Q's 1
In the opening of "Night Mail", the graphics used for the titles are very bold. they are formal, implying the subject content is a serious buisness, delivering englands mail. All the writing is in BLOCKED CAPITALS, echoing the importance, the postal-printed stamp type font.
the shots used in the opening few minutes of the clip vary. The first, is a mid shot. it establishes who is in the room and what they are doing. once this has been accomplished, the camera zooms in to the man on the phone. The next shot is that of a birds-eye view. it would have been filmed from an aircraft, flying in sync with the train over head. it films directly along the trains journey as the voiceover goes on to explain about the journy.
the next shot is an outdoor establishing shot - depicting a small railway station, showing us in the next shot we are inside it. this shot inside is a high-angled shot, filming from an angle over the the man as he works the leavers. Similarly, the next shot has an establishing-style shot as the last message is sent along the overhead wires. the camera pans along the wires, leading us into the next shot. this is inside the next station.
In terms of editing, the shot lengths depend on what is going on within them. the longest length shots are that of the train on its journey from over head, showing us how long it takes to travel from either destination. the shortest edited shot is that of the railway-station from outdoors, establishing where they are before they go indoors.
The function of the voiceover is simply to inform. it is said in an extremely sturn voice, implying the statements are fact. (" FOUR MILLION MILES EVERY YEAR, FIVE HUNDRED-MILLION LETTERS, EVERY YEAR." - at 2:59 duration )
Other sounds consist of diagetic sound - the train bouncing and screaching along. there is music at the beggining, fitting for a rail-themed film, with an four-note ostinato implying a train rolling on its journy.
Q's 2
