indiana Jones: Two characters are introduced in this scene. Indiana Jones and an unnamed sidekick. Indiana is first seen in a medium close up holding a bag in his hand in front of a golden idol. He appears to be sweating and intensely engaged in what he is doing. The sidekick is introduced in a wide shot looking down in him. The angle is condescending and the man is rubbing his hands together fantasying about taking the idol. The way both characters are introduced is different Indiana Jones looks focused while his sidekick seems anxious.
2. How is the setting portrayed? What is the sense of space in the movie—what do you see or not see in the world that these characters inhabit?
Inja: The setting takes place on a dry farm that appears to be in south Africa according to the flag. The flag an important piece of the setting because it shows that time is passing and that the time period between the two flags shown has had change during it. It seems like there is a lot of space in the movie based on their environment however it seems like the characters are confined to a small amount of space because you dont see them go anywhere else.
Indiana Jones: The scene takes place in a small stone room, the characters are sweating and seem tense. The small room contributes to the sense of urgency that you can see in the characters.
3. What types of shots do you see in the film? How do the filmmakers use photography to set a tone and style?
Inja: There is a lot of close up shots in this film, in particular the scenes that have the most emotion show the most amount of facial expression. This is effective because efficiently portrays the mood and feelings of the characters. most of the shots of the boy look down on him until the end when he takes the gun to shoot the dog. In this scene the camera looks up on the boy
Indiana Jones: This film has a lot of shots of Indiana jones facial expression as he reacts to various conflicts throughout the film. As he struggles to reach his whip or anything to pull him out of the hole that he falls into the camera zooms on his face and you can see the sweat and intensity in his expression.
4. What is the pace and style of the editing? Describe two cuts in the movie: between what shots do they occur and at what points in the story? In what ways do any edits add meaning to the shots or help the flow of scenes?
Inja: The cuts between the boy and the dog just before he shoots the dog do an incredible job at expressing the emotion between the two. The camera pans to the boys face and he looks at the dog with an expression that shows that he know what he has to do. The camera pans to the dogs face looking bag at boy before it cuts to black and you hear the gunshot. The choose of cutting to black suggests the drama in the scene.
Indiana Jones. There is actually a lot of cuts between the angles in this scene. In particular, as Dr. Jones is lifting the idol from the pedestal, the camera cuts between his hands, his face, the sand in his bag, the idol, his side kick and his side kicks hands. In this fifteen second scene the camera changes angles more then usual. This contributes to the tension and urgency in this scene.
5. What visual and sonic elements create a strong impact? What are your reactions to the short movie? Consider both your thoughts and emotions.
Inja: The music in inja plays a huge role at expressing emotion in the story. The film begins with music, the music is not sad but its not happy either. The mood is foreboding but seems unsure. The same music is played as the boy grows older and you see him bringing down a different flag. The film ends with the music after the camera cuts to black and you hear a gunshot. This resolves the unsure mood that the music suggested throughout the film.
Indian Jones: After Indiana Jones swaps an audio track of intense cave sounds and moving rocks begins. As the bag of sand sinks into the pedestal, you begin to hear rocks grinding and it sounds like the cave is about to fall apart. This creates tension in the scene.
Comments