Slumdog Millionaire Analysis
Slumdog Millionaire is a film about a man who wins millions on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, the shows host thinks that the man cheated. The story is a series of flash backs to a part of the mans life which lead him to answer each question correctly.
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France from 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipment and production company, as well as a major producer of phonograph records.
Celador is a global light entertainment company originally formed as an independent production company in 1983. It has produced a number of popular light entertainment shows and is probably best known for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and co-producing Slumdog Millionaire.
Film4 was started in 1982 as Film4 Productions, a film production company owned by Channel Four Television Corporation and has been responsible for backing a large number of films made in the United Kingdom, and around the world.
The opening shot is an over the shoulder shot that tilts up to show the face of the main character. His face is illuminated by a light that has a yellow tint. Although yellow has connotations of happiness the man looks scared and vulnerable.
The camera then cuts to a close up of a man. He blows smoke from his cigarette into the face of the main character; this shows that he has no respect for him and he instantly appears to be more superior but the bad manners also suggest that he is not from a higher class.
There is no reaction from the boy, this shows that he is too threatened by man to show any reaction. In this close up a title appears on the screen which shows the location and year. These titles appear onscreen throughout as the film shows a series of flashbacks.
The location and date fade out and background about the story and it leaves the audience with a rhetorical question which would get them thinking of reasons how the boy could have got so far in the competition.
In the shot the man slaps the main character which indicates to the audience that this may be an interrogation.
The shot cuts to black and the previous titles fade out and the possible answers fade in. This fits with the films theme of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
The next shot shows a lot of money being spread out. This will catch the eye of the audience as they more than likely have never seen this amount of money in front of them in there lives. It emphasises what he could win. India has a lot of poverty so this is a contrast with the poor living conditions in India.
Just like the opening titles of the hunger games this opening titles is set up in an interview style. This establishing show shows the host and the contestant entering the set. You are instantly aware of the situation as this set will be familiar to everyone.
This medium close up shows the facial expressions on the characters well. The host is enthusiastic and excited where as the boy looks very nervous.
The camera then cuts to the producers and the people who work for the show and this shows the audience that what they would not usually see. This lets them know that the focus isn't on the actual show itself but the reaction to his success.
There is a blue lighting covering the set and the production room. Blue has connotations of knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.
The use of a high angle shot puts emphasis on the vulnerability of the contestant and it represents the pressure he feels.
A graphic match is used here to cut between a shot of the contestant sat on the set of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and a shot of him being interrogated after the show. The shot uses the boy being slapped this suggests that he is being snapped out of a flashback from the show.
There is use of shot reverse shot using close ups to capture the emotions portrayed by the characters facial expressions.
This is the first time that the audience sees the interrogation room. The rooms is very basic which represents the poverty in India.
Another graphic match is used in the same way only this time he is slapped and he returns to the flashback of the show.
This extreme long shot has the shows camera in shot. This is effective as it represents that there is something going on behind the scenes that the audience don't see.
This idea is backed up by the next shot which is a close up of the back of a camera.
The shots used to show the character being tortured are a close up, a medium shot and two high angle shots. These shots work effectively together to capture exactly what is happening and the emotions. The close up shows the panic of being held under water as the camera puts the audience inside the bucket. The high angle shots show how calm the man who is punishing the boy is which suggests that this isn't unusual to him.
The camera tilts up and follows a man entering the room. This shot empowers the man and suggests that he has a significance in the story as he has such a dramatic entrance.
These shots show that the boy is being hung by his hands and is about to be electrocuted. This shows the extremes that the show are willing to torture him to find out how he won that much money.
The next part of the opening sequence is about how he came to know the answers. It cuts to a flashback from his childhood.
This scene shows kids who appear to be poor, this is represented by the clothes they are wearing as they are too big or small and are ripped. They are without an adult and are playing cricket on a runway which obviously they are not permitted to do and it is extremely dangerous. All the shots above are filmed at a low angle to give the characters on screen authority.
The aeroplane that appears to be taking off from the same runway shows how undisciplined the children are they are playing in an extremely dangerous place without any supervision.
The young boys' youth is represented as they are able to outrun two grown men on motor bikes. This is exciting to them, this is expressed by the smiles and their wide eyes.
You can see that the country at this is set in is poor from the police equipment. The motorbikes are no good quality.
The relationship between these two characters by their team work and the way that they are looking out for each other. This is inspiring for my video as my characters are sisters.
All of the boys have no shoes on and are running away barefooted. This shows their poverty is serious that they can't afford the basic things.
I really like this shot. It is a tracking shot and medium upward tilt. This is really effective in capturing the facial expressions and the movement of the character.
They run straight through what appears to be a rubbish dump with no reaction which suggests that they are used to this environment. This represents how poor they are and that the community they live in is very basic.
This low angle shot shows their powerfulness and the way that they feel.
This shot is interesting it pans very fast 180 degrees to the right and then follows the boys to the left as they move into the shot.
These shots show a few of the boys running through confined passage ways through the shanty town. They believe that they are powerful this is represented through the use of the low angle shot in the first frame as this signifies dominance. The way that they run over and through peoples property shows that they have no respect for them.
The first two frames from this scene aren't focused on the chase itself but it an establishing shot of how dirty the river is and there is a man wading through it and it is common to see people bathing or cleaning clothes in the river like he is.
Again the use of these shots are emotive to the audience because it shows the standard of living that these young children have.
This crane shots show how the extend of the poverty they live in. The shanty towns are unclean, overcrowded and not safe for children. They shots show the vulnerability
