Reseacrh and Planning: Cinematography

Camera Shots

Camera shots are extremely important for any film production; however we are focussing particularly on how the style of the shots can contribute to creating the social realist genre. There are specific ways in which the director uses cinematography effectively to resemble the intended genre.

The whole idea behind social realism is to produce a realistic representation of society. Therefore the framing in which the audience are presented with, have to attempt to resemble what they would see if they were actually there. This is why a lot of wide shots are used because they allow the audience to see the whole scene. It makes it easier for the audience to understand the relationship between characters, due to the fact they are being shown the orientation and proximity of the characters in one shot.

Establishing shots are also frequently used within social realist films so that the location of which the film is set is made very clear. These shots are often shown at the beginning of the film so that the setting of the film is well established early on. When these shots are used within social realist films, they often portray ‘Urban Britain’ such as, blocks of flats, graffiti etc.

It is important to understand that this genre of film is often presenting the life of poverty, therefore nothing is ‘glamourized’. This includes the  characters themselves, in fact it is important for the imperfections of the characters to be shown. Close ups and extreme close ups allow emotions and imperfections to be emphasised.