week6 scene analysis

 

Title; Lemony Snickets a series of unfortunate events

Year; 2004

Director; Brad Silberling

What did I appreciate? I’d have to say the visual effects which are enhanced by dramatic camera angles.

What didn’t I like? There wasn’t much to not like about this scene, though I did wonder about the relevance of the goose in the boat below the house.

What would I keep? There were some great camera angles as the house was disintegrating that I would keep.

What would I change? I wouldn’t have the goose in the boat but that’s because I didn’t get the reason for it being there.

Comments; After a couple of minutes watching the film I realised I’d seen it before – a few years ago. But I remember it being so good that I watched it all again. Being interested in visual effects and set design this film is fascinating for me.

1. Characters; This scene involves 3 of the main characters – the Boudelaire kids, Violet (Emily Browning), Klaus (Liam Aiken) and Sunny (Kara Hoffman). There is also a shot of Aunt Josephine (Meryl Streep). Being recently orphaned and having been first sent to live with their uncle Olaf, who is trying to get their inheritance, they are now meant to live with their aunt Josephine. After being introduced to her and settling in, she takes the kids shopping in the village nearby. Whilst there they meet an old sailor, Captain Sham, who enchants Aunt Josephine and gets invited, by her, to dinner. The kids realise that captain Sham is really Olaf in disguise and try to warn Josephine but she won't listen to them. They are left alone to finish the shopping and when they return to the house find that Aunt Josephine is missing, having apparently committed suicide. In this scene the kids figure out that she is actually hiding in a secret cave. It also introduces the evidence that their parents, along with some of their relations, are part of a group that investigate the causes of tragic fires. And it highlights the lengths that Olaf will go to to get his hands on their inheritance - by getting rid of aunt Josephine the kids will be returned to him.

2. Setting; The scene is set consequentially in the timeline and is important to the story in that it continues the constant danger that seems to befall the children throughout the film. When they arrive at aunt Josephine’s we share their apprehension as they wait to meet her. It turns out that she is nice and that they might live there happily with her. At least this is what we hope will happen after their stay at Olaf’s. Obviously that wasn’t going to happen considering the setting – an old house, suspended on flimsy timber supports, at the edge of a cliff.

3. Mise-en-scene; includes a flashback of Klaus remembering the books he’s read regarding code breaking. A close –up of Klaus before and after this cut indicates that it’s his memory and reminds us of how clever he is. A get a visual indication of the impending catastrophe as the supporting timbers are shaking apart. we get a close-up of the nails (holding the timbers together) beginning to come loose. This adds to the tension and confirms the upcoming destruction. When the intensity of the storm increases there are references to Aunt  Josephine’s warnings from their arrival. Such as the possibility of the fridge ‘falling and crushing you flat’, the cooker ‘exploding’ and the door handle ‘shattering into a million pieces’. When Klaus is figuring out the code we see a light flickering in the background – a traditional effect used to indicate stormy weather. Overall the lighting is dark and dismal to suit the mood of this dramatic scene.

4. Camera work; The camera closes in on Klaus as he thinks about the books he has read about code-breaking, and it cuts to a close-ups of the words on the letter as he deciphers each one, this is effective as it brings the viewer through each step. . During this there’s a cut to a close-up of nails working their way out of the support timbers. Then we get a flashback of Aunt Josephine mentioning Curdle Cave – confirming their solution of the code.

This is followed by a close-up shot of the support timbers splitting apart and then a dramatic shot from underneath the house showing the precarious position they’re in as the timbers begin to give way and the whole house moves away from the cliff. The next shot is from inside the house – a wide-angle shot of the front entrance wall as the door bursts open, due to the force of the wind. This is followed by  an opposing view – from the centre of the main room – establishing Voilet and Klaus’ unsafe position in front of the large window. Violet then moves towards the camera, ending the shot with a close-up of her looking scared. This cuts to a single-point perspective shot of the entrance wall as the door flies through the air towards the pair, barely missing them and passing through the window at the point where they had been standing. This is followed by  close-up of the pair which then pans down to reveal Sunny sitting on the floor, looking in the direction of the office. The next shot shows Violets and Kluas’ faces as they too lokk into the office. Their faces are centre shot, framed by a blurred close-up of the papers on the office wall flapping in the wind. As Violet and Klaus enter the room we get a shot of photos hanging on string lines stretched between the walls showing various buildings on fire. The photos are constantly moving due to the wind and therefore move in and out of focus. Other paperwork is floating around on the wind and we get a shot of Klaus catching one as it blows past him. We then get a close-up shot of this page which reveals a drawing of a window which is relevant later in the film. There then follows a series of dramatic shots as the building begins to disintegrate. These are all wide-angle shots that establish the extent of the destruction and heighten the danger. There is a camera shake – to indicate the force involved - as half of the house collapses into the sea. The camera view point then switches to a shot of the entrance wall establishing the fridge next to the front door. This is a single-point perspective shot and is effective when the fridge begins to slide towards the camera –their viewpoint. The camera then cuts to a close-up of them that establishes their precarious position near the edge of the gaping hole. There are a series of cuts between the frige and the kids as it slides towards them, one shot zooms in on Sunny’s face, showing her to be unconcerned or maybe innocent of the danger. Then we get a series of dutch tilt shots as the kids make their way towards the entrance. This tilt adds to our perception of the whole house tilting towards the sea. This is followed by a continuous stream of shots, both close-up and wide-angle, that show various dramatic angles and threats. We see the cooker sliding towards them – on fire – and then the camera cuts to a low-angle shot from underneath the floor, through a hole made by the cooker as it falls through, showing the kids alarmed faces framed by the edges of the hole. We then get a wide-angle shot at sea level of a goose in a boat situated directly under the house, as the cooker plunges into the sea just clipping the back of the boat and sending the goose flying of its perch. Then the camera shows a close-up of the kids as they spot another danger. The next shot indicates this danger with a close-up of the burning gas pipe, no longer connected to the cooker, swinging around uncontrollably. The camera then zooms in slowly as the flame steadies beside the nearby door handle and heats it up. This is followed by a close-up of the handle reddening. In this shot the kids can be seen in the background – which is blurred, and they gradually come in to focus – indicating that they realise the danger from the hot handle. Then it cuts to a close-up of the handle from their view point, followed by a zoom towards their faces just before it explodes from the heat. This is followed by a close-up of them lying on the floor face-down, which leads to an overhead shot that includes various objects flying around in the wind. This shot indicated that they’re shielding their eyes and leads to the next shot that reveals their new predicament. The camera switches back to the close-up of them face-down on the floor and as Klaus lifts his head to survey the damage we get the final shot which is of the camera zooming out gradually to a wide-angle establishing shot which reveals them, marooned on a separated section of flooring, the rest of the house and its setting i.e. cliffs and sea.

5. Sound and Music; For the first minute the background music is lively and fast. Orchestral style the deep tones of the stringed instruments add to the tension in a similar way to traditional thriller type music. There is a more subdued almost haunting tone preceding the houses destruction. The music then stops to allow the sound effects of the destruction to take over until the final shot where the music is reintroduced as the camera zooms out slowly. The sound effects are slightly louder to compensate for the loudness of the background wind noise and to add to the overall drama of the situation.