unit 5

1. Training day scene analysis
The filmscene I will be analyzing is the poker scene in training day. Training was released in
2011, the story follows two police officers tackling narcotics showing them for a 24hour period
across gang populated neighborhoods in south and east Los Angeles. The filmstars the famous
Denzel Washington who plays the role of Alonzo (the dirty African American cop) and Ethan
Hawke who plays the role of Jake (the innocent white cop). I will be analyzing the use of
cinematography in this scene and it creates suspense, fear, and anticipation within the
audience.
At the start of the scene, a low angle medium shot is used when Alonzo takes the bag out of the
trunk. This creates the persona that Alonzo has more power and therefore control, which
insinuates that he is comfortable in the gang populated area he is in. The shot then cuts to Jake
who is seen at eye level medium shot which usually doesn’t symbolize anything however when
used just after witnessing Alonzo being shown in low angle shot it suggest that the way the two
characters are perceived are completely different particularly towards the audience and maybe
even the gangsters within the area. This is significant as it makes Jake seeminferior to Alonzo
and makes Alonzo seemto like he's supervising Jake. This makes the audience feel worried for
Jake especially because they are both police officers and are meant to be equally confident. The
director purposely did this as he intended to make the audience have a soft spot for Jake and
attach the viewers to his character.
Shortly after we see Alonzo and Jake walking towards a house in a deep focus shot. as there
walking towards the house there are gangsters from local neighborhood in the shallow focus on
the opposite side of the frame. This suggests that Jake and Alonzo are unwelcome as the shot
emphasizes the separation between the two parties. Whilst Jake and Alonzo procced to walk up
the stairs after the gangsters decide to step aside and let them past, Jake turns around to look
at one of the hoodlums who made a smug comment with fear in his eyes. This implies that the
men find Jake less of a threat then Alonzo this maybe because he is white. Furthermore, this
supports the point made before that the Director wanted Jakes character to be connected with
the audience and make the viewers feel sorry for him.at this point there's an eye line-match cut
of one of the gangsters. He Is noticeably frowning and its cuts to Jake who is in shallow focus
with two gangsters behind him. This insinuates that Jake is in potential danger and leads us to
fear for him. This scene was smartly crafted by the director as the scene alone portrays the fate
of Jake.