Online Film Analysis Assignment

1. Ocean's 11

In this little clip from Ocean’s 11, the mood is set right away with dim lighting in a dark room which gives the scene a more ominous look, like not all is what it seems. Then it moves outside to where everything is lively with the music playing and all seems to be over. Then the scene is drawn back to the poker game where a familiar face is shown. This unrestricted sense the viewer gets since the two familiar faces are obviously up to something, but the players in the game don’t. It provided anticipation to when their plan would happen. Also, the medium to close up shots provides a sense of POV in the shot to be like you were there yourself, loosing your money.

2. Silence of the Lambs

The shot opens with a close up of a man and a bug. It then has quick cuts for editing to show the separate views. The restricted view so far in the scene is of a woman who is trapped and the police that are ready to go in and save her. This spatial technique led us to believe that both houses were identical. Later in the shot however it shows that the went to the wrong house and then we infer that the girl cop, clarice, is now in danger. This draws the viewer in emotionally and if the clip were to go on longer, it would most likely have music or a scene to set the mood of anticipation of what will happen to the cop.

3. Magnolia

This clip was interesting for a number of reasons. First off, the entire clip was shot with either a tracking dolly or a steadicam following behind the subjects at a medium shot the whole time. There was also good lighting as to always be shown on the main subject. Lastly, the non diegetic music playing in the background set the mood without the cast actually hearing that music on set or as their characters.

4. Amadeus

This clip had several elements of film that were already covered in the previous three clips, but there were a few differences. The lighting was always behind the old man, giving him a dreary, old, insane lighting making him seem less credible or sane. The other man was given a positive light to show that he was a superior of some kind. The flashbacks help keep the coordination in the scenes. Lastly, when he started to play the song that was familiar, we were led to believe that he himself had written it. But in reality, it was Mozart who had written it. And this is where the mood shifts drastically.