Learning outcome: Describe an important idea and explain why it was worth learning about, supporting your points with visual and / or oral language features.
Success Criteria: Explain how camera shots, and sound and visual techniques are used to help tell the story using examples from the text.
Directed by Gary Ross, the dystopian film 'Hunger games' used multiple camera shots and angles. A close up was used effectively by Gary Ross when Primrose was about to say her last goodbye before Katniss left for the annual hunger games. This makes the audience feel more connected to the scene, specifically Primrose. We feel her sadness as she says her goodbyes. The intention of this was so that the audience feels more engaged to the character in a direct and personal matter. Even though the audience starts to lose the characters surroundings, the actions o f the character is more intimate and impacts us on the way we view the film. Close up shot combined with the silence and over,-powering lighting increases the suspense giving more of a depth to the scene while drawing the viewers in.
Another camera shot that was used effectivly in this film is medium close-up. We see this during Katniss performance when she shot the apple from the pigs mouth as the committee is about to eat. The medium close-up helped me understand that she is not afraid of showing off to the committee. The director did this to make the audience feel engaged and connect to the scene as if we are part of it. Medium close-up combined with the bare lighting increases the suspense and and draws the attention of the audience. Because the angle is pointing down towards Katniss, it reveals that there is an imbalance of power between her and the committee.
The camera shot used in this particular scene is an extreme close up. The is used when Katniss is about to shoot the apple down onto the minefield to blow up the food supply. This helps to amplify emotional intensity when the camera is focused right onto her mouth. The way she exhales makes a huge differnce as it raises the suspense. The director did this to raise the intensity of the issue. An extreme close up combined with the blur of the background help to focus her mouth.
The last of many camera shots I will be showing you is a medium shot. This is demonstrated after Katniss found Peeta stuck in cement very much injured. This camera shot is where we start to feel engaged to the characters on a personal level. The director did this to help the audience connect with the film a little more as it is approximately of how close another would be when having a causal conversation with them. A medium shot with the background noise of the waterfall makes us feel a little more calm during this intense scene.
