Be specific
Representations can change throughout a clip - a character can show different sides of their personality, don’t be afraid of contradicting yourself - but be SPECIFIC about your point and example.
POINT: Alonzo at seems quiet, reflective and generous at the start of the clip as Jake first address him.
POINT: Alonzo become soon becomes domineering and manipulates the conversation, berating Jake for not ordering when he had a chance.
Never miss a chance to include terminology
Use the word CUT.
Have a guess at the shot types if you’re not too sure.
Diegetic - non diegetic?
“We clearly see the costume of Alonzo in the opening mid-shot.”
“The scene using shot-reverse-shot editing for the conversation, mainly using over the shoulder shots to frame the characters.”
Structure:
Point: Alonzo is shown to be more powerful than Jake.
Evidence:
-Using a custom car, not standard issued by police
-Speaking louder and acting more aggressive.
-Intimidates Jake when reading his paper
-Jake is shown to be less talkative, quieter.
-The way they talk is different, Alonzo is more ghetto/gangster while Jake is more formal
-Loading his Smith & Wesson 4506 when he gets into the car.
-Leaving his car unlocked
-Walking across the street without looking, cars screeching to a stop for him, makes him look like a badass, a powerful person.
-The way he drives is also wreckless, not using turn signals, and driving aggressive and fast.
-Jake is behind Alonzo when walking out, shows that Alonzo is the leader.
-Using a Smith and Wesson 4506, which is .45 ACP, a round which is powerful. Since the round is powerful, it shows that Alonzo is equally as powerful. A powerful man using a powerful gun.
Mise-en-scene:
-Eggs cooking
-The way they dress, the black cop dresses more ghetto/gangster, from the streets, but Jake dresses like a regular white person, a regular joe.
-The way he loads his Smith & Wesson 4506, it Intimidates Jake.
-Using ghetto slangs.
-Car’s Hydraulics HI TOY
-Alonzo’s Jewellery.
-Contrast between clothes worn by Jake or Alonzo
Sound:
-Dr.Dre’s rap song as he drives, we learn that he is ghetto/gangster. (Non-Digetic)
-Eggs cooking, Car Horns, People Eating (Spoons and Forks Clinking), Tires Screeching (Digetic)
Camera Shots:
-There are more close ups on Alonzo than Jake, makes it look like Alonzo is more powerful, more dominant as the shots focus on him more.
-Wide Angle
-POV
-Long Shot
Editing:
-Putting in police sirens in the background etc.(Ambient Sounds that matches the scenes)
-Putting closeups of Alonzo in.
-Close up of him loading the gun.
Meaning Created by micro-elements:
Jake is introduced to us by a long shot, as he walks towards and into the Diner. This shot shows us what Jake looks like, and what we can think of him by judging him. (The way he dresses, the way he walks, his facial expressions). As he enters the Diner, Alonzo is already waiting, reading his newspaper. This suggests that Jake is Presumably late, as Alonzo is calmly sitting and reading his newspaper as Jake rushes to the Diner.
As Jake sits down, they both engage in a brief conversation. The shots of their conversation follow the 180 Degree rule, with close ups of Alonzo but not Jake. This gives us a sense that Alonzo is more important, more powerful compared to Jake. The ambient sounds in the background also matches the scene inside the Diner. We hear forks and spoons clinking, sounds of footsteps, car horns and sirens on a distance, along with cars passing by. It shows that the scene is meant to be calm and normal.
As they talk it is clear that they are isolated from other people, sitting in an area where nobody else's sit in. Which separates them and makes them unique as main characters. The way they talk is also different. Jake is more formal and portrayed as your average joe, while Alonzo is a stereotypical black gangster (But he’s a detective!) He is portrayed this by the way he dresses, he has chains and a skull cap, which gangsters wear. He also talks really ghetto and his car is a classic muscle added with hydraulics. Hydraulics are common in gangster cars, and he Jake even comments it’s not standard issue. The way he drives is also reckless like a gangster, he doesn’t use turn signals and aggressively accelerates his car. Furthermore, the use of non-diegetic sounds, such as Doctor Dre’s rap song, tells us that he is clearly a gangster. (But he’s still a detective!”). This tells us that Alonzo could be corrupted as detectives normally don’t dress like gangsters, that Alonzo relates himself to crime,gangsters rather than policing and detective work.
Since this is set in LA, police sirens would be common in the 90s era, as you can hear in the Film. It matches the environment they are in, and it outlines their works since they are both detectives. Alonzo is also shown to be more powerful than Jake. In the scene, he is more louder, more prominent than Jake. The camera work also supports this as in the scene there are a lot of close ups of Alonzo, but not Jake. When they walk out the Diner, Alonzo walks across the road without looking, and cars stop for him. This isn’t normal because people have to stop for the cars to go first, this shows that Alonzo is a powerful, scary figure. The handgun he uses is the Smith & Wesson 4506, which fires a .45 ACP. The .45 is a very powerful round, this symbolises how powerful Alonzo is, a powerful man using a powerful gun.
Alonzo holding his S&W 4506 to Jake's head.
Alonzo sitting in the cafe, his body language makes him look like he's powerful, the way he is wearing the gold chain, black clothing, and his arms spread wipe against the sofa.
Artwork of Jake and Alonzo.
In this shot, Alonzo's car has it's hydraulic's system activated. Alonzo said that his car isn't standard issue, which tells us that he's a dirt cop that doesn't play by the rules, since he is breaking standardized law enforcement rules.
