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Media Text Analysis: “The Call”

Dylan KoolmanAnalysis from 1:16:46 – 1:18:22

1:16:46

This establishing shot begins with at a wide angle with a full shot of the denoted man in the scene. This is an effective way to commence the scene as it allows the audience to formulate context as to what is happening within the scene. If the audience are able to collate ideas about the themes of this scene, it would make the aspect of fear within the scene more intense. Before transitioning to the next scene through a straight cut, the camera further expands the audiences scope of view with a panning shot. This allows the audience to build up more fear due to the fact that they are still unaware as to what the intentions of the character are, despite having established where the scene is.

Camera

Within this scene you can see there is table with various vials and bottles on them. These bottles however do not have a label on them. The connotations of this would be that they are either illegal due to the inferred medicinal purpose juxtaposing the omission of a label, or that they are legal however they have been obtained through dubious methods. This creates an element of suspicion within the audience due this conforming to the enigma code created by Barthes, beckoning the question within the audience as to the intentions of the man in the scene with these ambiguous liquids. Additionally due to fact that there is only one light source in this shot, it connotes the lack of hope that a character has, as well the typical associations with any antagonist which is the element of darkness.

Mise-en-scene

The sound effects in the back ground consist of purely rustling sounds made by the man, accompanied by light, quick paced breathing and the sound of what appears to be a sort of extractor in the background. The connotations of the rustling are that the man is fidgeting. This is typical behavior demonstrated when someone is nervous or ill at ease as to what to do. This accompanied by the quick breaths that are being panted out provide the audience with the interpretation that the man is not only nervous, but is in some sort of tough situation, seeming as if he is panicking. With the extractor effects in the background, it creates a gradual heightening in tension for the audience as they too are unaware as to what will happen.

Sound

There is a long duration of screen time for this character during this first establishing shot and a little after once the panning shot commences. This is effective as it builds suspense as the audience are able to anticipate that an action is about to take place. This is due to the fact that the audience is more able to focus on the mise-en-scene aspects of the scene such as the characters facial expressions and the various props in the room. This conforms to the typical genre conventions associated with a thriller due to the slow shots are indented to prepare the audience for the events that are about to happen.

Editing

1:17:05

This is an over the shoulder midium right third shot. The intention of this shot is so that the audience are able to see what he character on screen can see, getting a perspective point of view angle of the room he’s in. This is effective due to the fact that the audience are still able to see the character in the screen, a reminder that the other characters are not safe yet, but because the character is in the right third of the screen, the audience have two thirds of view of the surrounding room. This is used as a continuation from the establishing shot in order to reveal to the audience what is in the room. To get to this point, there is a panning action shot as the character walks past the camera, which follows the camera to now reveal this shot. This is effective as it allows the audience to follow easily the movement happening in the scene.

Camera

On the walls and the bed, there are blood splatters. This has connotations of death, but due to the fact that they are splatters and not just blood drips, it infers that there not only death but murder, allowing the audience to infer that this character is dangerous and is not afraid of killing, again, still conforming to Barthes enigma code due to the fact that the audience don’t know the motives behind these killings. Additionally, on the night stand to the left there is a mannequin head with blonde hair. This mirrors the previous scene where other mannequins were shown. The connotations of this relates either to do with an interest in hair and beauty or could relate to some type of psychological struggles of the character, now being reflected in his later years due to the fact that possesses a mannequin head, typically used by those in the hair and beauty industry or children. This scene is also significantly more lit than the previous scene. This, in conjunction with the props in the scene, create connotations that this is where most of the killing happens, and due to the cultural code associated with serial killers, they enjoy the feeling derived from killing, therefore providing a reason for the extra light; the killer wants to be able to see what he is doing.

Mise-en-scene

At this point, the extractor sounding effect in the back ground has been replaced with crescendo music which is heightening in pitch and speed. This is effective as it contributes greatly to the tension building of the scene. There is also a sforzando once the character stops walking. This is effective as it invokes fear within the audience, due to the sharpness of the sound creating an unpleasant effect for the audience to hear, which is unpleasantness that the audience are able to associate with this character. This music is an example of parallel sound due to high pitched crescendo music typically being associated with the genre of thriller. This music however started in the previous scene during a medium close up shot, which is a very effective sound bridge because whilst the music itself is building tension, the sound bridge is building anticipation, making the audience unaware as to what is going to go wrong in the next scene. This fear of the unknown is the hook that allows the audience to remain engaged with the movie.

Sound

In terms of speed, this shot conforms to the previous. This accords to the continuity aspect of this scene due to the fact that this scene is still being shown at a slowed pace. This further elevates the anticipation of foreboding actions that are about to happen.

Editing

According to the British board of film classifications, this movie is rated as a 15. This is understandable due to the excessive use of artificial and the connotations of murder as opposed to merely death which are connoted. Additionally, there is the frequent inclusion of violence and struggle in the film which would not be suitable for certain audiences.

Audience