Friday 9 March 2012

Film Noir: Bobby's House (SCENE 5 Part 2)

For this scene we needed to find a place that looks like it could belong to someone who has a lot of money, but also gambles it away. The place we chose has old fashioned black beams as a theme throughout the room and also a triangular ceiling, which creates a nice interesting effect, and is pleasant to the eye as it's not very common. Only a desk, large gun, light, paper and pot of food were the props used in the scene, because the main focus is to be on the two men fighting it out.

Detective Carter has a smaller gun because it's one that he keeps in his pocket and carries out on jobs with him. Bobby, however, has another gun which he pulls out from under his desk. This increases the danger the audience see Carter in because Bobby has two very powerful guns and Carter only has a small one.
He keeps the hat on until the end of the scene, showing the control he has of the situation. The quick-witted nature of the Film Noir rivalries is shown here, where the men are rude and catty to one another despite both of them having been played in similar fashions.

Both the men are wearing suits, but Bobby's is slightly more colorful. This is because he is shown as a player and someone who doesn't take life seriously, or perhaps as serious as the Detective does. His playful suit denotes his playful demeanor.

Bobby gets shot in this scene but he does not die. When Carter finds out from Bobby that Bonnie is responsible for the drug heist, he tells Chester to get Bobby to the hospital for his gunshot wound, meanwhile he goes after Bonnie. Because the detective helps Bobby despite Bobby's supposed responsibility for killing his father, there is a moral message in that killing is wrong. Of course Bonnie gets away after all her trickery, but it challenges the conventions that men are more likely to commit crimes, and also challenges the film Noir conventions of a heartless male protagonist.

EDITING PROCESS:

The scene opens with music that is quite loud and has major tones with a dark low tone underneath, initiating danger despite the lighter introduction the gentler sound gives. The focus on the fan sets the audience up for action due to the quick movement of the fan, and then the slow and steady movement of the detectives feet coming up the stairs makes us think he is feeling calm and confident about what he is going to do next.

The master shot of the desk and Scarlett joining Bobby as he sits writing and doesn't acknowledge the detective makes the audience suspicious as to the events that may be about to take place because both the characters are beginning to appear too relaxed. When Bobby asks Scarlett to leave, the fierceness in his voice suggests things may begin to get heated. The point of view shot which still distinguishes the side of the detective's face in the corner reminds us that he is still there but shows the scene just as he is seeing it, making us automatically join his side for the scene.
A close up of Bobby's first words to the detective allow us to be directly introduced to him - we have not seen him since the photographs on the desk in the first scene. Familiarity is introduced by him and it then creates tension because the audience therefore know the detective is facing the criminal that murdered his father.

The music is maintained throughout the clip to keep the flow of the argument going.

The mid-shot of the detective that shows him moving around a lot whilst he is speaking to the detective gives the impression that he is nervous. This juxtaposed with Bobby's calm posture whilst he remains still in his chair makes us see him as more in control. The changing shots of the detective as he moves about enhances this.
The close up shot of the detective at the end of his introductory speech to Bobby forces us to think he might become in control because his movements we'd seen previously subside, making us wonder if he is still nervous or whether he now knows what he is doing. This is further suspected when a slightly high angle shot is shown of Bobby increasing our suspicion that he may not remain as calm and safe as he is at the present moment in the scene by the end of it.
The cuts between the clips and the speeches between the two characters get shorter and shorter as the argument gets fiercer. This creates a build up for the audience and makes their apprehension greater.
To make the countdown more interesting, Bobby says '5' whilst the camera is facing Carter and then continues whilst the camera is on him, going into the rest of the countdown. We filmed the scene twice and used two shots of the same part of the script, combined it together and were able to add a bit more movement in this part of the scene. We wanted this because it made more tension- the quicker the shots, the quicker the audience begin to feel nervous.

The jump from the calmness of the conversation to the gun fight is quite fast - we see from behind Carter and Bobby stands up for the first time in the scene, showing he is now out of his comfort zone, and raises his gun against Carter's.

To give the impression that the fight goes on for longer than the audience see we filmed the detective from behind the door, trying to escape Bobby's gunshots. We see Bobby fighting back and then the scene cuts to a shot behind Bobby where we hear the diegetic sound of his pain as he is shot, and his gun fall down to prove he has surrendered in the right hand side of the shot. We then cut to him falling on his chair, just to make sure his injury is clear to both the audience and the detective.
The scene then cuts to a two shot of Bobby in the chair and the detective inflicting further pain on him to get the answers he came there for. Typically as Bobby is sitting down and the detective is standing we associate the detective with having more power out of the two of them.
As we didn't want Ed slapping Ben we made him 'fake slap' him and added the sound of a slap from the library available on final cut. We used a fairly loud one because Carter's arm movements are quite hard and fast so the sound needed to match this. This part of the scene is darker than any other because the detective is about to enter the darkness of failure that the end of the film brings. The light outside creates a similar effect to that in the Scarlett and Carter scene with the front door because it enhances the film noir essence of the hat. (The hat again represents control - Carter is wearing it in this scene.)

After the mid shots of the detective throughout this scene a close up of him saying '"I've got to get after that bitch" shows he is now vulnerable. The ripple effect comes in after this and represents the end of the flashback.
We are then taken back to the office where the film began, the detective still in his chair. The shot of him taking his drink makes the audience see why they could see it there at the beginning - he needs the alcohol to help him get through this dark time - perhaps due to Bonnie. He looks directly at the camera and says "This isn't over" and throws his hat over the lens which not only signifies the end but also makes it go black, making the audience think that there are still dark times ahead for the detective. The music that was played in the restaurant scene and the changeover scene also follows through to this scene which makes sure we know Bonnie is the reason why it 'isn't over'.










No comments:

Post a Comment