12 Years A Slave - Micro features Analysis (1st Draft)

 12 Years a Slave is a drama adaptation of the 1853 Slave narrative by Solomon Northup, a New York born state free African-American man who is kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery. Solomon works on various plantations across the state of Louisiana for 12 harsh years before his release.I chose to analyse this particular scene in '12 Years a Slave' as it was one of the most hard hitting moments for me in the whole film, the scene features the protagonist Solomon as he fights for his life after being hung by the slave owners assistant Tibeats. Within the scene there are many micro features that are used in order to portray how a horrifying situation like this would of been viewed as normal for many people at the time. I will be looking at how performance,cinematography and sound is effective in doing this throughout the 3 minute scene. 

Firstly the use of cinematography is very effective through out the scene as a variation of shots are used in order to show the surroundings of Solomon but also to give the audience an idea of how long he had to endure the severe pain for as the day continued. There was a  complete juxtaposition of the bright colours in the trees and the grass compared to what Solomon was experiencing as he tiptoed in the muddy pit in order to stay alive, I thought this  conveyed the theme of major injustice as he suffered this extreme punishment for standing up against a man who intended to whip him for no reason but because he enjoyed doing it. A medium long shot is also used pointing the camera towards the slave owners house as we see Solomon hanging ,I think this again shows major injustice and  hatred as we know if the slave owner was stood on his balcony he would want solomon saved immediately but the overseer acted completely oblivious to him even being there, suggesting he isn't fazed by watching such a horrific act like this shows pure hatred. A close up of Solomon is used when someone attempts to help save his life by giving him water, in the close up we see him covered in mud where he has been thrown around by the group of men who hanged him, this for me showed how some people(Tibeats in this example) completely dehumanised Black people as Tibeats treated him inhumanely by hanging him in a dirty muddy pit to die. I think the grand white house in the background of the shot is purposely in this scene to again show how unfairly and discustingly Black people were treated during this time compared to White people, we know Solomon really should be at home with his loving family in his own house, but instead has been hung outside someone else's for something so little as standing up for himself. Finally a long shot is taken in which Solomon is placed central still hanging as the day becomes evening, I thought this again emphasised the normallity of this situation for many people back then as he was ignored during the day then forgot about as people went to sleep, the weather in this shot also possibly symbolising his life as the sun goes down and his life runs out. 

The performance of all the actors in the scene made it seem like this horrifying event was a normal everyday occurrence (which is possible) as all but one person acted almost completely oblivious to what was happening to Solomon, other slaves probably avoided aiding Solomon as they also did not want to suffer the same severe punishment. One of the best examples of this is were we see an over the shoulder shot of Solomon which includes young children playing in the background, we see the young innocent children laughing and playing with each other not even acknowledging Solomon's situation. This could suggest that they are so used to such traumatic incidents that it no longer bothers them, or more likely that most people just faced the tremendous fear of such punishments happening to them and therefore did not become involved. Chiwetel Ejiofor who plays Solomon Northup was also key in making this scene all the more accurate as he did not attempt to struggle or escape the noose as he knew no one apart from the Slave Owner would help to save his life. This could possibly portray the loneliness Solomon endured as a slave as he clearly had no one willing to risk their own lives in order to save his, this is made obvious by the other actors in the scene(due to their convincing performances) as most of them do not even acknowledge him, never mind attempt to save his life. 

Finally I thought sound in the scene was key in providing the audience with an accurate description of the severe pain Solomon endured throughout the incident and how his surroundings completely juxtaposed with what he was going through. Throughout the scene we constantly hear the buzzing of the insects in the fields surrounding Solomon, this buzzing could usually be associated with a hot summers day, which in this case it is for many people not having to suffer Solomon's punishment, in contrast to that we hear Solomon chocking quitely as he struggles to stay alive. I thought this comparison could possible represent the insignificance of Solomon's life to many people on the plantation as they probably couldn't even hear him as the buzzing of the insects was louder than him chocking. This could also show how many people at the time attempted to avoid and forgot about the horrors happening in the world, just like how the noise of the insects was louder than Solomon dying allowing people to block out what was actually happening to him. 

