Cinematography Homework

AS Film – Cinematography Homework – Public Enemies             James Jones

The scene starts with the two characters, John Dillinger and Polly, arriving in a car. The scene uses a medium close up shot, with Dillinger in the background. It uses the rule of thirds, placing Polly to the left and Dillinger to the right. Our attention is on Dillinger, as it is revealed he has changed his identity again. An establishing shot is then used to show us where they had driven to, and this reveals a vital piece of information about the possible danger that Dillinger is in, being public enemy number one.

When they enter the department, the rule of thirds is used again to show the environment around Dillinger and how it is a dangerous place for him to be. It builds tension between the character and the audience, and gets us thinking about what he is possibly doing.  Dillinger is also looking around and at the officers surrounding him, as if he is nervous and unsure about why he’s doing what he is doing, while Polly is confident due to her being oblivious to the type of danger Dillinger is in. Dillinger then walks into the centre of the screen, giving a close up of him. This shows his emotion and (now) confidence about managing to get himself into the building without hassle. Officers are shown to be walking in and out of the building around him, and this builds a dangerous atmosphere and tension as we fear that Dillinger could be caught.

A handheld shot is used to follow Dillinger from behind as he walks to his location. This type of shot is used to build suspension as he is in the centre of the screen and we can’t see what his target is. It keeps our attention and then surprises us when we learn where Dillinger is going.

The use of props is used once Dillinger is inside the room. It uses things such as pictures of Dillinger and newspaper cut outs from his infamous breakout from prison. This indicates that the squad truly are keeping track of what he does, and reminds us of scenes earlier in the film. A cut in is also used to again show the danger that Dillinger is in, as it cuts in to show us a police badge on a desk while a person is typing. Is also uses selective focus, to keep our attention on the badge and how close Dillinger is to the people who are hunting him.

We are then given the P.O.V from Dillinger as he inspects a board containing information about him and containing pictures of him.  It also uses close ups of his face, to show his emotion about the amount of effort put in to locating him. He also lifts his glasses down, to indicate that he is taking in everything that the detectives have on him with serious consideration. The close ups on his face are also at a slightly low angle, which makes us think that Dillinger is confident and shows that Dillinger is in control and the police aren’t.  Pictures of gangmembers who had died for Dillinger are also shown, giving the scene an emotional feeling as we know Dillinger was fond of his friends.  The last image is also of Dillinger, giving Dillinger a worrying look and gives a feeling that Dillinger will soon be killed, since his friends had failed to survive. After this moment, the camera angle also tilts slightly higher, to indicate that Dillinger’s fear has increased slightly.