I decided to give this film an 8/10 because I thought it was a powerful film which delt with serious social issues such as drug usage and addiction, discrimination, bullying and sexuality. I feel like this film was great at showcasing what all those issues really look like, giving the film a deeper sense of verisimilitude and creating an emotional bond with the audience. The 3 different actors who played Chiron at different stages in his life felt very connected with one another, giving the audience the impression that it was the same person all the way throughout the movie.
Memorable scene: the most memorable scene in my opinion was the very last scene of the movie where young Chiron is on the same Miami beach as teenager and adult Chiron were also at. This for me was memorable as it symbolizes a “full-circle moment” meaning something symbolic in the movie takes place usually at the end or beginning of a movie which then has an important correlation with something leading to the same point in the movie. I think this was great as it made the audience much more interested in the overall plot as it is left up to the viewer to make their own assumptions and theories about the movie, hence why it is at its peak interest point.
James Monaco’s term The Spectrum of Arts refers to the different types of art, each with its own way of expressing ideas and emotions, while being interconnected. It highlights how various art forms communicate in unique ways.
Examples include:
Visual Arts: Painting and sculpture.
PerformingArts: Theatre, dance, and music.
LiteraryArts: Poetry and fiction.
CinematicArts: Film, blending visual and performing arts.
All of these examples shoes expression is different ways. It refers to the wide range of art forms, each with its own unique way of expressing ideas and emotions in peoples experiences. These art forms may influence each other but still have their own unique style. The term shows how different types of art are connected, while each one of the forms offer a different way of expressing creativity. Music can also be considered as an art form as there are so many different styles and when listening to a good piece of music, is opinions based but when you find the right piece of music it can change your whole mood. Overall, what Monaco means by the Spectrum of Arts is the whole group and chain of different art forms.
This scene has a wide aspect ratio to show the entire hallway, and the subject in the shot continues to retreat into the hallway. It begins as a close up before she backs away and the shot becomes a long shot as she walks into the next room. Additionally, this shot is first person from the perspective of Chiron, and makes the viewer feel as if they are in the room with Chiron’s mother.
This medium close up shot of the main character, Chiron as he looks towards the camera, as if he is breaking the 4th wall. I think this gives an insight into how Chiron’s feelings in this scene – hurt as his mother is looking ill and sickly from her substance abuse.
I like how this long shot of Chiron comes at the end of the film, with him looking out over the sea. I think that while an abrupt ending, it’s fitting for the end of a drama/slice of life style of film.
Moonlight Camera Angles:
I like this low shot of Chiron’s mother as she scolds him for not coming home that night. It makes the viewer feels as if they are in Chiron’s perspective and makes them feel more connected to the character as it is about his life.
This scene is also shot at a low angle, but it is from water height, so some of the waves come in the shot which I think makes this a really effective shot. Having the camera move with the waves gives the effect of the viewer being in the scene and swimming with Chiron.
This high angle over Chiron almost gives the viewer a sense of superiority over him, as he is low on the ground and almost cowering away from the teacher attempting to help him. However, I also think that this makes us feel sympathy for him.
Moonlight Camera Movement:
The camera pans from right to left in this scene to follow the movement of Chiron’s mother. This allows the viewer to see the entirety of her face as she scolds her son.
The camera zooms in on the children in this scene as they are dancing. The movement is slow to focus on them dancing, which I feel almost acts as a happy scene to interrupt the dark storyline, though it is still focused on Chiron and his friend Kevin.
The camera in this scene tracks Juan as he gets closer to Chiron’s mother in the car. This gives the effect that the viewer is in the scene with him, as it isn’t revealed where he is going until he confronts her in the car.
The effect that this over the shoulder shot has on me is that it makes you feel as if you’re in the back seat of the car. It can also show the relationship between the person shown and the person off camera as you can closely see the emotions of the person in the frame.
This close-up (CU) is detrimental to the movie as it adds emotion to the scene. It tightly frames the actors’ faces, making their face the main focus. This make the audience feel bad for the character as it is an intense shot from the movie.
This Medium Long Shot (MLS) has an effective demonstration of the amount of emotion in the room. Not only is it extremely contrasting, but it also shows the sadness that is about to happen throughout the movie.
Activity 3- Camera angles
This low angle shot though its blurry it tells a story. The people in this shot look scary not only to the viewers but also the person who this is directed to.
This Eye level shot shows the intensity of the scene. The terrifying effect that this scene has on the viewer is almost feeling empathetic for the mother and more importantly the son who has to endure living in this situation.
This High Angled shot has the effect of happiness as you see him having friends who he can trust. This is one of the only up lifting scenes in Moonlight.
This Crab Left to Crab Right shows a ‘father’ figure to ‘son’ talking about realism of the world and comforting the boy. This is a sentimental scene in the movie.
This Ped Up following the wife as she sits down shows that she is empathetic for the boy. They are in the middle of trying to find out whats going to happen to him, finding the best solution for him.
