Film Response Caravans of gold
Qianwen Miao
Rebecca Fenton
FINA- A155
2 Feb. 2015
Film Report “Caravans of Gold” talks about the value of the gold and the important role that gold play in trade in the early days of Africa. The gold is transported by camel caravans across the desert for 21 days. In Africa, gold stands for wealth. People are ranked by the amount of gold. The King of the Ghana is considered as the richest man in the world by African. In the film, we can see that the king wears lots of golden jewelry like bracelet and necklace when meeting his subordinates. In addition, the shields and swords are decorated with gold. Extreme close-up shot is used when displaying the detail of the king’s jewelry. At the beginning of the film, when talking about the gold story in Jenne, several filmmaking strategies have been used. For example, there are some extreme close-up shots on the mental workers who make golden jewelry and other golden stuffs and the process that they make jewelry. The combination of the nature sound: tap-tap, and the voice over: the narrator, makes the film more interesting and vivid. Two shot is used when narrator and one of the mental workers have a conversation, which helps emphasis the interaction between them. In- frame shot is used in this scene as well when the interviewer enters the scene. Fish is another important thing in Mali. People can make a living on gold. However, fish is their everyday protein. When talking about fishing, the cameraman used motivated pan to show the entire scene along the river that people are catching fish and sailing. Over shoulder shots are used when people dealing with the fish, the camera is focused on the fish, which emphasis the importance of the fish. In order to keep these fish in a long time without refrigerator, people dry the fish with fire. Women are largely involved in this activity in order to make a profit on a family basis. The background music is bright and lively, which produces a peaceful and
Rebecca Fenton
FINA- A155
2 Feb. 2015
Film Report “Caravans of Gold” talks about the value of the gold and the important role that gold play in trade in the early days of Africa. The gold is transported by camel caravans across the desert for 21 days. In Africa, gold stands for wealth. People are ranked by the amount of gold. The King of the Ghana is considered as the richest man in the world by African. In the film, we can see that the king wears lots of golden jewelry like bracelet and necklace when meeting his subordinates. In addition, the shields and swords are decorated with gold. Extreme close-up shot is used when displaying the detail of the king’s jewelry. At the beginning of the film, when talking about the gold story in Jenne, several filmmaking strategies have been used. For example, there are some extreme close-up shots on the mental workers who make golden jewelry and other golden stuffs and the process that they make jewelry. The combination of the nature sound: tap-tap, and the voice over: the narrator, makes the film more interesting and vivid. Two shot is used when narrator and one of the mental workers have a conversation, which helps emphasis the interaction between them. In- frame shot is used in this scene as well when the interviewer enters the scene. Fish is another important thing in Mali. People can make a living on gold. However, fish is their everyday protein. When talking about fishing, the cameraman used motivated pan to show the entire scene along the river that people are catching fish and sailing. Over shoulder shots are used when people dealing with the fish, the camera is focused on the fish, which emphasis the importance of the fish. In order to keep these fish in a long time without refrigerator, people dry the fish with fire. Women are largely involved in this activity in order to make a profit on a family basis. The background music is bright and lively, which produces a peaceful and
Cited: Basil Davidson. “Caravans of Gold.” YouTube.com. 1984. Web. 2 Feb. 2014