Practise Essay on a Movie Shot

This picture displays a rural country with a single man and his vehicle. The country seems barren and dull, lacking both colour and objects in the scenery. However, by using colour, lighting, setting,  camera position and focus, the message of "Barren and dull" has been emphasized.

By using colour in this picture, the scenery seems more barren than it was originally. The colour also makes the setting clear that they are in a dessert or rural country of some sort. Such as, by making the vehicle seem a dusky brown colour, the car blends into the surroundings making the item seem less apparent in the picture. By doing so, the viewer focuses on the surroundings more than the items in the surroundings. The only real colour is he background, that turns into a hazy blue, which draws the viewers attention.

The lighting also contributes to the whole purpose of the shot. You can clearly identify that it is day time, and that more light is being displayed on the front section of the picture. This then draws the viewers attention to the front of the picture, displaying a car and a man walking. The setting in this shot is a rural area, such as country or dessert. Using this background, the message of the picture becomes more clear, as the setting is not drawing the viewers attention. For example, if it were in the city instead, the audience would be looking at all the tall buildings and such, instead of the true meaning.

The camera position of this shot is using an extreme long shot, which makes it easier to identify the full frame of the picture. Using an extreme long shot (ELS), allows the viewers to see where the story is set, and also makes the items in the shot seem small and unimportant. The man in this picture seems very small, which emphasizes the idea that they are in a large rural setting. Lastly, focus in this picture is crucial in making the viewer look to the center of the shot. The focus seems to be mainly on the close, center section on the frame. Again, this makes people look to this area of the picture and can help identify the message of the shot.

Overall, it is clear to see that the story takes place in a rural setting, withholding only a few shrubs and vehicles. Although the message seems to be clear, that they are in a deserted area, without the use of colour, lighting, setting, camera position and focus, the true meaning would have been severely effected. Therefore, mise en scene and cinematography play a vital part in depicting the message of ones shot, making the viewers understand the picture more clearly.