Week 4 - JoJo's Bizarre Camera Angles

Review of some Camera Angles

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable (2017)

by director Takashi Miike

For this week's assignment, I decided to analyze some camera angles from the Japanese film JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by Takashi Miike. It is a live-action adaptation of the famous long-running anime and manga series of the same name by Hirohiko Araki. In this series, various protagonists gain spirit-like superpowers called Stands and usually must defeat a major villain. This film focuses on the fourth part of said series set in the fictional Japanese town of Morioh, in which a high school freshman named Josuke Higashikata develops a Stand called 'Crazy Diamond' that can fix anything to a previous state. When a series of bizarre disappearances occur around town, Josuke teams up with investigator Jotaro and fellow students Koichi and Okuyasu to solve the mystery and defeat the culprit - a murderer who collects left hands.

The movie opens with Josuke's daily routine, followed by this establishing shot of Morioh. This is not only a stable and clear shot, but it also does well in evoking feelings of immersion in the viewer(s). One can clearly see in this shot that the setting is elaborate yet small in scope - a sure sign of good worldbuilding on the creator's part.

This close-up/low-angle shot takes place after Josuke fixes Koichi's bicycle when they meet in an alleyway following a scuffle with a group of delinquents. This scene is poignant because it highlights the esoteric nature of Josuke's power and leaves the viewer(s) feeling just as confused and intrigued as Koichi is. Because of the way the preceding shots are filmed (i.e. the camera moves away from the broken bike, and when we see it again it is as good as new), it creates a sense of mystery that persists throughout the film as more bizarre things occur across town.

Another shot I chose to analyze is this eye level shot of Okuyasu and his Stand 'The Hand,' which has the power to erase space by swiping with its right hand. Okuyasu's expression in this scene illuminates the aggressive nature of this power and leaves feelings of tension within the viewer. Since this shot is followed by a brief combat scene, this feeling is validated and kept up throughout the scene. The second shot, in which The Hand swipes down in a low-angle head on shot, creates a sense that the camera itself will be erased by The Hand's power, leaving a feeling of immersion.

In this shot, Jotaro uses his Stand 'Star Platinum' to temporarily stop the flow of time and protect Josuke from the villainous 'Aqua Necklace' which takes the form of a mass of water with eyes. The grey filter on nearly everything in the room indicates that they are frozen in time, and this all-encompassing stasis creates a feeling of suspense in the viewer(s). Josuke's expression is also frozen, creating a sense of enduring terror.

The film closes with a slowly moving shot of a human left hand in a brown paper bag, indicating that the murderer is still afoot and that this isn't yet the end. This creates a sense of disbelief in the viewer(s), as he is defeated by Jotaro in the film's climax and is eventually run over by an ambulance on accident. It raises questions on how exactly he survived and whether or not he will show up if a sequel to this film is made.

Week 3 - Comments on Student Blogs

I chose to comment on the blogs of Alyssa Martinez (https://alyssamrtz.blogspot.com/) and Madison Craumer (https://madison-aicemedia.blogspot.com/?m=1%20Madison%20Craumer). Here was what I had to say about Alyssa's film shots:

And this is what I said about Madison's:

I enjoyed both of their shot sets because they often evoked not just one thought or emotion, but many. As I have said in a previous post, ambiguity is a powerful tool to captivate your audience and I believe that these two students did it very well. I look forward to seeing more from them.

Week 2 - Camera Shots

I took this pan shot for no other reason than that I thought it would look nice. I felt that it captured an immersive feeling even though the shot was taken from afar. I think it would work just as well as an establishing shot.

This is a close up shot of my brother clenching his fist as if angry or frustrated. He requested that his face was not shown so I decided to get creative. I liked it because it raises questions as to what exactly is frustrating him/his character. Reminds me of classic kung-fu movies/80s anime.

Here is a point of view shot I took of me grabbing and then dropping a bottle of chocolate milk. I didn't exactly mean to make it seem like I was in a rush, but looking back on it I feel like it adds a surrealistic feel to the shot - why am I in such a hurry to do this mundane thing?

This low angle shot wasn't quite as inspired as my other shots; it was mainly taken because I felt like it would be somewhat unique to do a shot of that nature on an inanimate object rather than a person or creature.

Here we have an extreme close up shot of my eye that my brother was nice enough to help me film. I like it for the same reason I liked my close up and point of view shots - ambiguity is one of my favorite things to explore in film and writing in general.

This is an establishing shot of my apartment complex. I think an apartment complex could be a great setting for a thriller or psychological horror film - e.g. there's an evil spirit in an apartment room and a ghost hunter has to find it before it takes over the building.

I tried doing a head-on shot of my brother kicking the camera, but he accidentally knocked it out of my hand. The original intent was that I would move the camera as if the kick had sent me flying. We both thought the result was funny and decided to keep it anyway.

Would this count as a follow shot...? I tried to do one without showing my brother's face, so my options were relatively limited. Regardless, I feel that I did a good and steady shot given the aforementioned constraints. I showed my brother after filming and he was saying 'wow, that's pretty good.'

This was my attempt at a dolly shot without using an actual dolly. It was shakier than I expected given the relative smoothness of my pan and follow shots, but it was decent for what it was. Not my best shot but I liked it.

This freeze frame shot was taken with the intent of capturing the roses' color and beauty. I wanted to explore the notion of 'innate beauty' - something that is beautiful by nature and that is worth spending several seconds looking at and admiring.

This tilt shot was on another part of my complex. Tilt shots in general are among my favorites - many movies I watched when I was young made use of tilt shots, and they gave me a warm feeling inside for reasons unknown. It could work as a transition too (e.g. camera tilts up, and when it comes down the location is totally different)

Finally, the reaction shot. This was also one of my favorites because it evokes sufficient feelings of  anxiety to keep the audience intrigued, but not so much as to creep them out or drive them off. This shot is a shameless shout-out to every horror film and anime I have ever watched.

Week 1 - Hello!

Hello, everyone! As my first assignment, I will write the reason I am taking AICE Media Studies. I plan on pursuing a career in graphic design, but having experience in other media-related fields (e.g. photography, videography, production and editing) will greatly increase my chances of success in that field. I hope to ultimately gain at least basic skills in the production and editing of video content. I look forward to participating and learning in the months to come!