In Conclusion I think the cinematography,sound,and performance used in this scene was very effective as it allowed an insight into how badly Black people where treated during the Slave Trade era ,and gave an accurate visual description of some of the sort of horrific incidents that many people endured and experienced in that time. I personally think the main theme this scene presented was the major injustice many people suffered due to the evil hatred and power of others,just like Tibeats who was clearly not as well educated as Solomon but had complete power and authority over him due to the laws of Slavery at the time. 

Soft & Wasp - Short Film Analysis

Soft and Wasp are both short films set in modern day London which illustrate a specific stereotypical group of people and are surrounded with similar themes, both of the films are based around the responsibilities of a pearent in two completely different circumstances. I personally think the performance of all actors in both films were outstanding, as all characters were effectively very believable in both films resulting in the hard hitting relatable topics of bullying and poverty being shown in a different perspective due to use of predominantly cinematography and mis en scene. 

In 'Soft' we see a young boy being bullied by a large group that we later on find out to be his age and expelled from school. I think the antagonist was clearly shown by his costume as he wore an eye catching white track suit, I thought this specific use of costume showed him to be a dangerous character (almost psychopathic) as not many people would wear white tracksuits showing he doesn't really care what people think of him possibly making him more reckless than the other bullies he was with, his actions also clearly showed him as this psychopathic character as not many teenagers would push a grown man they don't know to the floor randomly. The use of digetic music being played by the son upstairs clearly showed the relationship between father and son being broken as I thought the music acted like an audial barrier as the son didn't even want to acknowledge his Father, this also could of been the boys coping mechanism of bullying as he may of been listening to the music so loudly in attempt to forget the bullies existence. In terms of cinematography i thought the use of the POV mobile phone camera was very effective as we knew immediately when the camera came on that the scene would become violent as the teenagers focused on filming the group leader carry out some sort of attack on various characters, i thought the clever use of this micro feature also gave us an insight into peoples thoughts on bullying like this as they see filming these occurrences as funny not relalsing the seriousness of the sitution and the upset it may cause, showing us the mindset many bullies have in todays society. 

In 'Wasp' the film is based on a rough estate in London where a young mother attempts to balance out her own social life with the lives of her kids. I thought this film displayed a perspective on a shocking lifestyle people may have to endure in result of having no money, the storyline was only made more shocking as the kids involved in it were so young. I think the cinematography used was very clever as the shaky camera enhanced the feeling of poverty as it seemed like the film may of been low budget because of this, where as if filmed professionaly the film wouldn't of seemed so low budget resulting in a cleaner, better flowing film which doesn't mirror the context of the film itself. The Mis en Scene also added to the topic of poverty as the bare footed mother who only had mouldy bread and sugar emphasised how the seriousness of their situation giving us a clear image of exactly how poor the family are. The metaphorical Wasp also gave us a message of how they are desperate to escape their poverty stricken lives just as the wasp was so desperate to fly out of the window, I think it was ironic how the wasp could of possibly killed the young brother at the end maybe symbolising how hunger could of killed the child but he escaped it by eating food his sister found on the floor just as the wasp flies out of his mouth and he escapes possible death. 

I think both of these films covered extremely hard hitting themes that many people may forgot about in todays society due to it no effecting their own lives, it was a clear reminder that bullying and poverty is still very much active in todays era. I think the clever use of Cinematography and Mis en Scene was key in enhancing these themes as in 'Soft' the POV phone camera used made the teenagers more relatable to young people today and the Mis en Scene in 'Wasp' gave us a clear description of how many people sadly have to live in todays society due to a lack of money. 

Fishtank - Film Analysis

Fish Tank is a 2009 socially realistic British drama directed by Andrea Arnold, Mia Williams is the protagonist in the film and we get an insight on what it is like for a 15 year old girl trying to reach her own personal achievements (becoming a dancer) and what her relationships are like with her family and other characters while living on a poverty stricken estate in east London.The film is in a chronological linear structure as we get a glimpse of Mia's life over a week/ two weeks.  

