Indiana Jones and Inja (Dog)
Starting off we have a man who appears to be the main character carefully replacing a statue in a tomb. He appears to be a treasure hunter and rather cunning. We can determine this from his adventure cowboy style clothes and gear as well as his methods. In the beginning he weighs a sac of sand to replace the gold ideal, this shows intelligence as well as the ability to determine the weight of large amounts of gold which can’t be done without sophisticated skills..
The whip along with his hat symbolize his freedom; and are key tools in his trade. The beginning starts of slowly as he replaces the ideal with the sac of sand.
After the trap is triggered the sequences speed up as the place falls apart. These are quick shot sequences and used to portray the action of the situation. Constant stimulation as our hero tries his best to escape the cave of imminent death. These shots are fast paced and exciting, they embody the hero and his journey.
Both Inja and the start of Indiana Jones have major descriptive qualities portrayed without the use of words. With Indiana Jones, we can easily see the film is about adventure and action from the get go. Inja although using some words; paints a sound picture of a place of the past and an almost calm serial setting. Although this does take a turn for the worse at some points in the movie, mainly when the ranch owner beats the dog portraying a much darker sequence in the film.
The first shots of the short film Inja are subject shots introducing a man, a boy and his dog. Then a wide shot to get the surrounding area. The feeling of the place is immediately introduced. The man is white and appears to be of status, we can assume he owns this farm.The boy and other characters appear to be his help and and by the South African flag seen later we can determine they are of Zulu decent.The boy and the dog have a loving relationship. Shorter clips are used here to give the playful feeling of the characters running around. We have the workers singing hymns while the boy and his dog play. A relaxing slow atmosphere is created here. This atmosphere ends with a wide angle shot of the man. As the shots zoom in on him we notice he seems to be eyeing the boy and dog. The man calls the boy over and a pan shot follows the boy running to the older mans call. The man notices the dog and the shots become close up of the boy and man. The man tries to get the dogs attention but fails asking the boy to whistle for him. We get the implication here that the dog is loyal to the boy. The man then asks the boy to put the dog in a sack, upon his refusal the shots switch back and forth between the boy and man implying drama between the characters as the man puts the dog into a sac and begins kicking it mercously. This shot is a combination of quick clips of the boy in shock and the man kicking the dog, it gives us a sound impression of the boys distress at this action. After this happens the man tells the boy to release the puppy, the boy says “but if I release him he will think it was me”. At the boys refusal the video goes to a directional shot of the man raising and aiming the gun at the implied placement of the boy. The next shot we see the boy releasing the dog and a shot of the dog running away. In this quick shot the dog runs out of the view of the camera implying retreat and fear. The screen cuts to the boys face as the relaxing Zulu music starts to play and a fade out is used to transition into the next shot.
Using a fade out to end this segment of the story made for a smooth transition and a feeling of transitioning into the chapter to come and a later date in time. As the next shot fades in we see a similar but much older version of the boy. A follow shot pans up a pole as the man works beside it. The continued motion of the shot and the man going about his responsibilities provides the feeling of tranquility that seems to show throughout the short film amplified by the South African song sung in the background.
The boy notices a biker and a directional shot is used here to show the man moving from left to right as the bike comes down the road from right to left. This implies the two people will meet up in the next scene. The boy meets a friend and they begin to talk sports, a single pan shot is then used to show the dog running towards the gathering, obviously protecting his territory. The dog chases the boys friend down the road and out of view.
We then fade out and back in on the ranch and the man, in this shot the wife brings him medication and it becomes clear he is much older. The wife says “take it easy” as the boy and man walk away towards the fields with the dog. This implies the man is not in the best health. The next shot we see is the boy attempting to dig up a fence post. The older man becomes frustrated and helps the boy, straining himself in the attempt. They get the post out and sit down for lunch. A nut falls on the mans hat and the two begin to laugh. This shot is particularly useful in breaking up the tension of the earlier footage. They finnish lunch and again the man is watching the boy work. This time hammering a post. The image flows between the man and the boy as the man takes the hammer and begins doing the work himself. A few whacks and he falls to the ground with what appears to be a heart attack. The boy runs to get the man’s pills but the dog is protecting the man. The man tells the boy he must shoot the dog.
The final shot is of the boys face when he realizes he must end the dogs life to save his boss. The shot quickly flicks to the dog and back to the boy as a gunshot rings out and the Zulu music once again begins to play, ending the film. Again we get to see the look on the boys face, as if asking what it was all for? In the end the dogs loyalty to the farm owner only caused his unnecessary death.
Indiana Jones and Inja are both very visually descriptive movies. Although they use limited words the feeling portrayed through the shots is obvious and describes exactly what is needed for the films to come across correctly to the audience.
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