Reflective Analysis

Reflective Analysis

 

The sequence shot of the larger film “Blood Money” was designed to fulfil my aim of creating an emotional response from the audience, namely that of shock, whilst fulfilling the conventions of Crime Drama and taking aspects of the horror and thriller genres. These aims were to be fulfilled through the use of micro-features specifically Editing, Cinematography and sound whilst appealing to my target audience of 18+ males with knowledge of similar works within the genre and was greatly influenced by Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp fiction and Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. I took the roles of director, writer, cinematographer and actor to fulfil these aims. The audience feedback was mostly positive, picking up many of the themes and techniques employed to produce an emotional response and fulfil my aims. The samples were taken from my target audience and those outside it to build a better concept of how the film was received. 

 

Due to the short space of time to create tension within, methods needed to be employed to highlight specific events. The use of the high pitch ringing was one such method. It first enters the sequence as Tony walks around the apartment trying to shrug off the attacks by his wife. In this instance it was used to create an air of unease and to portray Tony’s almost helplessness and desperation. The ringing reaches a loud volume that almost swamps all other sound diegetic or otherwise, to show Tony’s anger consuming everything. The ringing itself also represents the shock Tony feels as his wife becomes increasingly aggressive.

Figure 1

Figure 7

The ringing returns and the audience should apply the same logic to this sound as they did prior. The ringing rises in volume to an almost unbearable level in an effort to create tension. The music also had to allude to main event of the sequence, that of Tony shooting his wife. “Boom Boom” by John Lee Hooker succeeded in this regard as it compares love to shooting a gun. The tempo of the piece added a lot to the pacing of the sequence speeding up the cocaine fuelled build up to Tony’s wife’s death in comparison to the slower paced scenes such Jen’s apartment. The faster solo takes place as the jump cuts are used. This created a much more effective sequence that relied heavily on building up to a faster pace in order to build tension. The use of silence and diegetic sound proved to be just as effective. After the killing, the silence that followed lingered and was accentuated by the chaotic high pitch ringing, non-diegetic sound and dialogue. Its effectiveness lied in this contrast and I believed emphasised the shock. The ominous lack of sound is apparent towards the end of the sequence were Irish and Tony are stood facing the boot of the car (figure 7). The silence and the aspects of the horror genre i.e. the reveal of Tony’s wife in the boot of the car and the reaction shot of Tony and Irish without an eye line match, make for a much better emotional response in regards to the last scene as the imagination is left to piece together what is in the boot using the moans emanating from it. The lack of a gunshot when Tony shoots his wife plays with the shock response, the audience expecting a loud noise are denied.

 

The use of editing was important to create a sense of pace which had to be increased the closer to the shock the plot came. The jump cutting is an example of this (figure 1), especially when contrasted to the first scene which is relatively slow and contains little action. The footage on the television (figure 2), were juxtaposed to symbolise the shot and message about violence in society in contrast to violence in organised crime. The desired emotional response had to continue after the event and therefore by slowing down all the cuts made and having the following scene only three cuts the impact should have lasted longer.

Figure 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4

Figure 3

The cinematography used was an attempt to give Tony false empowerment. The irony being a low angle shot usually connotes superiority and control which for the most part Tony does not possess. A low angle again was used in Jen’s scene to show her power over Tony even though her voice says otherwise (figure 3). It is important to note that the camera does not rise above eye level. This is an attempt to discourage the audience from taking the moral high ground by placing them below the immoral characters. Ultimately Tony dominates his wife though he is still imprisoned. The scene in which Irish enters displays this through the internal framing; Tony is alone in one frame and Irish is outside (figure 4). The tracking shots used were to show Tony’s distress and create tension. The camera follows him into the bedroom to put his shirt on even though he has no need to since he is already carrying it. The extreme close ups within the first scene were to show what parts of the face Tony remembers of Jen (figure 5). By isolating them it becomes somewhat abstract and strange and was also used to highlight the difference between his world and hers and foreshadows events later in the film.  

Figure 5

 

Figure 6

Figure 8

The mise-en-scene was used to create a deeper meaning; figure 8 (the bottle falling) shows that their world has become unbalanced and is further reflected in the motions of the characters, almost as though they are trying to prop themselves up. Another example would be the boxes in the first scene, demonstrating how she compartmentalises her past (figure 6). The fact they are placed on her bed, where earlier in the film she is introduced lying with Tony shows she treats her relationship in the same manner. The footage on the television represents violence in other aspects of society. The lions represent the primal violence of an animalistic nature, juxtaposed with the consequence of a riot. It serves to undermine the machismo associated with the criminal underworld by paralleling it to normal society, one the audience can connect with

 

The use of un-edited lighting was a conscious decision. The narrative is of failure and oppression of the individual within society, the sets had to reflect this. Jen’s apartment is isolated from the rest of the world it is compartmentalised like her life. The cantered curtains represent the way in which her life is distorted yet the world remains unaffected (hence no cantered angle). Similarly Tony’s apartment has a garden full of green foliage on the other side of the window which acts as a barrier. In relation to the rest of the apartment which is plain and stale yellow the garden is vibrant. “The grass is always greener on the other side” describes the effect perfectly and encapsulates the theme of the entire film.

 

The costumes defined the characters in the short sequence. Irish is the character the audience most relates to since he performs less violent acts within the scene and therefore wears the white shirt. Tony on the other hand is vilified in the sequence and wears the black t shirt. The costumes also relate to the film Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino, 1995. The colour of the tie and shirt mirror those in the film; the events in the foreshadow those in my film.   

 

Callum Ahmed