Importance of Shot Selection

Shot Selection and Camera Techniques

One of the ways Media language works is to convey meaning through the way a scene is set up and filmed.  Throughout my trailer connotations can be construed from the way key pieces of action have been filmed. 

In Training Together Scene

For example, the use of wide angle shots showing the girls training together emphasized, for the audience, the contrast in background, status and power between the players.  Both girls are simultaneously in the frame which initially gives the audience a view of the differences in ability, dress and levels of confidence.  Through the use of fast motion and fast cutting in the scene the audience could see the speed at which the underdog was improving and get emotionally involved in the race against time.  The action sequence is accompanied with an upbeat “Rocky” inspired soundtrack with supports the ideological representation of the girls determination to make it work together.  The montage of shots finishes with the 2 girls performing synchronized star jumps in perfect time together with the connotation that they have formed a partnership and the underdog is starting to be accepted into the tennis society.

The Handshake

Meaning was also established through gesture and special effects in the trailer.  For example a particularly significant moment was captured and emphasized through the use of a slow motion close up of the 2 girls shaking hands at the end of a practice match in which the underdog beat the champion.  The handshake, is what Saussure terms a “signifier” which symbolised a change in the character of the champion, a shift in power within their relationship and a visual representation of mutual respect.  It also signified the moment of societal acceptance for the underdog.

Relationships

Sound effects were also used in conjunction with camera shots to add meaning and to stimulate a response from the audience eg laughter, empathy, anxiety.  For example, sound effects were used to denote the contrasting relationship the tennis coach had with both players.  The portrayal of the coach in the trailer is paradoxical:  in his relationship with the champion he is the instiller of discipline.  For example, as he deals with champion he harshly blows his whistle, glares disapprovingly at his stopwatch and aggressively confronts the champion when she arrives late at training. “You’re late,” and the tone of the dialogue is reinforced through the ominous loud ticking noise of the stopwatch (diegetic sound effect) emphasized further through the use of a zoom in.  This acted literally as a ticking bomb symbolising that time was running out.

In contrast, his relationship with the underdog is that of a motivator fulfilling what Propps describes as the dispatcher/helper role.  This role is highlighted through the incorporation of a motivational sound motif accompanying his positive interaction with the new player.  Meaning is also created through the use of high angle shots give which give the audience the impression of a mutually accepted and established authoritative relationship between the underdog and the coach.  

Emotions

In order to change the audiences allegiance with the champion and establish their support for the underdog a series of close ups were used throughout the trailer.  For example, the audience was drawn in to the emotional struggle faced by the underdog when through a close up she tells the audience directly “I’ll never be good enough.”    This was designed to evoke a sympathetic response from the viewer.