CAMERA TECHNIQUES USED IN THE HUNGER GAMES

       The movie I chose to analyze was The Hunger Games. In the movie, the twelve districts of Panem each pick two tributes, a girl and a boy, who compete in the televised "Hunger Games". The tributes fight to the death, until one victor remains. Katniss Everdeen, the main character, has volunteered as a tribute to save her sister. The movie focuses on Katniss, and most of it takes place in the arena during the actual games. Many camera techniques are used throughout that are meant to express a feeling to the audience.

       The first shot I noticed was a close-up. A close-up shot gives the audience a key focus to look at. It generally indicates that something important is about to happen regarding the object of focus. In this scene in The Hunger Games, that's exactly what it meant.

This shot was taken during the reaping, where Effie Trinket, the escort for the District 12 tributes, is drawing the female name for the annual Hunger Games. By using a close-up shot for this scene, the movie is telling the audience to pay attention and remember this object, because it will be important later on. It creates a sense of  mystery, because it leaves the audience wondering what the significance of that object is. Sure enough, the card happened to be Primrose Everdeen's name, Katniss's sister

       Another shot I noticed was a high angle shot. A high-angle shot makes the subject appear to be vulnerable, or powerless. It makes them seem as if they're insignificant in relation to something "greater".

This shot was taken during a scene where Katniss and her best friend/lover Gale were in the woods hunting, when suddenly, a Capitol blimp flew by, parting the trees to almost reveal the two characters in a "no trespassing" area. This shot establishes the idea that the citizens of Panem fear the Capitol, and shows that the capitol is considered to be above of, or holding more importance than the districts.

       The next shot I noticed was a low-angle shot. A low angle shot makes the subject appear to be larger than, or more important than others. 

This shot was taken when Effie was announcing the annual Hunger Games before she drew the names of the tributes. The low angle shot shows that Effie is part of the Capitol, emphasizing that the Capital is of higher power, and that the others are below it.
       Another shot I chose was an establishing shot. This shot helps to set up, or establish the context for a scene by showing the setting. This was also a point of view shot, because it was from Katniss's point of view. The camera moved around frantically, mimicking Katniss's nervousness, and her looking around at her surroundings

This was the first look at the stadium for the 74th Hunger Games, showing the forest, the mountains, and the cornucopia. This gives the audience an idea of the surroundings, and helps to better understand the situation that the tributes are in. Also by looking through Katniss's eyes, the audience can understand the anxiety and fear that she's feeling in the arena.