Harry Brown

For our two minute sequence we would like to utilise techniques evident in the film "Harry Brown" both conceptually and stylistically. The scene opens with Harry played by "Michael Caine" waking up and carrying out a typical routine, immediately we are aware he is a lonely character with a mournful disposition, though we see a shot of an alarm clock at the time 6:30 the following shots show him reluctant to getting up. In the third shot Harry rubs the space next to him from this we draw assumptions to the idea that he could be widowed and in the following cut we see an array of picture frames which conclude the fact he has lost his wife justifying his apathetic temperament. The scene moves through time with static shots that are held for extended periods, at no point is any camera movement introduced this gives the effect that we are observing the character rather than engaging with him which relates to the mood of the film. 

To further the understanding of the characters lifestyle and emotions we watch him complete various activities that wouldn't be typically seen in a film, this draws heavily on the fact that this is what his days consist of which has now become a routine. Harry's facial expressions are sorrowful and his movement is inert, he stares into open space much of the time looking past the camera. The mise-en-scene such as the table with two chairs suggests that maybe he hasn't come to terms with the grief. The photo frames seen in the 5th shot are surrounded by numerous bottles of pills and medication emphasising his dependance towards remedies to suppress his tribulation. A green filter has been added and the colours have been softened with use of desaturation, this aesthetic connotes the a cold and uncomfortable atmosphere, a reflection of Harry's lifeless persona.  

Tyrannosaur

Paddy Considine's film Tyrannosaur partially follows the life of christian charity shop worker Hannah who facades the atrocious domestic violence she receives from her husband. The film exposes events that would usually go unnoticed behind closed doors yet something that is very real, we hope to explore this idea in our two minute sequence. In the film Hannah is submissive to her husbands violence finding herself trapped, and despite her best intentions to please her husband she endures physical abuse.

For our piece we will introduce the husband in the final shot however unlike Tyrannosaur his identity will be hidden, this will either be done using a shallow focus to blur his figure or crop his head from the top of the frame, I feel that this is necessary to convey the idea that the abuse is unknown, his face is not important only the aspect of fear that he ressembles.   

Hannahs face alone can suggest the torment she has endured, the lighting to the left of her face emphasises her vacant expression, a frequent occurrence in the film. The idea that you can draw these conclusions about what violence she endures from such a simple shot is something that we would like to develop in our two minute short.  

A Single Man

In this sequence from the film 'A Single Man' we see George Falconer played by Colin Firth receive a phone call in which serves as the in sighting incident for the film. The sequence takes place inside his house in the evening, we observe George sitting in his chair, and as the phone call digresses we witness George's emotional collapse. The sequence cuts between three different shots, a medium close up, a shot from the side of Georges head placing him in the left third and a close up of his hands. The colour palate suggests a warm tone or at least a feeling of strong emotion, skin tones have been lifted for reasons surrounding the idea of Georges cognition, as throughout the film at times where feelings of lust or passion are introduced the colours are lifted from their usual desaturated palate.

We are introduced to the conversation with this shot. the camera tracks slowly around from this angle until George is framed in the centre slightly positioned towards the left third at which point we hear the voice on the phone begin to explain the details of the car accident.

























George's facial expressions immediately change indicating his fear of what he is about to hear.

Just as Jim's relative says the lines "On his way into town, Jim lost control of his car." George removes his glasses and holds them in his hands displaying his discomfort.

A cut to a close up shot of him holding the glasses is then used to stress his emotional state.

Following on from this CU the next shot pictures George looking considerably more distressed as the caller concludes the fact that his partner has passed away.

A cut to the side of his face is then used, from this angle the lighting exaggerates his expression as he stares into the bleak right hand third of the frame. 

From this shot the camera slowly begins to track towards George, we are forced from the postion of a voyer to engage with George Falconer on a more intimate level. The rain in the background becomes a greater aspect a significantly drawing on the emotive values of the scene.

Once the phone call has ended the sound of the phone dropping on the floor is introduced an indication that George is in shock of the incident and falling the pieces.

Again we visit this angle where we see George completely break down.

The following shots are visited briefly to suggest a moment of panic. 

The close up shot of George's hand is revisited as we see him drop the glasses, in terms of emotive connotations is much like the previous phone being dropped on the floor. The use of the cose up on the hand is idealistic as a way to suggest characters cognition, generally people talk using hand gestures or tend to hold items to release tension/panic which is why this shot proves to be effective in demonstrating his reaction.

Due to a strong performance from Colin Firth we are able to identify his transgression of thoughts through the use of a long take, the audience can observe his phycological state. The use of the rotation between the three varying types of shot we are able to recognise George Falconers development of anguish as its displayed through a stage by stage sequence.

Tom Ford the producer and director of this film has had a huge creative input throughout the production , the film itself is taken from a book Tom read in his 20's and reading it again in his later life decided that he had a strong relation with the character George, and so as his debut film he wanted to express something that had relevance to his life, something that spoke to him, Tom talks about the character George: "It's about a guy that can't see his future", Tom followed his intuition to make the film. Being a fashion designer Tom's attention to detail with the clothing is significant, he had his own factory in Italy make the suits and costumes for the film, George's suit is particularly important, Tom even created a back story for it, Tom decided that George would have had it custom made purchased on a trip back to England by Saville Row, which informed the cut and colour. Tom went as far as putting the label in the back of the suit with his name and date it was constructed (1957).