Film Study - The Hunger Games

Opening Scene:
Music:
Slow(Timbre)
Minor tone (often means something bad is happening or about to happen.)
Silence: Grabs Attention

Camera Shots: Mid Shots - To show facial and body language
Closeup - Katniss and Prim, To show emotions
Wideview - See setting, get more information at once
Extreme Closeup - Focus on specific information eg, the sign says “Danger!”
Tracking Shot - showed how her surroundings changed, that she was going somewhere.
Shaky camera - More realistic, unsettling, as if it’s running with her, makes sense for the scene; during district 12 opening

Dialogue:Crane and Caeser - Celebration “ Knitting people together”
Cranes “Style” of game making make Prim cry and Scream.
Prim dreams it was her selected
Katniss says “It’s your first time, you won’t get picked” - Foreshadowing

Colour and Lighting:The interview - Saturated colours, very bright. Neon, very artificial. Cold light.
District 12 - Dull, Bland, natural, Dark, Cold light as well.

The Reaping:
Music:
Capitals video - major
saying it is a good
War in the past was worse
Rest the music - minor
Kids are terrified

Camera Shots:
Close up -
Katniss’ reaction to Prim’s name being called
Effie - about to read names
See her makeup
Shows how she is different from everyone else
Shows she is rich

Medium range -
Effie Takes Katniss & Peeta away
When Katniss is in the crowd

Long/wide shot -
Effie looking out
To see the mass of people

Panning -
When people show respect and lift their fingers for her

Point of view -
Katniss looking for Prim
When giving sing of respect
Watching the capital’s film
When Katniss walked upstarts - Extra Shaky to show her fear

Flashback -
A memory of Peeta and the bread
Show she knows him
He helps her


Dialogue:
Reading out the names
Calm at first, then screaming
“I volunteer, I volunteer as tribute” - Sister bond
First Volunteer from District 12
Effie -
surprised - volunteer makes her feel better - would get a promotion
Excited - entertainment
Calm - doesn’t have to sacrifice



Propaganda - Information that gives a bias opinion to sway someone.
Post-truth
Where do we see it?
Video from capital
The game itself if propaganda - all the tributes

Real Message You have fought back once and lost now we can kill your children, there is nothing you can do.

Propaganda Message It is not a bad thing
If you win, you will be a hero to your district.
The boy and girl in the film
Big, strong, healthy, fit
How they remember their past
Don’t give detail ‘why’ there was a revolt
Played every year - Gale Mocks it
Effie Recites
So people from the capital believe in the entertainment

Key Words
Honour
Glory
Eliminated
Peacekeepers

Rich (Capital) The amount of food
Bright Colour
Costuming - Extravagant
Modern Architecture
Everything is controlled by Capital - No nature
Clean
It is healthy
Materials Like stone, marble, metals

Poor (District 12)
People starving
Dull colours
Costumes - Wearing ‘ best’ types
Stereotype
Small and sickly - don’t stand a chance in the Hunger Games
Old farmhouses/Shacks
Old
Need Repair
Dirty
One good building for filming
Control
Materials - Mostly wood

Hope


Scene with Snow
Dialogue
- The only thing stronger than fear.
- Link to propaganda - false sense of hope that at least one will live.
- Just killing everyone would cause resentment - capital doesn’t want to kill everyone, they need them.
- Hope is only effective is contained

Camera Shots- Mid - Between crane and Snow talking to show expression & body language.
- POV - President Snow & Crane - showing their deep conversation
- Close Up- Of rose 

- Pruning - a metaphor for his “perfect Society” for control.

Rues Death

Music - Sad minor
- Medium Timbre
- Progress to being more powerful - more hopeful.

Camera Shots
- Extreme Close up - Flowers
                - Flower ring showed she really cared for Rue
                - Showing that the game will not changer her
- POV/High Angle - Showing that she is aware that she is being watched.

Rebelling - District 11 - Links to “black lives” very well
Music
- Up Tempo
- More aggressive/ emotional 

Camera Shots - Tracking

- Close up
          - Close up of hands
          -Really important
          - Shows they are untied

- Link to symbol to black lives matter move.

- Wide
             - To show all the people 

- Birds Eye View
                 - Drone coming, blowing papers - drone landing effect.
                 - Papers were important
                 - Shows technology - capital is bigger and strong 

- Cutting shots of shaky camera
                - Creates Tension
                - Showed the chaos 

                - The camera became more stable as capital regained control

Lighting
- At the start of the scene, it was day
- At the end it was night
            - Shows fighting for hours

Rebellion

Music
- Sad minor tempo
- Powerful
- Enhanced the drama
- No lyrics - Emphasise her words, adds to the depth of the scene

Dialogue
- Willing to die together
- Katniss rebelling against the propaganda of ‘There has to be a victor’
- Voice owner urgently saying ‘stop’
- Katniss has beaten them at their own game.
- The first-time loophole has been found at Capitals game
- 1st time 2 victors
- She embarrassed the Capital

Camera Shots
Close up
- See both Peeta and Katniss reaction
- Capital citizen and Crane’s reaction - Surprised.

Overhead - When the booming voice came
- Remind the game that makers had been in control until this point

Extreme close up
- Berries
      - They were the thing that changed everything

Rich Vs Poor
Poor
Close up - of a guy eating everything he could.
- Food is precious - people here are starving
- Cat was malnourished
- Really dirty - mud everywhere
- Flies everywhere - cleaning is not a priority 

Extreme Close up - Electric Fence Sign
- Fence not on, don’t have enough resources and money to power it.

Costuming and Setting
- Looked like they are in the past
- Wooden
- Old, run-down
- Minors were going into the mine but were still covered in soot.

Rich
Establishing Shot - Of the Capital
- See the buildings, the grandeur
- Everything was modern
- Saw technology
- White/Clean/Crisp
- Condemning
- Fashion and makeup really extravagant

Closeup
- To see the lady with big gold eyelashes
- The pink poodle
- Gives a huge contrast to lives in the district
- Fashion is a status thing here - They want the next best thing - represents wealth.
- Capital clothing is for looks
- Districts clothing is for practicality.
- Capital Clothing is for looks - artificial material bright
- District clothing is for practicality - more natural