Extract Presentation Details

Extract: The defibrillator  scene from John Carpenter's The Thing.

Themes/ Emotions: Paranoia, Fear, Vengeance, Shock.

Analytical Techniques for this extract:

Mise-en-scene: Use to analyse the Antarctic Outpost setting, the interior sets that were actually refrigerated to 4°C to make them have a natural 'cold' aesthetic due to the interiors being filmed in Florida, Rob Bottin's amazing special effects work, and general set design, costumes, makeup, etc.

Performance: I'll focus on Kurt Russell's performance mainly and focus on the way that he portrays paranoia, fear, and vengeance whilst also focusing on his reaction to Norris being infected. I'll also be looking at the performance of Copper (the doctor), and Clark (the guy with the beard that takes the scalpel).

Editing:  I'm going to analyse the editing in this extract to explain how it is being used to build tension and also how it is edited (for example focusing on the scalpel) to make the audience think that will have a role in this scene when the key part is Norris being defibrillated. 

Film Extract - The Thing (John Carpenter)

Camera work Analysis - Oldboy and Harry Potter

Oldboy

This extract is from the film Oldboy by Chan-Wook Park; this extract is close to the beginning of the movie and shows the character Oh Daesu's experience after he is freed from the room he had been kept in for 15 years.

At the beginning of the extract the camera starts off as a medium shot at eye level in the corner of an elevator showing a frightened woman, it then pans to Oh Daesu who is pressed up against the wall terrified; this shot was clearly done for comedic purposes as it is showing that he is having trouble adjusting to life and he hasn't even gotten out of the building, following this the camera (which I assume was attached to a jib or a crane) lifts up through a vent in the elevator (CGI vent?) and shows the elevator going down.

Following that scene there is a quite long eye level, close up tracking shot (using a hand held camera) which shows Oh Daesu leaving the building wearing the woman from the elevators glasses and walking nonchalantly across a road whilst a man (who is a part of the narrative at the beginning of the film) jumps off of the building and onto a car, I feel that this shot may have been done to show that wherever Oh Daesu goes he is followed by chaos, I feel the frontal tracking shot was done however to show how in awe he is about being free that he doesn't even turn around when he is almost hit by a van and when he man jumps off of the building.

Another sequence I feel works well is after Oh Daesu crosses the road at 0:56 and there is a crane shot of him looking over the edge which then pans to show who he is looking at before tilting up to show him walking down the stairs towards them; I feel this shot is used to show Oh Daesu's inquisitive character and impulsiveness and to build tension in the audience as they are unsure what he is going to do.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This is an extract from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in which Harry visits the department of mysteries for the first time.

Near the beginning of the extract there is a sort of shot-reverse-shot at eye level of Arthur trying (and failing) to get through a barrier into a tube station, the shot switches from the side of the barrier they are on to the opposite side of the barrier which then pans to the right as Arthur gets through, this scene was shot like this for comedic value as it helps to show the muggles walking throughout the scene whilst Arthur is amazed and confused by the technology of the barrier and thinks he has to hit the oyster reader to open the gate, it also allows the camera to show Harry explaining how to work the reader  whilst also showing Arthur's cluelessness.

Later in the extract, in the ministry of magic there is an extreme long crane shot that shows the crowds and pans to show the whole of the inside the ministry to create a sense of awe among the audience to make them empathise with Harry at that moment in the film.
Another sequence from the extract is when Lucius Malfoy is talking to the Minister of magic, there is a medium-close shot at eye level of them talking but it is also a long shot of Arthur and Harry walking past an catching them talking; this scene was filmed this way to infer that the Minister was perhaps taking a bribe or that him and Lucius were talking about ways to affect Harry's trial and it creates a sinister tone.

In Bruges - Assessment

"How does 'In Bruges' use Mise-En-Scene to reflect and develop the characters of Ray, Ken and Harry? How does the performance style of Colin Farrell (Ray) , Brendan Gleeson (Ken) and Ralph Fiennes (Harry) also reflect and develop character?"

The Mise En Scene of the film is used in this case as a strong character development device as it seems to be used to reflect the nature of the characters (especially Ray and Ken) and how they truly feel about the situation that they are in.

An example of how the Mise En Scene reflects the characters is the way that the Old Town of Bruges, where the majority of the film is set, is often referred to during the movie as being a “fairytale town” and could be a reflection of the persona that the characters have created for themselves as being tough, hardened hitmen when throughout the movie it is revealed that even though they kill people for money, it doesn’t mean that they don’t feel guilt or have morals that they like to pertain to; especially Harry who even though throughout the film he is shown to be the strict, serious, and a powerful figure that Ralph Fiennes plays excellently, with a powerful and almost chilling stature that causes the audience to immediately be aware that he is the antagonist of the film and this can also be seen in his other movies as he played Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise which could have been the reason that he was cast for the part as Harry.

