1. Units 25,26
Task 1
Lauren Rosenfeld
Training Day Analysis
Training Day (2001) is a crime/thriller hybrid (combination of both genres) which was
directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Ayer. It is about a veteran officer
who escorts a rookie on his first day with the LAPD's tough inner-city narcotics unit.
The scene I am analysing shows Alonzo Harris played by Denzel Washington (the
antagonist) and Jake Hoyt played by Ethan Hawke (the protagonist) uncovering a
stash of cash in a house. I will be analysing different elements of the clip, including
camerawork, sound, editing and mise en scene.
The film has a linear narrative, meaning the scenes and events that occur are in
chronological order. It follows a linear narrative because the film follows Jake Hoyt’s
first 24 hours on the job, and thus would be confusing and disorientating for the
audience to keep on switching between different times. The film is also closed
ended, as the film has come to a conclusion with Alonzo dieing, as the audience are
not left with any further questions. It is also a multi stranded storyline, as we follow
several different plot lines in the movie. With the main plot following Jake Hoyt’s
training day and the subplots following other characters backgrounds.
Camerawork:
The camerawork plays a crucial role in illustrating character emotions, expressions
and body language. The scene begins with a mid wide shot, which establishes the
characters in the scene and the location. It is also an over the shoulder shot of one
of the officers, with him, and therefore us in the darkness. Providing the audience
with the idea that there is something mysterious going on. However, as this is an
over the shoulder shot, it also puts us the audience on the side of the corrupt cops,
looking in on the characters particularly Jake, and perhaps highlighting the
protagonist Jake, who appears in the light. This is followed by a close up of the lock
being taken off, which increases the intensity of the scene and makes the audience
more interested in what's inside the box. It is also struck off by Jake, which possibly
implies he is the one in power. It also helps the audience establish a significant prop
within the scene - the money. The camera then tracks upward, as the lid of the box
rises, which reveals to the audience the money, and puts the audience in the
position of the characters, getting closer to the money. As we are in the characters
position, the shot looks at the money very favourably, especially as the camera
lingers on the money for a significant amount of time, despite it being dirty. We then
return to the previous first shot, in which we still appear to be in the dark (similar to
Jake) and are still on the side of the corrupt cops, seemingly looking down on Jake,
as they appear to be higher up than him, this also represents Jake’s vulnerability
within the scene. There is then a mid-close up of the cop who the audience have
been behind. The focus is on him, showing his facial expressions as stern and
serious, and little of his surrounding are revealed, again connoting that he is dodgy
to the audience. Then there are several mid close ups of Jake and Alonzo, during
2. Units 25,26
Task 1
Lauren Rosenfeld
shot reverse shots. It provides continuity in the conversation, and immerses the
audiences in the dialogue, and thus
the story. There is a clear
juxtaposition, with Jake appearing
almost fully in the light, signifying his
innocence, Alonzo appears half
shaded in the dark, which connotes
his corruption. It is also a low angle
of Jake, whilst Alonzo appears at eye
level, which connotes that Jake is in
power, despite the herd mentality
that is appearing. Once this mentality
begins, the perspective of the
audience shifts, and we are suddenly
in an over the shoulder shot of Jake,
showing that we are now on his side.
The same mid wide shot appears, showing to the audience the cops pressuring
Jake, however, now we are on the side of Jake, with Jake appearing in the good
light. In the last shot, the perspective shifts again, with the other cops and Alonzo
standing up appearing as taller, and thus bigger than Jake and the audience.
Sound:
At the start of the scene, there is use of
non diegetic sound, with a low hum,
which gradually gets louder, as the
money is revealed, which builds tension
within the scene, as the audience and
characters are not entirely sure what's
in the box. This low sound continues for
the rest of the scene, although at a
lower volume, which adds to the tension
surrounding Jake. This non diegetic
music is also used to show the
audience that drama is building. There
is use of diegetic synchronous sound
when Jake knocks off the lock, the lid is
lifted, clapping from Alonzo, money
being caught, bag being zipped up and
the box being closed, which all provide
a sense of verisimilitude for the
audience, and helps the audience to
relate to characters specifically Jake
3. Units 25,26
Task 1
Lauren Rosenfeld
within the scene, who is uncomfortable. There is an informal mode of address
between the other cops and Alonzo, which connotes to the audience that they are
familiar with each other and friends. Whilst when Alonzo uses this language with
Jake, he appears to be awkward. Alonzo is relaxed in his language use, seen by his
use of expletives “motherfucker” and instructive language. However, Jake uses tag
questions such as “right?”, combined with nervous laughing, which provide the
audience with the idea he is uncertain and uncomfortable around Alonzo and the
other cops. .
