EXAM QUESTION 1 - CAMERA WORK

PREP Analyse how camerawork is used in the extract to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples from the extract in your answer.
Worth 5 marks: write half a side of A4


In one of the beginning scenes we see a hippy, who has previously been arrested, protesting about her imprisonment and how it is unfair. The two detectives handling the case are Jake and Ryan. She states that her mother is a lawyer and Ryan says " we don't care what peoples parents do" the camera then does a focus pull to Jake's face which at first he looks confused but he then realizes the comment was actually about his Father so Jake gives the camera a sarcastic laugh. This specific technique can transition from one person saying one thing and the camera then transitions to show us the other characters reactions, especially Jake's . After the first focus pull the camera then moves to the other police officers show us that they are also laughing at the comment which then hurts Jake as the camera swerves again showing us his reaction to their reaction.

When Jo, a female police officer, is in the chief constables office and casually asks if he would like to go out with her, he immediately rejects her offer. The camera is then seen using a point of view shot of a picture frame sitting of the chiefs next of his wife and daughter. This specific shot cna help us as the audience figure out a bit more of these two character relations with each other. Showing us that they had an affair but the chief is stopping it and the reason why is because he has a family took protect, all this is shown by the camera pointing out the family portrait of his desk. Soon after being rejected there is a slow zoom onto Jo's face showing us the other side of this character. She is seen as old and drained due the the camera and the lighting.

During the chase between the burglars and the police force we see the camera change to a birds- eye view shot of both cars and the roads. This can allow us to see how hard the police force's jobs actually are as all the roads are very confusing and the speed of the cars is very high. This also allows us to sympathize with Ryan and Jake as we see it from above which gives us the whole idea of the difficulty, that is chasing someone down.