Shaolin+Soccer

For my film, I chose to watch Shaolin Soccer, a cantonese movie about shaolin kungfu players using their skills to play soccer. The film is based around a retired soccer star, who wishes to create his own team as a coach and lead them to a victory in the finals. He discovers a shaolin kungfu student who is working as a janitor on the streets. Through his connection with this student, he creates an elite team of kungfu soccer players, who have no knowledge of soccer but have adequate skills to play the sport. He teaches these students how to apply their skills into soccer, and creates an ultimate powerful soccer team. He then participates in a national competition, where his team wins match after match and finally plays the finals against his archenemy, whose team is on drugs and is cheating. However, they find a way around him and win the championships. For cinematography, many sections of the film involve jump shots or the use of affinity, and you can assume a character is going to that location because of the direction they were previously moving. I think some of the shots during this movie could have been shot better, such as when the main character (the first student) is being tossed up by his teammates, a first-person view shot was used to show him looking out in the crowd, but the movement of this shot was jerky and was not realistic. As for a good shot, I thought the flying/moving shot across the field during the practice match (zooming from character to character) was an interesting one, and was well done. Jerky camera shot flying/moving shot In this movie, lighting is used to set the mood of certain shots and scenes in the movie. It also emphasizes the atmosphere and tone of the movie. In darker scenes, the lighting is dim, and along with the slower paced music this creates a very dramatic and melancholy shot. When the atmosphere is a happy one, the music is fast paced and the shot is brightly lit. One of the most important factors in setting the stage and building the tone and mood of this are the sound effects and music that are used. Throughout the movie, the music is exaggerated in whichever situation. For instance, when the intensity is building up at the final match, the music is extremely dramatic and loud. There were also parts where very childish, upbeat music was used, and then suddenly changed to a serious one. The film also creates satire and humor with its usage of sound effects and music to make it seem like a true humor film. The dramatic overuse of the music and sound affects creates an unrealistic feeling to the whole film and makes it informal, instead of a serious tone that would be created by more subtle music and effects. As for editing techniques, there were many instances where the Kuleshav effect was put into use. One example is right before the tournament finals began. All the players and the coach looked towards one side of the screen, all with a facial expression of hope and contentment with dramatic music in the background. The following shot is a shot of the trophy sitting on the shelf, which signifies they want to win it, and they will win it. Another example is when, during their practice match, one of them raises a white flag, and all the others look at the flag either in a look of disbelief, despair, or relief. This creates the feeling that the flag (the pants) is symbolistic of defeat and giving up. There was also a familiar used during this practice match, when it was referenced that the playing field was a war zone. These techniques were well done through the use of precise cutting of the clips and usage and placement of sound effects. Also, visual special effects were used to make the film funnier.

Familiar Image Special effects: