Explain how Tarantino establishes the character of Jackie brown through camera shots and movement.
Tarantino establishes the character of Jackie Brown by showing her, and only her, in the frame for the opening. It starts with the first shot of a character being a tracking shot of Jackie Brown for 15 seconds - this time is used to establish the character seen as the main character and also a dominant character in the film. Even as the titles roll adjacent to her, the audience are still drawn to her as she is very dominant in the frame, being in blue, therefore standing out, contrasting the lighter, green, background.
The next few shots of people do not show their face in any detail, therefore keeping Jackie Brown in the forefront of people's minds. Again, a tracking shot is used, however this time it is a low angle shot; showing perhaps that Jackie is a main character and that the attention of the film will be on her, such as people looking up to her as her being superior. The fact that she is walking towards the left of the shot and everyone else in the shot is walking in the opposite direction, to the right, could be used as a metaphor for Jackie as a character, as she is not moving with the mass of people or 'following the crowd' because she is a black female with a lead role in a film and even at this time it was a brave thing of Tarantino to do.
A slightly low angle, medium shot from the front is used next to further show Jackie as a main character. The use of great focus only on Jackie, but having the background blurred and out of focus creates a strong connection to Jackie Brown. The next shot is a close up - relating even further to the character of Jackie Brown.
The use of the smart clothing, along with the bold colouring of the clothing means that Jackie will always stand out amongst the public and also the backgrounds - cleverly used by Tarantino to keep the audience's attention on her at all times. Also, a vast majority of the shots are just of Jackie Brown - from close up to low angle tracking shots, everything is keeping the audience's attention solely focused on this character.
The tracking shot where Jackie Brown is running shows an aeroplane in the background also moving in the same direction as Jackie. This could be used to show that Jackie is very similar to the aeroplane in that she is going places in her life and is directional in her approach.
A satisfactory analysis of how Tarantino uses specific camera shots and angles to connote Jackie's character. A little generalised, embedding specific screen shots to illustrate your points would strengthen.
ReplyDeleteYou say.... the forefront of people's minds...(2nd paragraph, you need to utilise media terminology, instead that Jackie dominates the screen thus establishing her iconic status in the audience's minds.
A little more independent research into the film, particularly the role of Jackie Brown would strengthen.