Analysis of Filming Techniques in The Blind Side

The Blind Side is a must see biographical sports film written and directed by John Lee Hancock. The Blind Side is based on a true story on a football player named Michael Oher who started out with nothing and went on to be a successful NFL player with the help of his foster family, the Touhy’s. The film was produced in 2009 and based on the book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. The movie exemplifies the works of talented actors and actresses, some of whom are familiar and others who are new to the acting world. The names of the main characters are: Sandra Bullock, who plays the role of Mrs.Tuohy, Tim McGraw, who portrays Mr.Tuohy, and newcomer Quinton Aaron, who plays the lead as Michael Oher. The film has outstanding acting, setting, and encouraging and inspirational relationships.

Narrative films provide viewers with human characters whose circumstances produce comedy, tragedy, or both. This film has a classical narrative form that is story driven, with an emphasis on a smooth flow and an immersive experience for the audience. Narrative structure analysis is the analysis of the story elements: plot, character motivations, and theme. It also includes the structure of literature (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution). The exposition in this film is when Michel is on the street homeless with nowhere to go. The Rising action is when Micheal moves in with the Tuohy’s and they start taking care of him and he becomes part of their family. The rising action is when several colleges want Micheal to play for them and he picks Ole Miss and get questioned by the NCAA. The falling action is when Micheal decides what college he wants to go to and the resolution is Micheal going to college and eventually the NFL.

Every film uses different techniques to create meaning throughout the film. Some elements that are used are mise en scene, cinematography, editing, and the soundtrack. One thing the film used was Mise en scene. Mise en Scene is an integrated design concept which refers to what we see on screen in a film. It’s the film’s visuals; meaning, all of the elements that appear on camera and their arrangement. Many different factors contribute to the visuals – the setting, decor, lighting, depth of space, and costumes and makeup. The cinematography is the process of filming. It has to do with the angles of the camera, if it is high or low and other positions the camera could be in. Editing of a scene can join seperate pieces of a scene together. The soundtrack includes all the noise the audience hears music, characters talking, sound effects or even birds chirping in a scene of a film.

One scene from the movie was when Micheal started his first high school football game. In terms of mise en scene it shows the coaches on the sideline, and the football players and Micheal on the field. The cinematography is is shown when the scene starts off with a long shot from the bleachers, making it seem as though you are sitting and watching the game there. Throughout the scene you can hear the crowd cheering and the players and coaches yelling and talking to each other. The sounds in the scene are very important in a scene because it is important to how the viewer interprets the scene. After the long shot the scene was edited to a close up of Micheal’s face, lined up against another player. Both players are looking at each other, and look very intense. The music in the background is an important aspect of the scene. This part of the scene starts off in slow motion. Michael closes his eyes and in his head Mrs. Tuohy says “This team is your family” and then the quarterback says, “go”. When he closed his eyes he calmed himself down before lunging forward towards his opponent. He started pushing his opponent back and the camera switched to a full shot of the field so the viewers can see Micheal pushing his opponent across the field. A dolly shot technique was used for this scene when Micheal is pushing the other football player across the field. At the end of the scene Micheal pushes his opponent over the wall and the crowd goes crazy cheering for him and his team. At the same time the coach had a very surprised face when Micheal put another player over the wall of the field. The sound in this scene makes the viewers seem like they are in the stands watching the game. At the very end of the scene it shows the Tuohy’s smiling and looking very proud of Micheal. The types of camera shots used in this scene were used to show every detail of the action, and the characters throughout the scene. The mise-en-scene, cinematography, the soundtrack, and the editing, all played a part in how the movie was perceived by the viewers.