Compare and analyse 3 movies

The movies I have chosen to compare and analyse are 'Mr and Mrs Smith', 'Ocean 11' and 'The Hangover'. I chose these 3 movies because they are all similar in someway but also very different. 'Mr and Mrs Smith' and 'Ocean 11' are very much action films with some comedy throughout the movie, and 'The Hangover' is a hilarious comedy.

I looked at 'Mr and Mrs Smith' first. It starts off with a medium long shot of Mr and Mrs Smith while they are having a session with their psychiatrist. This medium long shot gives us details of their physical characteristics. The camera isn't not moving, it focuses straight on the two main characters. When the video reaches 1.38 minutes the camera shot changes to an establishing shot showing the audience what was happening 5 or 6 years ago which sets the scene. Then it changes back to a medium shot at 1.46 minutes showing more detail on the male character. The camera movement is moving left to right and zooming in on the character, so they are using a zoom and pan camera movements. At 1.58 minutes the camera changes to an over the shoulder shot to show that the main character is having a conversation and the audience gets to see who that person is. The camera then changes angle again at 2.01 minutes to a close up shot of the main male character, this helps the audience understand how the character is feeling at this particular moment in the movie as you can see his expressions very easily because you are close up and personal! Then the camera pans out to a medium shot of the guard, then back to a medium long shot of the main male character. The camera being used in this scene I think is a hand held camera because when moving back and forth from one character to the next the filming is quite shaky, this creates tension within the film and tells the audience something is about to happen. Then at 2.16 minutes the camera angle changes to a close up shot of the main female character showing her facial expressions and reactions. The camera then tilts down the body of the main female character showing the audience what she is doing. Then back to a close up of the main male character indicating he has spotted her, then showing a long shot of the female main character making eye contact with the male character, this shows her stance and her attitude and also her surroundings. Then a medium long shot and a close up was taken of both the main characters showing they are making eye contact and showing they are thinking the same thing. The camera then changes to a close up shot at 2.35 minutes as the 2 main characters come together, then as the scene is ending the camera zooms out changing to a long shot, which shows their body movements and gestures and also their surroundings.

Ocean 11 was my second choice of a movie. It starts off with an medium shot of the setting to show the audience the type of area the scene is set in. Then at 0.33 minutes without the camera moving the main character enters the scene, staying on a medium shot. It stays on this type of shot for a long time but at 1.29 minutes the camera angle changes into a close up shot of the main character showing his facial expressions and features to the audience. The scene then changes to a long shot at 1.39 minutes of the main character and his surroundings informing the audience where he is. The camera is firstly directly facing onto the character but then changes to a low angle making the character seem important and powerful and the audience seem small. At 1.51 minutes there is a close up of a envelope to show the audience what the character is doing in much more detail. The camera then tilts up the body of the main character slowly and ending with a close up on the face of the main character. Then changes to a medium shot, the camera is then following the character which gives the affect that the audience is following him, this is done using a tracking movement and it is a close up shot, but then at 2.11 minutes the camera changes to roll in front of him showing the audience his expressions and movement.

The Hangover is the last movie I will be analysing. It starts off with a medium shot showing the movement and the scenery to show the audience what is happening, then a close up shot of the wedding cake which tells the audience what is going on or what is about to happen (a wedding), the camera zooms out from the cake indicating that there is more to see and the camera is taking you somewhere else. We are then shown a long shot of the crew setting up the chairs for the wedding and the camera is panning to the right. We are then introduced to a character in a close up shot, then shows the bride on the phone in a medium shot. The camera stays on a medium shot until 0.53 minutes when the camera angle changes to a long shot showing the audience the room and the characters, but then at 0.56 minutes it changes back to a medium shot. We are then introduced to one of the main male characters in a close up shot, then a close up shot of the bride, this tells the audience how the two characters are feeling, this is filmed with a hand held camera. At 1.19 minutes the camera angle changes to a long shot of the bride and this also shows the surroundings of the character, but then as the character moves closer to the camera the camera angle changes to a medium shot. As the conversation between the male and female character gets more intense on the phone the camera shots gets closer to both the characters, so at 1.31 minutes the camera changes to a close up shot. We are then shown various extreme long shots of destinations of where the male main character is and where the female (bride) character is.

In both 'Mr and Mrs Smith' and 'The Hangover' there are a lot of different camera angles that I could talk about, but with 'Ocean 11' there are not that many camera angles or camera movements. 'Mr and Mrs Smith' and 'Ocean 11' both start off the same way, you not seeing the person the main character/characters are talking to, you only see a straight up medium shot of the character/characters.