Page 46 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

Sport on Film • 35

of colour, black and white’s associations with older films enable it to evoke the
past. For example, the inclusion of black and white sequences of baseball players
at the beginning of Field of Dreams (1989) sets the mood of nostalgia which runs
throughout the fi lm.
The position of the camera is effective in constructing the audience’s relationship
with the sport action, the narrative and the characters. The contest narrative form of

most sport films is often given dramatic power through techniques which portray the
extremes of emotion experienced by an individual athlete, including close-ups at the
beginning or end of a competition. The close-up shots of individual competitors in
Chariots of Fire (1981) depict their concentration and determination prior to the Olym-
pic 100-metre final, emphasising the importance of the upcoming event. Shots from

above create a sense of power over a character, making him or her appear small and
vulnerable. In contrast, shots from below signify increased size and stature, conveying
power, strength and importance. In the movie Coach Carter (2005), the eponymous
character of the coach, played by Samuel L. Jackson, is usually portrayed standing
with the camera slightly below head height, looking up to demonstrate his physical
and personal dominance, or straight on to portray him as a powerful, serious and

influential leader. However, the camera position changes during a scene at a school
board meeting, where Carter’s future as a coach is in question, and his vulnerability is
highlighted by a camera shot from above looking down on him sitting at a table.
Camera angles can offer the characters’ points of view by showing an event from
a perspective corresponding to what we imagine the character would see. This can
increase the sense of being part of the action. For example, the camera may put us in
the position of a batter viewing a pitch, a goalkeeper waiting for a penalty shot, or a
basketball player viewing the basket. In the Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
(1962), we can see part of the race from the hero Colin Smith’s point of view, as he
watches the runner ahead and faces in the crowd as he approaches the finish. The ef-

fect of this audience identification with a character increases a sense of involvement
in the competitive dimensions of the action—the audience cares about the character

winning or losing. Sport films use point-of-view shots to encourage the audience to
step into the position of characters and experience their vulnerability, anxiety, power
or dynamism.
The shot/reverse-angle shot is typically used in dialogue when the camera moves
back and forth between speakers. In Remember the Titans (2000), the shot/reverse-
angle shot is used to highlight differences between listeners and speakers. The movie
is based on a story about the integration of a high school American football team in
Virginia during the 1960s. A central theme of the movie is the relationships formed
between players and coaches from differing ethnic backgrounds. Within this fi lm,
shot /reverse-angle shot is used to accentuate the initial feelings of separation and
confl ict between black and white players, coaches and athletes and black and white
members of the coaching staff. Placing individuals within the same shot later in the

film illustrates a sense of community and bonding as the coach and players come to
respect and appreciate each other.