City of God analysis

How do cinematic codes of sound and editing combine to create meaning within the opening sequence of City of God?

The “City of God” uses sound and editing to increase the pace of the film by stringing together numerous amounts of different camera angles and positions. There is evidence of this as on several occasions close-ups have been used to signify sections such as Rockets face; feet and other rudimentary  equipment so that  we, as the audience can grasp the characters emotions and understand the surrounding local region. The film also gives us an insight to the cultural and historical background of the Favela as we see small captions that have been closely cut together to create a montage of knives been sharpened and chickens being cooked on coal fires within a regular Brazilian market which has been given a Diegetic sound to create a natural and real life atmosphere.

The use of sound with in this film has been composed effectively as there are elements of both Diegetic and non-Diegetic features. The use of non-Diegetic sound has transformed this scene, as it over dramatizes events such as the chicken running through the streets of the Favela with the sound of music that is more suitable for a chase rather than the tribal/carnival type of music which was initially played; this also strongly correlates to the on-screen imagery as the tempo creates tension. By inserting this type of music we become more secluded into this chase and begin to position ourselves within the film. On the contrary City of God also uses Diegetic sound which amplifies real life sounds such as the sharpening of the knives and the clucking of the chicken in order to create distinctions between future events.(knives are been sharpen to kill chickens)

The last segment of the film is the impact of cinematography which drastically affects how the audience distinguish events. We see a low camera angle at the feet of the chicken to make us perceive the chase through the chicken’s point of view; by also using this camera position we feel as if we are running as the camera stability is ragged and in-corporates the audience further into the film. In addition we begin to realise that within the slums of the Favela a chickens life is equivalent to a human’s life. However, another captivating piece of camera work has been showed when an aerial snippet of the Favela following the chicken has been done which instigates a meaning that somebody is always watching and there’s no place to hide.

The last part of City Of God utilise space and time as we find ourselves situated in the middle of a stand of between Ze’s gang and the police. To maximise this scene all of the filming elements are used together to make the scene as captivating as possible; A 360° angle shot has been used to in-corporate all of the surrounds in addition to Rockets expressions which is then slow motioned with flash backs of his childhood to give the audience an insight to Rockets feeling which is supported with the message “If you run they get you and if you stay they get you.”