The Use of Hand-held Cameras in “After Life” Essay Example for Free

The Use of Hand-held Cameras in â€Å"After Life† Essay Hirokazu Kore-eda’s â€Å"After Life† portrays the importance of making beautiful memories that would last forever. It is about death but deals more with choosing the best memory a dead person can remember and wants to remember for the rest of eternity. Twenty-two souls came to a â€Å"waystation† between life and death where they were asked to choose one precious memory. After choosing a memory, it would be recreated and filmed by the â€Å"staff† at the station. The â€Å"staff† were also dead persons who were not able to leave the place because of difficulty in choosing the memory they want to take with them. In this movie, hand-held camera techniques are used in a concrete pattern to recreate the dead peoples memories. The cameras were also used to record their interviews wherein they try to explain and give details of their specific memories. This was especially seen with the prostitute, pilot, and Tatara Kimiko. According to Kore-eda, he used scripted and unscripted dialogs in the film by non-actors and professional actors (Derek, 1998, n. p). He actually included non-actors to relate their real memories. In the beginning of the movie, characters were filmed with fixed cameras and they were seen having a hard time choosing their memories. However, with hand-held camera scenes, they were able to choose their memories easily. Although in the scenes where hand-held cameras were used seemed as informal scenes compared to the others, the characters can be seen talking comfortably. It seems that they were having a normal conversation as opposed to a formal interview. The characters were more at ease with the hand-held cameras. This might be because hand-held cameras do not seem as intimidating as those normally used in making movies. Also, when these cameras are used, it can only seem as though a home movie is being done and not a formal movie. The first scene where a hand-held camera was used was when the prostitute was having tea with Takuro Sugie, one of the counselors. They had their conversation in a casual way while drinking tea. The hand-held camera technique started when the counselor showed a picture of a demolished hotel to her, which was a part of her chosen memory. The counselor then found out that something was not right. Soon thereafter, he realized that the prostitute lied about her age. Feeling guilty, she admitted that she lied and even related that she was not with anyone that day and was actually waiting for a man. The hand-held camera focused on her while she was telling the truth, and this showed the development of her character. The second hand-held camera technique appeared on the pilot and Kawashima’s conversation. Kawashima brought pictures of airplanes so he could figure out and recreate the pilots memory and the specific plane that the pilot flew that day. The third hand-held camera technique was when Tatara Kimiko was drawing a red dress on the paper, which she would present to Kawashima. She seemed to be using an unscripted dialog because she was seen struggling to recall her memories. Because it is very natural to forget some things, this was considered unscripted. In the scene, the hand-held camera focused on the red dress that she was sketching because it was the most important part of her memory and would be used on the set to recreate her memory. Hand-held camera techniques appeared throughout the movie while the memories were being recreated. The cameras tried to capture every detail of their stories and facial expressions so that real emotions can be seen by the viewers. In Tatara Kimiko’s scene where she was trying to teach a certain dance to a little girl, the camera followed her every move and kept the focus on her face rather than the little girl learning the dance. This scene is considered unscripted because she tried to remember the dance and even changed some of the details because she was not able to remember the exact details of the dance. The hand-held cameras tried to record her real story in a natural way and she would not have the chance to make up things because this would be easily seen on hand-held cameras. The movie â€Å"After Life† demonstrates hand-held camera techniques that will allow the viewers to get close with the characters. Compared with other cameras, hand-held cameras are able to show the real emotions and sensitivity of the characters. This is seen in scenes where characters tend to talk in an unscripted way in order to capture the real story and recreate this on the set. Real emotions can be seen when individuals are on their most unguarded moments. This is when people do and say things that they normally keep to themselves because they feel that no one is listening. Although it may seem to be an invasion of ones privacy, it is a very good way to record a persons true character, which would help make a great recreation of a memory. Hand-held cameras make it easier for viewers to understand the development of the characters of the movie. This movie shows how important memories are to a persons life. It is hard to choose one memory from all the years of existence of one individual but it is harder to remember the specific details of that one memory. It is like a dream where everything is blurred and only a certain moment or conversation of the whole memory can be remembered. Moreover, the pressure of choosing one special memory out of all the memories a person can have to take in eternity is also hard. Certainly, one memory is not enough. Because memories are hard to remember, which makes it hard to recreate, hand-held cameras contribute greatly in the making of this movie. There are just some things that can be only seen through the lens of a hand-held camera and this is what makes â€Å"After Life† a