Two Thumbs Up

As you watch a movie, you take in the story, unforgettable characters, and powerful dialogue. My Ollywood class watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next and A Christmas Carol, and studied how the camera angles, framing, and lighting influenced the audience's experience. After identifying these techniques in the movies, me and my group created a nano-cinema of a school shooting for a test. My group and I were challenged to tell a story in our short clip, without making the setting too obvious. This helped us learn how to use these techniques hands on and experience being a cinematographer. My partner and I took our critiquing skills to the test by watching Cry Freedom, a powerful movie made in 1989. At first, this movie did not interest me, as it is a very long movie at a whopping 2 hours and 39 minutes. I sat down and watched the movie one night, while pausing it and taking notes. This movie changed me and really opened my eyes to what is beyond my city, state, and country.