"The Hunger Games" vs. "The Gamer"

          The Cinematography in “The Hunger Games” and in the Gamer” share both similarities and differences.  For example In “The Hunger Games”, there were fight scenes but the action was sped up so that it was all a fast moving blur.  There was no blood, sounds of necks breaking or violent sounds of any kind really, only the fast paced in motions of knives and fists swinging.  Then the after math is just the bodies dead on the ground.  I noticed that in “The Gamer” there was audible shooting and bullets flying, but when the screen showed a bunch of the fighters running or fighting with each other again the action was blurred and the actors were sped up to seem extra fast and powerful, like nothing could stop them. They were that good.

            The special effects in “The Hunger Games” the characters are released into what appears to be an arena decorated like a forest, but computers, that broadcast the action, control the arena.  The people in charge can add or take away or change anything about the place.  For example, when a child fighter dies, a screen appears telling the rest who died and the view is tricked into thinking its just a normal forest.  But the viewer forgot that until something happen or someone died.  When Katniss got to close to the end of the arena the computer handlers started a forest fire to chase her back to the center where the action is. They added fireballs to the fire and sent those after her too.  I noticed the fire looked a little too orange and a little less like fire and more like fire fog creeping through a forest.   It just had that computer look to it.  Also when Katniss and Peeta were closing in on finishing the team that designed the game   created a dog to come after them, and then they made distance between them and the dog, they doubled the dog and soon the two had three dogs after them. The dogs were obviously computerized and its lunges, barks, movements and mouth actions all seemed more computerized then real. 

             In The Gamer, the fighters were in a reality video game and were being controlled by actual people they were prisoners in a jail forced to play in this game and others controlled them. Most of the movie the viewer watches through a game like screen. With a grid that flashes on the screen from time to time; with actions, updates and pointers for the people playing the game and controlling their players.  There were also pop ups for the people being controlled telling them who died and things they need to remember.  Explosions and fire blasts was realistic even though the viewer knows its all a game. Another successful effect is the use of light when Tillman is in the locker room, and this big tough strongest man that both the video players and the prisoners stayed away from came into the locker room and said to Tillman the main character “I killed someone, he’s right over here if you want to see.”  They’re in the locker room and when Tillman turns around to face this guy all he can really see is the man’s outline covered in dark evil shadows. The man’s eyes were lit in a way that they had a light piercing white glow to them, and only enough is was casts on the man’s hands to show hints of the blood that stained them. 

             In Both “The Hunger Games” and “The Gamer” the action of the characters is very realistic, but what makes both movies seem unreal is the use of effects to manipulate the scenery and create the feel of the game and computerized creatures. 

Both are wildly violent with characters that were forced to fight in situations they had no control over and it is for the public’s entertainment. Both movies have the trapped in a game feel, and both main characters are fighting for their lives and all they wanted was to stay alive and win so they can return to their lives and families.