The costumes are also strongly used to reflect their characters for example Ray, who is seen to be inexperienced and less serious about the job, spends most of the movie wearing quite floral, and more vibrant dress shirts underneath a suit jacket which would make a hitman stand out and be noticeable as opposed to Harry and Ken who tend to wear darker clothes to seem inconspicuous and less noticeable as they realise that it may make them more identifiable.

The acting style that Colin Farrell uses to portray Ray is reminiscent of the tragedy genre as he is trying to bury his emotions and keep himself calm whilst the narrative reveals that he has killed a child; this behaviour can be seen through the Colin Farrell's use of expression and body language when he tells the 'jokes' that are actually true stories about his life for example when he's in the restaurant with Chloe and tells her that he kills people for money to which she laughs, asking who he kills and he responds "Priests, children, you know... the usual." and you can tell by his body language that he is extremely nervous and you see that he is trying to forget, or at least come to terms with, what he's done; this also makes the acting style naturalistic as the audience is supposed to believe him and feel empathy for him; another point is that the part of Ray was supposed to be English but due to Colin Farrell's portrayal and also due to Brendan Gleeson's performance, they changed the narrative to make Ray and Ken Irish.

The acting style that Brendan Gleeson uses to portray Ken seems quite patriarchal towards Ray, in that you can tell that in some form he cares about Ray even going as far to sacrifice his life for Ray to have the chance of a better life and you can see this care especially through Brendan Gleeson's voice when he says to Ray "Then save the next little boy. Just go away somewhere, get out of this business, and try to do something good." and you can tell by his facial expression that he truly wants Ray to leave because he knows that he can contribute to something better because he can turn the pain he feels into a sort of passion to help.

The use of Mise En Scene is also used to foreshadow the events that happen about half way into the movie as it shows the ancient, grey buildings early on whilst music from the early romantic period such as Der Leiermann from Franz Schubert's song cycle Winterreise (Literally meaning Winter Journey) which is appropriate for the scene as it is about a man playing music in the streets but no-one is giving him any money or taking notice of him and he wants to give up because even dogs are growling at him but he just carries on playing; this could have been an intentional choice as it is quite reminiscent of Ray  and this piece is played throughout the movie and sets quite a depressive tone for the film which helps the audience to emphasise with and allows Colin Farrell to utilise this and further develop Ray through his almost tragic portrayal.

Mise En Scene is also used to in Harry's house to reflect his character, for example his house seems quite minimalist and smart with more neutral colours; the reason for making it quite minimalist and smart could be to reflect the amount of professionalism that Harry has whilst also implying his superiority over Ray and Ken based on the style of his house but also because he has the ability to send Ken and Ray to a different country and at a moments notice can himself fly to another country without any sort of hassle.

In conclusion I feel that Mise En Scene has been used extremely well in showing a clear reflection of the true characters and also in allowing the actors to adjust to the role and use their own performance styles to develop the character, helping them seem more believable whilst also giving the audience a sense of empathy and familiarity.

Acting Performance Analysis

The performance that I am going to be analysing is the actor Leonardo DiCaprio playing Calvin Candie in the film Django Unchained; I am going to be analysing his performance in 5 key points.

Physical Characteristics:

Height - 6' 0"
Weight - Average
Age - 38
Ethnicity - White American
Nationality - American
Speaking Style - American English with a Californian accent

What the actor has done for the role:
For the role as with most characters in the film, he has grown out his hair and beard to be more era-appropriate, he also seems to have learnt to speak in a southern dialect as in his character is from Mississippi, also in interviews he admitted to being uncomfortable with his role as his character is extremely racist and narcissistic and after rehearsals felt like dropping the role but was convinced by his co-stars to continue with the movie.

Acting Style:
His acting style in this film is supposed to be both historical and natural as he is playing a character from the 1800's that is supposed to be believable and seem like he is from the era.

Traits and function of the character:
The character he portrays owns a plantation, slaves, and at one point takes entertainment from watching them fight; he also smokes with a cigarette holder (like Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) which in the context implies his wealth; the character also seems to be quite defensive and inquisitive in that he doesn't really trust anyone other than Samuel L Jackson's character so his body language is quite tense as he is trying to read people and keeps his guard up.

Key Scene:
In my opinion this is the key scene that defines Leonardo DiCaprio being what I believe to be an amazing actor:

The main reason that I feel this scene shows how good the performance is, is because at 1:44 he wasn't actually supposed to smash the glass as it wasn't a fake glass prop and he actually cut his hand open enough to require stitches but then carried on with the scene using it to enhance his performance and went on to use it in the next scene when he uses his blood to get a reaction from Kerry Washington making it seem organic and real simply because it is.