Cinematography - Friends With Benefits (2011)

Friends With Benefits (2011)

The second film I have chosen to do is friends with benefits (2011). The genre this film falls under is romance and comedy. The film starts with two long shots of a male character and a female character sitting down on a sofa. The long shot of the male and female characters at the start of the film connotes to the audience that they are the main characters of the film. However they do not show the facial expressions of the two characters to give a hint of the connection between the two characters. This sends a message to the audience that they could either be a romance between the two characters or they are good friends. This keeps the attention of the viewers as they want to find out the relationship between the two characters. The next shot is a point of view shot where the male character is watching the female character walk into another room. After this comes the establishing shot of a city. This is done to show the viewers the setting of the film. The next three shots are long shots of the characters in the bedroom. The consistent use of long shots of the characters in the bedroom connotes to the audience the intense romance between he two, as they are also carrying out sexual activity.  Furthermore the use of point of view shot creates tension between the all the characters in the room. This also creates tension for the audience as they can see he awkward situation the character is in. The facial expressions of the characters are serious which also builds on the tension. Additionally the use of long shot shows the setting of the characters and what they are doing. Also it creates romance between the male and female character as they seem to be happy together. At 0:56 the medium shot brings us back to the bedroom scene. This brings us back the previous shots as this adds to the romance between the two characters as they are happy, therefore them making love. Whereas the use of a high angle shot would normally make the character seem little or have no power. In the case the use of the high angle shot adds to the romance, it also shows the love and connection between the male and female character. From 1:17 the uses of medium close up shows the emotions of the characters; which are happy. This connotes to the audience that the male and female character are definitely in love. This also uses of the medium close up keeps the audience attention, as they do not want anything to break the connection and love the characters have. 

In conclusion I think that friends with benefits was more effective than west from the badlands. This is because friends with benefits used more of a variety of camera shots which created an atmosphere and tension. Whereas west from the badlands used a few camera shots and repeated them on the same characters to create effect. However friends with benefits was just a trailer, I would watch the whole film as it interested me as I wanted to know the full story of the movie.