He Got Game cinematography and film techniques
He Got Game - cinematography and film techniquesHe Got Game is a film about the relationship between a father and his son. In this film the father, Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington), is serving time in prison for murdering his wife. His son, Jesus Shuttlesworth (Ray Allen), is the nation's top high school basketball recruit. The governor, being an avid basketball fan, has made a deal with Jake that will curtail his sentence if he can convince his son to go to the governor's alma mater, Big State University. Jake agrees, but much difficulty lies in dealing with a son who still hasn't forgiven him for taking his mother's life. It is around this difficulty that the plot is built.
In this film, Spike Lee uses the techniques of cinematography, mise en scene, editing, and sound to enhance the feud between father and son. He gives us insight into their feelings and motivations, he compares their personalities and attitudes, and he illustrates the dissonance between the two men through the use of these techniques.
Cinematography
In Jesus and Jake's first meeting on the ball court, Lee makes use distance and space to increase the sense of separation between them. Empty space here is exaggerated through the use of a wide-angle lens. Jake is seen here in the foreground with Jesus and Booger in the background. All three men keep a healthy distance apart. When Jake approaches Booger to give him love, Booger backs away, reacting to the violation of the space that the director has created between these characters. This distance between Jake and Jesus is kept throughout the scene as they walk parallel paths across the court to the fence.
As the film progresses and as Jesus begins to accept his father more and more, the distance between the actors decreases. For example, when they are walking along the beach later in the film, they are walking side by side and even making contact at times. A telephoto lens is used here to help flatten the distance. Also, in this scene Jake and Jesus are nearly always in the same shot. In previous scenes, the two men were rarely seen in the same frame. This had affected the viewers' perception of the distance between them by making them seem farther apart. The use of space and distance in the ocean scene, however, creates a feeling of closeness. The scene ends with a dramatic violation of space: Jake hugs Jesus.
With this hug, Lee demonstrates another use of cinematography. He uses close-up shots to help reveal character emotions. First, there is a close-up of Jesus' face as he looks down on his father. His expression reveals much of repulsion and not a little of disgust, but for the first time in the film we don't see his anger toward his father. Next, the camera is tilted down to...
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