Cinematography

Today, the movie industry has become a huge moneymaker in the entertainment business. You cannot turn on the television without seeing advertisements for the next big blockbuster film. While most of the films these days entertain with amazing special effects or raunchy comedy, there are still films that thrive because of great acting, directing, and editing. Three films that I believe would be great examples of the way these aspects can cause a film to excel are ?Any Given Sunday?, ?The Cell?, and ?Almost Famous?. ?Any Given Sunday? shows how, by using editing, a movie can portray an intense situation realistically. In ?The Cell?, color is used to differentiate between how we see things in reality and how things are seen inside our heads. ?Almost Famous? is a great example of the ways that sound and acting can enhance the quality of a film.

Al Pacino, as run-down head coach Tony D?Amato, and Jamie Foxx, as energetic quarterback Willy Beaman, star in this behind the scenes look at the conflicts that occur inside a modern day professional football team. While the backstabbing and stubbornness of people involved in a football program are greatly exaggerated in this movie, I chose it because of its portrayal of the on-the-field action. Having played football in high school, this is the first film that has been able to effectively capture the speed and intensity through the movie screen. The movie gives you the emotions of every type of person involved in the football game. Every view from the players on the field to the coaches on the sidelines to the fans in the crowd and watching on television is shown. Quick cuts of slightly blurred panning shots along with close-up shots of the intense looks on players faces many times give the viewer the feeling that they are involved in the play themselves. The movie also geniously uses a combination of true speed and slow motion scenes to allow the viewer to experience both the speed and intensity of the moment at the same time. One montage begins with the team walking up to the line in true speed, goes to slow motion as Beaman surveys the defense, goes to full speed as the lines crash into each other on the snap and a defender closes in on Beaman. Then as soon as the hit is made, it is switched back to slow motion to highlight the viciousness of the hit. Betwe...

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...as the artists are still shell-shocked from what had just occurred. Possibly an even better example of sound or music having a major role in this movie is a scene closer to the middle of the film. The day following major argument, followed by an acid binge by arguably the band?s leader had caused the tension in the band to culminate. On the bus, no one is talking to anybody else and the band seems on a crash course for a breakup. Then, the song ?Tiny Dancer? by Elton John comes on the radio. One band member begins to sing along and before you know it every person on the bus has joined in singing together. Just that one song was able to make them all realize that it is about the music and they could not let minor differences break them up. Instances like this happen over and over in this film making it a perfect example of the inspiration sound can bring to a movie.

These three films each stand out in different aspects of cinematography and make their respective movie better because of it. After watching these films viewers should have a better idea of what makes a movie great and what things to look for themselves the next time they go to the theatre.