A power point or keynote is a great way to prepare for an IB Oral Presentation. Here's an analysis of the use of film language in an extract from Children of Men.

1. Starting shot:
Children of Men
Ending shot:

3. Why choose this scene?
This scene, from the scifi Children of Men, was
chosen because it was filmed entirely in one shot
with no cuts. Despite the complexity of having to
film this action filled scene in one shot, director,
Alfonso Cuaron, manages to make the audience
feel a widespread of emotions within a short
amount of time. At first a sense of nostalgia, and
sympathy for the characters is created, then, as
soon as the attack starts, Cuaron uses many
cinematic devices to create suspense and tension
for the audience.

4. Establishing Shot
This extreme wide shot serves as an establishing shot and demonstrates how
the characters have left the city. There is a contrast from this setting, to the
one the characters were in beforehand. There are no more dark tall buildings
with fences and barbed-wire around. Now the character are driving along a
country road. This setting is calm and peaceful which will later be juxtaposed
by the violent actions of the attack and car chase.

5. Mis-en-Scene & Symbolism
The mis-en-scene of the orange of this scene symbolises the theme of fertility
that runs throughout the entire film. The character of Miriam (Pam Ferris)
peels the orange and hands a piece to Kee (Calire-Hope Ashitey) who is the
only woman in the world who is pregnant. However, at this point in the film, it
is unknown that she is pregnant and Theo (Clive Owen), does not yet know
why he has to protect her. Therefore the mis-en-scene of the orange
foreshadows the fact that Kee is pregnant because fruit is a symbol for
fertility.

6. Contrast through Sound
Throughout the scene, Children of
Men director, Alfonso Cuaron,
creates a contrast between the
emotions created at the beginning
of the scene with the ones created
at the end. At first sympathy and a
sense of nostalgia is created for the
audience through the use of SOUND
DESIGN.
As the car is driving along the road, the diagetic sound of the radio saying “The
afternoon is looking good here on radio Avalon, and now one for all the nostalgics
out there: a blast from the past, all the way back from 2003; that beautiful time where
people refused to accept the future was just around the corner”. The dialogue of the
radio host about nostalgia is paralleled with the conversation that Theo (Clive Owen)
and Julian (Julianne Moore) have about their relationship in the past when they used to be
activists. They then play a game with a ping pong ball that they also used to play back
when they were together. This makes the audience feel sympathy for both Theo
and Julian, and the laughing of the other characters in the background also creates
a fun and humorous tone. Furthermore the slow pacing of the diegetic sound coming from
the radio adds to the relaxed and happy tone.

7. Camera Angles & Camera Movement
The calm and and peaceful tone of the beginning of the scene is further
emphasised through the camera angles and camera movement. In this
shot, the camera is angled so that all the characters are in one shot. By
placing the camera in this angle, the audience understands how the group
of characters are getting united and getting along better. Furthermore, the
camera has very little movement, and is very still considering it is filmed in
a car. This steadiness of the camera is later contrasted when they are
under attack later on in the scene.

8. Camera Angles
All of a sudden, there is a tonal shift when the scene goes from calm and cheerful to
panicked and tense. Alfonso Cuaron makes the audience feel suspense as soon as this
tonal shift occurs. Cuaron does so by placing the camera facing Miriam as she stops
laughing, and points towards the front of the window looking shocked. This creates
suspense for the audience because, since the camera stays on Miriam, the audience
does not know what she is pointing. Therefore the audience no longer feels cheerful
with the rest of the characters but realises that danger is coming ahead. This tonal
shift emphasises the severity of the situation of Theo having to protect Kee.

9. Sound Design
There is a contrast in sound compared to the first part of this scene. Although
the same diagetic sound is coming from the radio, it starts picking up pace as
soon as the car on fire blocks the road. Furthermore, the car starts making a
loud, repetitive beeping sound which combined with the fast pacing of the music
from the radio makes the audience feel extremely tense. The calmness of the
beginning of the scene quickly disappears as there is no more laughter from the
characters in the car. Instead, all the audience can hear now, is the sound of the
flames from the car on fire, the character’s screams and the screams of the
mobs trying to attack the car.

10. Sound Design
After Julian gets shot, the camera pans over to the glass as it shatters on the
dashboard. The audience can hear the glass cracking because sound designer,
Richard Beggs, chose to make the volume of the sound breaking louder than
it would be in real life. This sound of the glass shattering, adds more chaos to
the scene and makes the audience feel even more tense.

11. Camera Angles and Movement
The camera movement increases as the tension increases. Cinematographer,
Emmanuel Lubezki, uses chooses to increase the camera movement when
they are under attack. This makes the audience feel disorientated and
parallels the way the characters in the cars feel.
Furthermore, Lubezki no longer shoots all five characters together in one
angle, but focuses on what is going on outside the car and how it is affecting
the characters as individuals. This demonstrates how the characters are no
longer as united as they were in the first part of this scene.

12. Colour
Although the lighting has to stay
consistent in this scene, Cuaron uses
the colour to make the audience
feel more tensed and shocked. In
the wide shot of the car rolling
down the hill on fire, and in the
medium shot of Julian dying and
bleeding as Theo tries to help, the
colour red is dominant compared to
the greenery from the beginning of
the scene. The colour of Julian’s
blood, the fire and the warning signs
of the car emphasise the danger
occurring in this scene and makes
the audience feel on edge.

13. Characterisation
In this scene, Julian is characterised as selfless as she shouts “Cover Kee!”
when she sees that the people on the motorcycle have a gun. The audience
immediately has sympathy for Julian because she sacrifices herself to warn
Kee that they have a fun.

14. Framing
The framing in this shot foreshadows the events that will occur in just a
few seconds time. The door frame separates the two policemen and
Luke (Chiwetel Ejiofor). This framing demonstrates the conflict between
the policemen and the characters in the car and foreshadow the event
of Luke killing both of them.

15. Non-Diagetic Sound
As soon as Julian gets shot, all diegetic sound disappears for a few seconds, and all the
audience can here is a ringing tone. This lack of diegetic sound makes the audience
focus on the violence of the scene of Julian being shot. Furthermore, this ringing tone
is a motif that runs throughout Children of Men and symbolises the death of a
character. This ringing tone also occurs when Jasper (Michael Cane) dies.

16. The Car
In order to shoot this
continuous scene, the
crew
working
on
Children of Men built a
car was modified to
enable seats to tilt and
to lower actors out of
the way of the camera,
and the windshield was
also designed to tilt out
of the way of the
camera
as
moved
around the and slightly
outside
the
car.
Furthermore a crew of
four had to sit on the
roof of the car as it
drove along the country
road.