I have chosen this image of Chiron in a close up shot, this shot is powerful and a pivotal point in the film as it signifies the switch within charactar and adds suspense and shock for the next scene as the contrast of his facial expressions in this clip are sad and defeated, opposing the next scene when he is full of rage preparing to smash the chair over Terrel’s head.
Medium long shot
I have chosen this image for mls as in the scenes placement in the film is impactful and crucial to show how much Chiron has grown and changed from him being a young vulnerable little boy confused and lonely, to the ending of Chiron and Kevin happy creating a full circle moment for Chiron’s character.
Big Close Up
This scene is so impactful as it is so heartbreaking for Chiron, he an easy character to sympathize with and feel sorry for. Its difficult to see how upsetting Chiron mothers’ addiction really affects him. The venerability in this scene is visible from both actors which i believe makes it so powerful as you can see and even feel the upset, they are both going through.
Angles-
Shoulder level angle
This shot being shoulder level with chiron and kevin highlights their mutual respect for one and other, it also follows them while they walk making you feel a part of the conversation.
High angleThis is a high angle shot representing how small little really is, it also shows the conditions he was living in whilst also caring for himself creating sympathy for his character.
Waist level angel
This shot being at waist level for littles pov indicates how small he was compared to his mother literally and figuratively.
Camera movement-
In this scene the camera follows little swimming in the sea, the camera moves up and down as if you’re also swimming with them.
In this scene the camera follows behind Chirone fastly paced this represents and shows the anger he feels after being beaten up by his classmates.
In this scene the camera calmly follows Chirone through an empty street. This represents how he felt lost and did not know what to do at this point in the movie.
This shot from moonlight is a closeup. The effect this scene has on the audience is unique. From this point of view, we can truly experience Chiron’s life with an addict mother, no personal space, his feelings being disregarded, and his mother coming to him for money to purchase more drugs. This POV makes it look like Chiron’s mother is trying to sympathise with us, the audience.
This low angle shot represents Kevin as an aggressor, making him look bigger and his presence more demanding. This technique is used to show that in this moment he has the power over Chiron and is using it against him.
I have chosen this scene to represent camera movement. In this scene the camera is moving in a corkscrew like fashion around this character. This technique creates a sense of foreboding and tells us that something bad is going to happen. This is like a personified version of someone” spiralling”
I have chosen this scene from the Joker to talk about lighting. This is the scene where the joker is in a mental institution and there is a lot of light coming in from the back window. You can also notice the bloody footprints on the ground from where the Joker was walking. This is a good example as it is a strange contrast of light as he is going into the darkest time of his life and the joker acts like he has been enlightened and everything around him makes sense now. The effect on the viewer is that they have a sense of hope that the Joker will turn his life around as white reminds people of hope.
Costumes-
This is the most iconic Joker costume as it is abnormal. This is the scene where the joker is waiting to go on Murrays talk show. Though he has ridiculous make up and costumes he is still sat frowning honestly thinking about what is about to happen. The costume is a good contrast with what his older outfits were as he was quite blandly dressed always in brown, black or white but when he’s in his clown costume even when he was working for that clown company, he is a completely different person in a good and a bad way and it acts like a mask of who he truly is. The effect
Props-
I chose this picture for props as it was so basic yet so over the top. It was basic because it was just the background of Murrays talk show, but it was over the top because it has so many colors which was strange as the colours in the joker were minimal because of the genre of the movie but this was bright and colourful.
Makeup-
I chose this for make up because this scene was so incredibly put together. As everyone knows set designers and people that do makeup plan everything in the moving but the tear streaming down the Joker’s face says a lot about him as he is trying to act as if he is okay that is why he is forcing himself to smile but you can tell that he is not okay. In the end, the differentiation on his face goes well together.
Colour Grading-
The hue of this picture is a blueish- green which shows the sadness of the scene as blue is correlated with emotion. The saturation of this scene is dark and ominous, and it is not intense at all. There is no brightness in the picture because it is not the cheeriest scene. This scene is where Arthur watches the television whilst his mothers on life support and he watches the Murray show and Murray starts talking bad about Arthurs standup comedy act.
Low key/ High key lighting-
For low key lighting i chose this scene of the joker as it works in two ways. The picture has low saturation and only a few bits of light. It also works to say that he himself was in low key lighting you can tell that he is depressed and deep in thought.
For high key lighting I picked this scene as it was abnormal. It was one of the only times we saw the joker with actual light around. The scene is quite eerie because the joker had this look on his face like he was terrified of himself. The background had warm lighting to fit the atmosphere that is being shown. There are few props in the shot. There are two different lightings. There is the florescent light thats being given from the mirror.
I feel that this type of shot was chosen for this scene because it gives you an insight to how Chiron could have been feeling. By having the camera this close, it almost puts the viewer in the Pov of Chiron, therefore getting the audience more attached to him as a character and his story. This shot is effective in being able to capture the stress Chiron would have been in every day from how his mother acted, the way she would change depending on if she wants something from him.
