Danielle Sidweber
P.2 Media Practice Extract
24
The extract that I chose to watch was from the TV series, “24.” From the small extract we were given, I can conclude that this series could potentially fall under the action or mystery genre. Overall, I believe that the theme of this extract would be to not keep any secrets, as this is hidden throughout the extract. The characters are discussing the actions of others in relation to a bomb going off, and their flight to Visalia. There is conflict between the two characters, and this is shown through all aspects of the film. These aspects include camera movements and angles, the editing, the sound, and the Mis en Scene. All of these aspects are very prominent when determining the deeper meaning of the film, and how the filmmakers decided to portray emotions, conflict and more.
One of the main aspects when determining the meaning of this extract was within the camera angles and movements. The first shot that I extracted of the film was the close ups. A close up is a shot of a singular character of just their face, or particular body part, or item. There are many examples of close ups in this extract, however there is one in particular that I found to really advance the plot. This close up is the very first shot of the extract, of the main female character. It shows her from her shoulders and up, in which the audience can clearly determine her emotion. She looks as if she is conflicted, which is clearly shown throughout the rest of the extract. This close-up establishes her emotions for the rest of this extract. As this shot shows that she is conflicted, this is prominent when she is being interrogated by the other character and does not know what to say. This further contributes to the theme of the text; to keep no secrets. This correlates back to this close up because she is clearly hiding something, and is conflicted about whether she should share it or not. Another example of camera movements in this extract are the zoom shots. A zoom shot is when the camera zooms into one specific image, or thing. There are a few in this extract, but the main one that I picked out was the zoom shot when the man is closely interrogating the woman, and it zooms into both of their faces. As well as the close up shot, this shows further confliction in their faces. Additionally, it shows both characters' personalities. It shows how the man is very harsh and straight-foward, and how the woman is very conflicted and secretive. This contributes to the plot of keeping secrets, because it can clearly show the emotions of the characters when deciding what to say, specifically when pressure is being put on the girl. Both of these examples contribute to the plot, specifically showing the characters emotions.
Another aspect of film that advances the plot of this extract is within the editing. One of the editing techniques of this extract that is shown is the split screen. A split screen is when there is a clear split of the screen showing two separate shots at the same time. This technique is used in this extract when the man is attacking the woman, and asking her to tell him the truth. The other half of the screen is showing multiple people of the woman's past, and this is what she is thinking as she is being attacked. This intensifies the plot of keeping secrets, because she is hiding something from him and the split screen shows what she could potentially be hiding from this man attacking her. Another example of developmental editing in this extract is the eye-line match. An eye-line match shows a character looking at a specific thing, then it would show what they are looking at. This is shown in the extract when the characters are discussing the timing of a bomb going off and they look at the clock, then the clock is shown. This intensifies the conflict within the woman's thoughts of telling the truth. It is showing that their time is running out, further putting pressure on the characters and the plot.
Sound is also a very crucial aspect of film making in relationship to the deeper meaning. One of the main aspects of sound in this extract was the dialogue. Dialogue is simply the words of the characters being said. Clearly, this is what mainly advances the film and gives the audience a clue as to what is going on. This is one of the most important parts of every film. The dialogue in this extract accentuates all of the shots and the overall intensity of the film. For example, the characters are discussing the timing of the bomb going off, and their flight to Visalia. After they are shown discussing this, they then show the clock. This dialogue really brings out the importance of time in this film, and how it relates to the inner conflict of the characters themselves. Another aspect of sound in this extract was the diegetic sound. Diegetic sound is the natural sounds that come from the film, like a door slam, a foot stomp, or a clock tick. Even though diegetic is shown throughout this entire extract, I noticed it mostly when the clock was ticking. In the same scene mentioned previously, the characters are deciding what their next move will be, and if the girl will tell her secrets. To add additional pressure on their decision making, there is the diegetic sound of the clock ticking. Not only does this add pressure, but it shows the inner conflict of each character and it keeps the audience interested in the film.
Along with camera angles and movements, editing and shots, Mis en Scene is crucial to the development within the film. Mis en Scene are controlled aspects of the film that can be categorized into 6 different categories: Costumes, Lighting, Actors, Makeup, Props and Setting. Even though all of these are prominent in this extract, there are 2 that specifically stood out. One of which is the lighting. The lighting in this mysterious room that they are in is very dim, further letting the audience know that something is going to happen. Dim lighting is normally an indicator of a mystery film, and it is used to intrigue the audience. This specific lighting is shown throughout the entire extract, giving off a certain vibe that intensifies the film. The other aspect of Mis en Scene that is prominent in this extract is the props. Props are certain objects that are significant in the film. There is one prop that caught my eye in the extract, and these are the papers that were being handed to the woman in the beginning. The audience does not know what these papers are, but since they are being so clearly shown, they must be important to the overall plot. There are other props in this extract, like the chair that the man threw, however the papers stood out the most. This prop adds to the mysterious aspect of the film, leaving the audience to infer what these papers are, and what they mean to the plot. Mis en Scene is a very important aspect in filmmaking, especially in relation to the overall plot.
All of these aspects of the film mentioned above are crucial to the development of its plot. Camera angles, shots, movements, editing, sound, and Mis en Scene all intensify a film. They also engage the audience, and keep them on the edge of their seat when watching films like this one. Whether it was the shot-reverse-shot, dialogue, or even as simple as the lighting, all of these advance the deeper meaning of this extract. Overall, the theme was to show the consequences of keeping secrets, and this is shown in a very mysterious way that keeps the audience engaged. This extract was designed to show emotion and plot advancement through these filming aspects listed above.
