Pre Production: Analysis of George Washington (2000)

George Washington (2000)

After this film was suggested by simon, I thought it would be a good idea to take notes and look at the way in which the story is told. 

Visuals

The first thing I noticed when being introduced to a character, you are shown individual actions before seeing their face, this gives the audience an indication on their characteristics without just watching them fully. It adds an artistic feel to it also.

• When looking at the framing through out the film, I would say it is very simplistic yet effective. They would either place things centrally or within the 'rule of thirds' as pictured below and would hold that shot just a little bit longer than you'd expect. Thus indicating the importance of what is shown but also gives you a moment to think about what is shown and also sets the scene a little bit more. 

• It is important to note that the majority of shots where quite shaky and continued to have a very realistic approach instead of the usual smooth shots that you'd see in movies. The camera would randomly zoom in and out at times (crash zoom) This is definitely something that I would want to incorporate within my piece to ensure it maintains a realistic style.

• When it comes to characters having conversations, there was a similar pattern of shots used through out. Characters would usually be centered in a simple 2 shot, in an intimate setting with minimal cuts. I noticed that the dialogue was quite lengthy as well, each character had significant things to say which really illustrated their character.

• I was a little confused at times through out the film. For example I wasn't sure if the shots below where foreshadowing George's future or whether he was actually talking to the person behind bars. But I liked the idea of having similar shots mirroring the past/ present. 

Sound Design 

There were a few interesting things I noticed about the sound design. Firstly, There would be one particular sound that would be focused on during a scene. For example; 

During this scene you were only able to hear the banging of the iron, no ambient noises such as wind blowing etc. In another scene you could also only hear the birds chirping instead of any other sounds that would normally be heard. 

• Another important detail is their choice of voice over to tell the story as well as visuals. Personally this isn't something that I would've thought about doing but it has definitely opened my eyes to the possible effects it could have. In this film it had a very poetic effect. 
• There was hardly ever any non-diabetic sounds through out. Very minimal music and if it was added, it would be coming from a music source in the scene. Again, this helps maintain the realistic style and allows the story to be told mostly by the characters and the setting.