The first major image we see is of the Montague and Capulet headquarters, the shot is of two tall skyscrapers, the sheer size of them portrays immense wealth and power. The owners of these two tower-like-buildings are obviously very influential people in the city, as they own what looks like the biggest buildings there. The fact the are standing next to each other also shows a strong sense of rivalry between the two owners.
There are many film shots of the statue that stands between the two buildings. This informs you of how religious the two families are. It is the only thing that links the families. Many of the pictures of shootings and violence are around the statue.
As the man repeats the prologue, major and key words that he is saying are flashed up on screen in the form of Newspaper headlines. This shows how serious this feud is, as the papers have reported it, it must be something that effects the entire city. There is a shot of all the magazines that have featured the rivalry and pictures of men holding guns and other such things.
As the language is hard to understand for those who have not studied it, strong pictures and clips that come from the movie are shown - this is really helpful as it shows the basic story line.
The image of the choirboy is very strong, as it is amidst al the pictures of violence. It represents something very innocent and pure.
Also the image of the riot squads and helicopters shows how the entire police force is trying to control this situation – but not succeeding.
Sound effects
There are many sound effects, which fit the pictures, but some are strange noises.
The sound of gunfire tells us really how much violence has happened and how it is really serious – not just simple competitive rivalry between companies, but people actually getting hurt.
There is the sound of helicopters, which also shows the seriousness of the situation as helicopters are usually brought in as a last resort to calm a situation.
Different Types of film
A lot of the footage looks shaky – this implies it was filmed in a hurry when the filmer was running or holding the camera. This therefore gives the impression that it is home footage or from a news report. The way it is shot gives the impression of it all happening very quickly.
The shots are very quick to change, the speed of it is immense and it is quite hard to watch. It shows how everything has happened very quickly and how so many things have taken place in a short space of time – all the shootings and riots etc.
Some of the footage is taken from above as if from a helicopter. The idea that the camera-person having to sit all the way up in a helicopter to get the closest and best shot makes me think how dangerous it must’ve been to get up close to the action.
