How does the cinematography and mise-en-scene in this scene convey .....
The scene starts with a close up shot of Jean Valjean sat in a kart. The kart takes up half of the shot, therefore only revealing half of Valjean's face. The fact that half of the shot is obstructed it therefore looks as though half the shot is missing could symbolise that something is missing from his life, the kart makes the shot feel empty. On the other hand it could be to depict that darkness is never far behind him, because at this point in the film we know that he is being hunted by his enemy, Javert.
Moreover, in this opening shot, although low-key lighting has been used, there Is a slight orange glow on Valjean's face which soon fades into a dull grey colour after he sings "one day more," for me this is significant because it could indicate that something bad is going to happen in one day more. The change from light to dark, depicts the change from good to bad. However it could've been because they passed under a street lamp whilst driving.
Valjean then goes on to look around anxiously as he sings "Another day," this could be to convey how he fears each day because he doesn't want to be caught. At this point the camera starts tracking to the right to the point where the side of the kart is almost out of the shot and you can see the whole of Valjean's face clearly. The camera moves as he sings "Another day, another destiny," i feel this this could illustrate how it is his destiny to move on and come out of hiding one day, just like the camera is moving on and more of his face is being revealed.
After this there is a straight cut from Valjean to Eponine, this is known as parallel editing,which is used throughout the scene, this illustrates how they're all still in the same place but their minds are in a different place and how their situations are very different. In this part of the scene Eponine is placed in the right line of the rule of thirds grid, this creates negative space in the rest of the shot. The wall besides her is very plain and empty and Eponine leans back and connects with the wall as Marius walks past her. I feel that the negative space is there to portray how she is feeling about Marius, as she is in love with him but he is not. I think that she is feeling empty inside because she can't have him, just like the wall is empty. Eponine is also very sodden from being out in the rain, this could also show how she is feeling sad and empty because rain is often used for pathetic fallacy to portray an upsetting mood. Furthermore, the empty wall could illustrate how Marius feels about Eponine, he feels nothing for her just like there is nothing on the wall.
After this, there is a straight cut to a close up shot of Marius in a court yard, this close up crop conceals his surroundings I feel like this may suggests that he is hiding something, just like part of the court yard is being hidden by the frame. Moreover, as an aspect of mise-en-sence, in this shot the director has chosen to shoot it in an area where there are many bare trees, for me this gives this part of the scene also a very empty feeling. However, on the other hand I feel that the bare trees could be some sort of a reference to the fact that Marius is in love with Cosette and he has been stripped of all of his other feelings because all he feels is love and cant contain it, therefore all his feelings are open and on show, similar to the trees braches being open and on show.
During this point in the sence the cinimatography techniques include, use low-key lighting, by stting the scene on a gloomy day, for me the pathetic falicy creates a sense of danger and sadness. I feel the director may have intended for the audience to feel this way when watching this scene to foreshadow the danger and sadness that is to soon be brought upon the characters in the film. For me this built tension and therefore made me feel more sympatheitc towards the characters when the war happened, which i believe the director intended to do.
In this scene Marius is walking through the yard at a fast pace, wearing a rather distressed expression. The parallel editing in the scene shows that Marius and Cosette are singing to/about each other and the men in the bar are singing about Marius joining them for the war, this made me question where Marius was heading, to the bar or to find Cosette. For me this created tension and arose unanswered questions which made me more intrigued in the film. The type of camera movement used also suggests that he is tryin to get somewhere fast, as it starts off as a pan from left to right and then goes straight into a rapid forward track, following Marius throught the yard. The fact that he is evidently trying to get somwhere fast but we dont know where he is trying to get to, builds up even more suspense beacuse wherever he is going is noticibly important to him.
After this there is a straight cut from Valjean to Eponine, this is known as parallel editing,which is used throughout the scene, this illustrates how they're all still in the same place but their minds are in a different place and how their situations are very different. In this part of the scene Eponine is placed in the right line of the rule of thirds grid, this creates negative space in the rest of the shot. The wall besides her is very plain and empty and Eponine leans back and connects with the wall as Marius walks past her. I feel that the negative space is there to portray how she is feeling about Marius, as she is in love with him but he is not. I think that she is feeling empty inside because she can't have him, just like the wall is empty. Eponine is also very sodden from being out in the rain, this could also show how she is feeling sad and empty because rain is often used for pathetic fallacy to portray an upsetting mood. Furthermore, the empty wall could illustrate how Marius feels about Eponine, he feels nothing for her just like there is nothing on the wall.
After this, there is a straight cut to a close up shot of Marius in a court yard, this close up crop conceals his surroundings I feel like this may suggests that he is hiding something, just like part of the court yard is being hidden by the frame. Moreover, as an aspect of mise-en-sence, in this shot the director has chosen to shoot it in an area where there are many bare trees, for me this gives this part of the scene also a very empty feeling. However, on the other hand I feel that the bare trees could be some sort of a reference to the fact that Marius is in love with Cosette and he has been stripped of all of his other feelings because all he feels is love and cant contain it, therefore all his feelings are open and on show, similar to the trees braches being open and on show.
During this point in the sence the cinimatography techniques include, use low-key lighting, by stting the scene on a gloomy day, for me the pathetic falicy creates a sense of danger and sadness. I feel the director may have intended for the audience to feel this way when watching this scene to foreshadow the danger and sadness that is to soon be brought upon the characters in the film. For me this built tension and therefore made me feel more sympatheitc towards the characters when the war happened, which i believe the director intended to do.
In this scene Marius is walking through the yard at a fast pace, wearing a rather distressed expression. The parallel editing in the scene shows that Marius and Cosette are singing to/about each other and the men in the bar are singing about Marius joining them for the war, this made me question where Marius was heading, to the bar or to find Cosette. For me this created tension and arose unanswered questions which made me more intrigued in the film. The type of camera movement used also suggests that he is tryin to get somewhere fast, as it starts off as a pan from left to right and then goes straight into a rapid forward track, following Marius throught the yard. The fact that he is evidently trying to get somwhere fast but we dont know where he is trying to get to, builds up even more suspense beacuse wherever he is going is noticibly important to him.
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