Micro-features are used in the form of various POV and over the shoulder shots throughout the film in order to make us feel like we are actually there giving us a real insight on what life is like for Mia, it also allows us to symphasise for Mia as seeing much of the film in POV shows us  precisely what she sees from day to day life living on a rough estate. In terms of mis en scene we immediately realise Mia is pretty much neglected by her mother due to her not having many possessions, her cheap tracksuits and speakers help the audience to quickly make judgement on her due to her possibly being associated with a stereotypical troublesome teenager. We also know she drinks and smokes which adds to the thought of this but we later on find out that really even though she may just come across as a sterotypical troublesome teenager due to all these factors and her attitude towards people at the beginning of the film (as she swears and head butts another young girl), she later on shows that she is not just this, as throughout the film her character develops and we see her show compassion and love towards other key characters including Connor and her sister Tyler. Her determination in order to achieve her goals is also evident but unfortunately much of this is altered due to the film being realistic of her circumstances and it being very hard for her to achieve her goals as she has no money and no support from her mother. We see her being let down continuously through the film as we find out Connor who first comes across as a possible father like figure ultimately seduces her and then proceeds to have sex with her, the other major let down was when she turns up to a long anticipated dance audition which results in her walking out as she finds the audition to be for pole dancing at a strip joint. I think both of these plot twists were put in place to give us a harsh sense of what reality is like for many deprived young people, these were possibly so effective as we know Andrea experienced poverty as a child in the uk allowing much of the language and props used to be a accurate description of what it is really like. 

In my opinion Andrea Arnold effectively used cinematography and first hand experiences in terms of the mis en scene used to create a hard hitting film giving us a strong insight on what life is like for some young people, I thought Connors character was key in doing this as even though his sexual intentions towards Mia may be seen leading up to the Climax in there storylines, he was still a likeable character (possibly due to him acting like a Father to the sisters and providing Mia with the camera allowing her to pursue her dream), his character may of been used to explain that people are deceiving and manipulating in todays world and may not be who we think they are, this was clearly shown as we later find out he lives a more sustainable lifestyle having his own house and family compared to Mia who lives on a rough estate and has broken relationships with her mother.

Ralph - Short Film Analysis

'Ralph' is a short film directed by Alex Winckler, the short film features a 16 year old English boy who travels to Marseille in France to declare his love to a girl we know to be named Claire. The film is laid out in a linear structure, resulting in Ralph's actions being filmed chronologically throughout as we see what he experiences from when he arrives to Marseille to when he eventually finds Claire towards the end of the film.

The Director purposely uses a long shot from the outset when Ralph arrives in France at the train station to show the loneliness he is feeling and maybe even foreshadow the loneliness he will feel in the future due to being lost in a foreign country and having no one to help him on his journey to find Claire. Cinematography is further used at the train station to emphasise his lonliness in the form of a crane shot, the crane shot shows Ralph centre frame as he stands in the middle of the train station with only his suit case, this gives the audience the impression Ralph is completely lost in an unknown environment as many people walk around him like he's not even there. Mise en scene is used also to convey thoughts of Ralph being an outside as he wears a bright red t-shirt making him stand out from the crowd, making him look out of place in his surroundings. A long panoramic shot is used to show him crossing the bridge again showing his loneliness but also the graffiti in the background could possibly suggest he is entering a dangerous area, I think this shows the determination of his character as he travels around an unknown place (possibly dangerous) carrying his heavy suitcase, also the lengths he will go to in order to find Claire. I think the suitcase prop could possibly signify the emotional baggage he is carrying as we see him struggling to pull it around as he searches for Claire, as soon as he realises Claire has found love in 'Lorenzo' it is like closure happens on his love for her, this is also shown as he walks comfortably down the road after the waiter, almost like his emotional baggage has been lifted by this. Both the use of realistic every day background noise and the french dialogue also added to creating the relatable experience of being lost in a unknown/foreign place. I personally liked this short film as I thought it created a realistic relatable experience very quickly as we saw Ralph struggle to pursue his love for Claire and eventually find new love for the waiter, leaving us wondering if his journey ended in love or just disappointment.