In this assignment we were asked to pick a movie from three “Best Movie” playlists on youtube and analyze it through three lenses. These lenses being: solely audio, solely visual, and both combined. We were also asked to read Robert Ebert’s article on “How to Read a Movie” and apply it to our analization of the clip.

We were asked to watch three videos that would help prepare us for understanding cinematic techniques. I found this very helpful since I really have no experience with movie critiques or any understanding of how cinematic techniques deepen a scene, and to be honest I usually don’t even know when they take place! So I chose the following clips to give me both a foundation in cinematic techniques as well as techniques Quentin Tarantino uses.

Kubrick // One-Point Perspective from kogonada on Vimeo.

Tarantino // From Below from kogonada on Vimeo.

After I had some basic terms in my head and a better idea of what to look for I had to choose a clip in which to apply them to.The clip I chose to do was the Intro to Reservoir Dogs, because it is one of my all time favorite movies, and Quentin Tarantino has always done an impressive job on the intros to his movies!

So with my clip picked out it was time to get to breaking it down into two parts. I first turned the volume off on my computer and watched the entire scene silently. I found that the first scene in which they all leave the table there is a technique that Elbert calls a “Tilt Shot to the right” in which he implies that the “characters are sliding perilously into their futures”, I found this very applicable to the movie. The next scene is the intro in which we see the screen is shot as an “Establishing Shot”, in which it is a continuous shot that shows where the characters are and who they are. This early scene is also shot in a panoramic traveling manner. The beginning seconds of this scene are also shot from right to left possibly implying negativity (this is a rather dark, cynical movie). Then to introduce each actor there are several cuts from one actors face to another, but not in a frantic manner, this is defintely an introduction. The entirety of this movie is also shot in slow motion making the viewer take notice of all details of the scene. Half way through the intro scene we also notice that the only actor to look directly into the camera is actor Tim Roth, possibly implying some sort of power. In the last seconds of the intro we also se that there is a one point perspective of the entire cast walking away drawing the viewer to the group.The charcter’s costuming was something I also took notice of in that they all wore black suits with the exception of one man who was wearing a very dated jogging suit. I also took notice of the rather dull lighting and scenery which I felt drew more of the viewers attention to the characters instead of the surrounding environment. Finally by having the group walk into the distance we see as Elbert states that the background becomes dominate over the foreground.

The next part of this assignment was to evaluate the audio of the scene. For this I simply turned up the volume and minimized the clip so I could only hear it. When I did this I first took note of the foley sounds of the cups being moved and feet shuffling in the table scene. For the rest of the scene there was only an upbeat sound track, and the song seemed to be a love song with a southwestern feel to it.

When I then combined the two components of the movie I felt that both the overture and the visual were more complete. Obviously the foley sounds made more sens in context of the film, but I think that the song picked made the opening walking scene both more interesting as well as meaningful. I was really able to get a feel for the movie. I think that the pace of the walking scene was really well balanced with the music as well. In general I really have more of an appreciation for audio and visual and how they can create something completely different when combined!