The director of the film: the dark Horse; James Napier Robertson uses dialogue and music, mise en scene, shot and metaphor to show how Genesis is teaching chess to the kids in his own unique way. In this film using the four key techniques stated above; the Director aims to show the life in a very violent and gang run city where kids are deserted and to show how of all the odds put against people some came to find good for the kids to give them a future and give them something positive to focus on beyond the gangs and the crime in this already torn part of the country.

Multiple layers of overlapping sound like dialogue, background sound, and music work together to create an image for the viewer that shows a reflection of his childhood to teaching and or the passing on of knowledge from Genesis to the children in the Eastern Knights. The dialogue starts off as if he is talking to himself like he did when he was sick at the start of the film then it changes from him muttering to him teaching the kids. The background sound is a droning city buzz sound which is the most noticeable sound at the start of the scene; but as the scene develops it quietens down until it can’t even be herd anymore this sound is used to show how Genesis has a blank head and that everything he hears or imagines he hears is white noise and as he starts to teach this noise disappears and his head has become clearer, a weight lifted off his shoulders. The music during this scene starts as slow piano music which helps to show how he remembers his childhood as if it his thoughts were in slow motion and as the scene takes shape the piano gets quicker but quieter at the same time to put emphasis on the way his thoughts come to life in his teaching so the disappearing of the music shows that he is moving forward in time and no longer remembering his chess games with his brother.

Mise en scene is how the objects or props are placed in the scene to give more in-depth meaning to the scene and show why things are where they are in the scene. In this scene, there is a chess board In the center of the table, this signifies that the chessboard is the center of attention and the discussion Is about Maoi, this is represented by the king that Gen is showing the kids. Gen is also in the middle of the shot because he is the center of a attention in terms of dialogue and he has the attention of all the children. There is a metaphor that lasts throughout the whole scene, this metaphor is that the chessboard is Aotearoa and Maoi is the king on that board. The story goes that when Maoi tried to fish up New Zealand he couldn’t do it on his own so he had to get all of his people to help him (the chess pieces) But Maoi has the magic so he could only move one step at a time (like a King in chess). Then it flicks to a shot of Genesis walking along the road, this shows a secondary metaphor that Gen is the King and he is leading all his people (the kids of the Eastern Knights) to catch the fish (make it to the chess tournament in Auckland) from this we can infer that this is the case because the Kids wouldn’t be anywhere without Gen. This makes me see that the Kids were not at all united until Genesis came along bearing the magic and started to help them and show them how to pull up that fish.
In the scene, “shot” is used to create tension amongst the characters, for example when there is a close-up shot on Genesis holding a chess piece it creates an effect that all eyes are on him and the kids are looking up to him and his wisdom. However when there is a mid shot or a long shot it portrays the feeling as though the kids all have equal potential and value in the chess club.at the very beginning of the scene there is an over the shoulder shot of Gen sitting up on the hill looking out at the city, this shot tells us that we are watching Gen’s ‘every move’ so to speak. These different shots help the director draw emotions from the viewer; (such as sympathy for the kid’s wellbeings and family life) that wouldn’t have otherwise been expressed.

To conclude the four key film techniques in this scene; (shot, mise en scene, dialogue and sound, and metaphor) complement each other to give a visual and or secondary meaning to the scene. The metaphor helps mentally tell a story; while the mise en scene and the shot visually shows the viewers deeper meaning in the story. Then the sound reconfirms and links the visual components to the mental components of the scene. This shows that Robertson has been able to make these techniques work as one to create a full multi-sense effect on the viewer. This opens an eye to the wider New Zealand especially, to show us the gang life and the kind of trouble that the kids are going through such as family fracture and dysfunction or lack of belonging and self-belief.