Editing:
There is use of match on action, when the
lock is being knocked off, this continues
continuity for the audience, and helps them
to establish the scene, putting them into
the point of view of Jake. It also creates
some suspense and panic, as neither the
audience or character know whats inside.
The cuts are quite lengthy for the
beginning of the scene, combined with the
low hum background music, helps to builds
tension between the characters. The pace
of shots pick up after the money has been revealed, with shot reverse shots. These
continue continuity and gives the audience a sense of continuous action, making it
seem as though the scene they're watching is happening linearly in real time. The
cutaways to other characters surrounding Jake are quick, which build tension, in the
sense that it feels as if they disapprove of him being there.
Mise en scene:
The other cops in the scene, including Jake are wearing bullet proof vests, which
suggest there is a potential for danger, apart from Alonzo. Alonzo is wearing casual
clothes connoting that the other men are going to do the dirty work for him, and he is
in charge (untouchable). He also wears an oversized coat, to make him bigger and
suggests he thinks he’s bigger than he really is. Alonzo and the other cops also wear
all black, which symbolise evilness/corruption and we don’t know if their intentions
are good. Whereas, Jake wears earthy colours such as brown, green and white,
which establishes his innocence. Alonzo and the other cops appear in darkness in
the scene, with barely any light on them, which establishes to the audience that they
are corrupt/bad whereas Jake is in the light, almost over exposed, which again
connotes his innocence/purity. They also have relaxed body language, whereas
Jake appears as timid. Alonzo also wears a cross around his neck, there is a
juxtaposition, as he wants to be seen as a ‘man of god’, however partakes in illegal
acts and has become corrupted. One important prop within the scene is the
briefcase of cash, which appears to be dusty, symbolising that it is ‘dirty money’.
Another important prop are guns. It appears that the other cops including Jake have
4. Units 25,26
Task 1
Lauren Rosenfeld
guns on them apart from Alonzo, which implies that he expects others to do any
work for him. Also, one of the cops appears to hold the gun to his face, which
appears as intimidating to a nervous Jake. The location appears to be a house,
which normally creates a comfortable
atmosphere for the audience, however
now an uneasy atmosphere is created
due to the crime which has taken place.
Encoding and decoding (1973):
Stuart Hall argued that audiences actively
read media texts and don’t just accept
them passively. They interpret the media text according to their own cultural
background and life experiences. Encoding is the act of embedding a message into
a piece of text. Then decoding takes place, whereby audiences read the message
and take one of three stances. There is the dominant reading (reader fully accepts),
negotiated reading (reader partly believes code) and the oppositional reading
(rejection).
I believe the message of the film is that corruption exists in the police force. Through
watching only one clip of the movie, I have a negotiated reading, however, I am not
entirely sure of the message due to not watching the full movie. It is not 100% clear
in the clip that this is the message, but it is gathered through the language use that
some of the cops are corrupt. The message can also not be fully trusted due to the
film being fiction, meaning that some parts may be exaggerated and not entirely
reflective of the police forces.
Other audience members may take the preferred reading of the text, in that they
agree with the message. These people may be more inclined to believe the message
if they have had bad experiences with police officers. They may also be from a
similar background to those in the film and expletives similar scenarios, meaning
they can relate to the scenes in the film and thus take on a preferred reading.
Whereas, some audiences may take on an oppositional reading where they disagree
with the message. These people are more likely upper class Americans who have
not been in trouble with the police. They may also disagree with some of the points
made in the film and believe they have been exaggerated for entertainment
purposes and thus oppose the message.
Uses and gratification (1974):
The Uses and Gratifications Theory by Blumler and Katz, suggests there are certain
reasons why an audience responds to different media texts. These include
entertainment and diversion, information and education, social interaction and
personal identity. I believe that audiences will watch Training Day for diversion,
personal identity and surveillance.
5. Units 25,26
Task 1
Lauren Rosenfeld
Diversion is where audiences consume media texts to escape from their everyday
lives. They choose entertaining texts that allow them to divert their attention from the
real world, and escape into another world.
Personal identity is where audiences watch or read media texts because they can
compare their life experiences with those represented in it. Audience pleasure
comes from empathising and identifying with characters. For instance, they may
relate to Jake who is an innocent victim.
Surveillance is gratifying the need for a constant stream of information regarding
current ongoings in the world. For instance, audiences around the world may be
interested in knowing what it’s like in Los Angeles. More specifically it may
interesting for audiences to see what it’s like in the police force in the US.