Mcu (middle to close up)
A lot of the shots in this movie are very effective in putting the viewer in Chiron’s position. By having this shot almost at eye level, it once again puts the viewer in Chiron’s Pov. In this scene, there are a lot of shots like his, or ones that are close ups of characters looking down the camera lense, which in a tense and emotional scene like this is very effective.
Xls (extreme long shot)
By having an extreme long shot here, it emphasizes Chiron’s loneliness and his isolation from his peers. The way that he is separated from the people his age emphasizes the fact that he is separated from them.
Slight high angle
The way that the camera is slightly looking down on Paula Could be Replicating how Jaun feels about her. The way he slightly looks down on her because of how badly she treats her son. But throughout the scene, the shot becomes more of an eye level shot, which could be replicating the way that Paula scolds Jaun because he is disappointed in the way she treats her son, but he is the one who is selling her drugs.
High angle shot
The high angle shot in this scene could represent how Chiron feels less than people. It could also represent his innocence while asking these serious questions to Juan, the camera making him look smaller and more venerable.
High angle/Bird’s Eye
The way that this shot is placed high above the pair makes the audience feel like they’re almost intruding on a private conversation. By having the camera in amongst the trees, it adds to the feeling of the audience knowing something private and since it makes it more private, it makes the audience feel more invested.
Pandown
In this shot, it pans down from Jain to Chiron. This happens as Juan is telling Chiron a story, this movement of the camera could be a visual representation of Chiron taking this story he’s being told to heart.
Handheld cam
The camera in this scene is handheld, letting the waves move it around. The jerky movements of the camera coupled with the waves submerging more than half the lense at some points, makes for a powerful scene. the way i view this scene, the shakiness of the camera is meant to mirror chiron’s nerves.
Dolly shot
The camera seems to be on a track during this scene, following Chiron as he walks through the corridors of his school. Shots like this are great at building suspense as the audience cannot see the characters face, making them unaware of and unable to read a characters facial expressions to try and predict what they will do next.
This close-up shot in the movie moonlight added extra emotion for the audience, for example, it added a sense of inclusion since the character stares directly at the audience, making it appear like she is talking to them. As an audience member, the close shot made me feel like I was close to the character on screen, and it added a sense of tension since her gaze was unavoidable which further enhanced the scene. The close up shot also made it clear that the only thing that mattered on screen was the character of the mum since everything else was blurred and out of focus.
This close-up shot makes the scene more colorful and less bland. It also makes the audience have more of a picture of the scene since the focus remains on Chiron since he is the only one in the scene, but it also shows the importance of the area he is in since you can see the bright colored tiles on the floor. It also creates some distance between the character and the audience, which shows how detached Chiron feels from everyone else.
This Long shot moved the focus on the main character, Chiron. This showed how he is the focus of the scene and how he is the main character. This also Made him look weak since the long shot displayed his whole body and how he looked small and helpless in comparison. This could make the audience feel pity for Chiron since he is all alone and does not have anyone to help him. The long shot made me feel like there was no one there for Chiron since there was no one else in the scene other than the long empty road which made him look small and helpless in comparison.
This high shot added a lot to this scene and made it feel more intimate. This is because we can see both characters look directly into the camera at the same time which would make the audience members still feel like spectators but more included in the scene. The high shot also lets us see how vulnerable and careless they are since, as the audience, we see them as smaller and feel more impower. As a viewer I felt like this camera angle made the scene feel more peaceful since we can see that they are looking up at the night sky.
The eye level camera angle makes the audience feel more drawn into the conversation between Chiro and Kevin. It also makes both characters seem equal in the conversation and more intimate. Both characters are centered which allows their eyes to be in the center of the screen, making it easy for the audience to follow the character’s gaze. As an audience member I felt like this scene flowed very well and the camera angle helped keep the pace of the scene smooth and coordinated.
This low angle shot makes the audience see Juan from Chiros perspective, since in this scene chiro is much younger and much smaller than Juan. It also shows the audience the dynamic between the two since Chiro is looking up to him as a father figure or a guide since Chiro doesn’t have anyone else to look up to. This made me feel compassion for Chiro since it’s evident he’s a small child looking for role models in his life.
In this scene, the camera pans over to the right of Kevin, this creates a very intimate scene since it’s just a close of Kevin’s face while the camera moves to show the audience Kevin’s side profile. This allows the audience to have a moment with Kevin since he is a large part of the movie, it also gives the eyes something to visually look at and makes the scene more interesting even though nothing is happening in the scene.
In this scene, the camera pans down across Chiron’s bathroom shelf. This shows the audience a physical depiction of Chiron’s state of mind after the fight. It also shows Chiron’s home life since his bathroom is dirty and filled to the brim with pill bottles and various other bathroom supplies. This helps the audience feel more sorrow for the main character since we get a chance to see parts of him that were hidden and horrific to see.
