Mr. Smith goes to Washington - Semester 2

Justin Noddle Period 6

Summary: Mr. Smith goes to Washington is an American film made in 1939 directed by Frank Carpa. It is 129 minutes long and display’s one man’s effect on American politics. This movie is about a naïve man who is appointed to the U.S. Senate.  His plans promptly collide with political corruption, but he doesn't back down.

Question #1: How is Carpa able to use lighting to his advantage to portray emotions and feelings?

He explains to people the way he feels about politics through the lighting as it reflects emotions from the characters. When a character is sweating, the lighting shines on them more differently to truly exaggerate their fear. The lighting shines more brightly where the action happens or is about to happen. A character stumbles and the lighting is slightly more extravagant in that area or papers appear to be a brighter color because the focus should be on the papers. Lighting is used to downplay some characters too or to show a shadow in the scene. Lighting plays a key role in who the viewer must watch and it is very helpful to this film.

Question #2: What type of shots are used in this film and how do they affect the film?

Focus is directed directly on a man’s face and therefore the shot is an extreme close up on the man’s face. This is extremely effective because the viewer is able to see the exact facial expression and texture of the man’s face. The viewer can not miss a thing. Parallelism is used and this keeps the focus on the object between the parallel sides. It is very pleasing to the human eye. In most of the scenes, there is always something going on in the background. The focus is still nearest tot eh camera but the background is never boring and it always contributes to the film whether people or objects are properly placed there. A certain scene is an over-the-shoulder shot and love angle to show Hubert looking down to the man he is speaking to as he gains control in the conversation.