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  • Essay / Elements of Film: The Graduate

    Elements of Film is a way to compose each scene of a film and form the essence of the film. There are five elements in cinema: narration, cinematography, sound, direction and editing. These five elements help determine the film and how to judge a film. In The Graduate, directed by Mike Nichols, one can determine and judge using these five specific elements that make up the elements of the film. Each film can be determined by it because it also allows you to analyze a scene from the film. In this case, The Graduate will be judged and explained through the elements. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayThe first element of the film is the narrative. A narrative is similar to the plot of a film, but a narrative is about what the film is about, the characters, and the world. The entire film follows the protagonist, Ben, a recent college graduate who doesn't really know what to do with his life. The entire film essentially depicts Ben's struggles as he tries to find his purpose. He is going through serious relationship difficulties because he is having an affair with a family friend, Mrs. Robinson. Shortly after, he met his daughter Elaine; he falls in love with her. Conflict arises at this point because the relationship with Mrs. Robinson is known to both families. Elaine intends to marry another man but Ben arrives and removes her from the altar. In the end, they both sit on the bus and their expressions reflect the reality of what happened. A story is more like a narration because it shows character development. The second element of the film is the cinematography, which is essentially “writing in motion.” This is the way the film was framed, tinted and colored, in its own photographic way. Examples of cinematography seen in the film and one of them is The Party. In this scene, the camera responded to the audience using claustrophobic close-ups of the main character, Ben. This gives the audience the “choking” feeling that the character himself feels throughout the scene. Another example is the Bus scene towards the end. In this scene, the camera does a long take where we can see the performance of the actor (Dustin Hoffman who plays Ben). He is able to accept the feeling of panic because Ben, still at the end of the film, still doesn't know what to do. Although earlier, Ben was eager to reunite with Elaine and the way the cameras depicted this made the audience feel the pressure and timing of the wedding, as he struggled throughout his journey. The cinematography of the film is a great example of showing the audience and connecting them to the character. The cinematography also relies heavily on point of view. The scene in which Benjamin floats in the pool on a sunny day and his parents and the Robinsons watch him, the audience can see from Benjamin's point of view as these four adult figures loom overhead and obstruct their expression . It depicts Benjamin's lack of interest in becoming an adult. He's unsure about his life after college and doesn't want to accept it. At Benjamin's birthday party, he stands in the kitchen, dressed in scuba diving gear with a mask and an oxygen tank that his father had bought him. As he walks towards the pool, the audience sees footage from Benjamin's point of view as he looks through the goggles and all that can be heard is his own rhythmic breathing. You might also be interested. Essay Fixing and CheckingThis scene illustrates that Benjamin finds the elder's advice, requests, and demands to be incomprehensible, meaningless, and boring..