RS: Technical Analysis

X-Men (Cameron 2000) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI7SEIKaKwE 

Shot	Duration (Seconds)	Camera Technique	Mise en scene
1	14	Close up (CU) on people’s feet walking through a puddle. Pans upwards into black at end of shot.	The lighting is low and the people’s shoes are very similar and are very dirty due to the muddy puddle they are walking through. It is filmed at night in the pouring rain.
2	8	Mid shot (MS) over the shoulder shot of a soldier, the camera pans upwards to reveal the soldier looking out of a watch tower.	The soldier is seen watching many people being matched in an orderly fashion through the mud and rain. “Poland 1944” is shown as a title on top of the footage.
3	4	Long shot (LS) still of large group of people walking.	The people are being marched in a group. They are all wearing very dull clothes and are all soaking wet.
4	10	Handicam shot framed in MS of man in hat, camera pans to show him walking with a boy and women.	This shot shows 3 individuals walking together as if they were a family. All three are dressed in similar colours and are very wet. The look unhappy and confused.
5	4	Still LS of people walking with the man in the hat in the centre of the shot	The shot shows the group of people tightly huddled walking slowly as if they were unaware of where they were.
6	3	Eye line MS tracking the boy as he walks.	The shot shows the boy continuing to walk in the group. His facial expression shows him staring in a confused, unaware manor to a location parallel to his.
7	3	Point of view (POV) of the boy LS panning left of people working.	The people working are dressed in the same clothing and are not dressed appropriately for the weather.
8	2	CU tracking shot of workers arm	Workers sleeve is rolled up which reveals his skin.
6	3	Tracking big CU of boy’s eyes.	The boy’s eyes are seen confused about what he is looking at.
8	5	CU of workers arm panning up to his/her face	The worker is wearing stripped clothing all over. His/her bare arm reveals a tattoo.
6	2	Tracking big CU of boy’s eyes.	The boy’s eyes are still seen confused about what he is looking at.
9	6	Pan down high angle LS of people being marched in a large group by soldiers.	The soldiers are shouting at the people in German and redirecting the people in two separate directions.
10	2	Still LS of men being ushered to one side unwillingly.	We can clearly see one of the few men looking frightened and confused signifying that he does not wish to be in the situation he is currently in. The soldier in the shot is clearly identifiable due to his body language and the fact he is holding a gun.
11	2	Still LS of men and women being separated in a slight high angle shot	Due to the rule of thirds the audience clearly sees a soldier ushering women in the given direction whilst shouting at them.
12	3	Pan up and left from a dog barking to men being hurried in one direction by soldiers.	The dog seems aggressive and is being held by a soldier. The men are being directed in a given direction at quicker speeds which is less organised than before.
11	3	Still LS of men and women being separated in a slight high angle shot	He we see the family of three have made it to the separation point.
13	4	Still eye line MS of boy amongst crowd	The boy is framed in the centre of the shot and looks frightened and confused.
14	3	Still eye line MS shows the mother and son from side on.	The boy is heard shouting as he is separated from his mother by the soldiers.
11	4	LS of men and women being separated in a slight high angle shot with a slight pan down	We see the man in the hat, we assume to be the boy’s father, being sent in one direction and the mother in the other. We cannot locate the boy in the shot but assume his being obstructed by a soldier standing in the way.
15	1	Still eye line of the boy framed in MS	Many people cross the view of the camera but we see glimpses of the boy seemingly crying
16	2	Still eye line MS of the man in the hat	We see the man in the hat waving his hand gesturing goodbye. His facial expression is sad and frightened as he leaves his son in the opposite direction.
15	1	Still eye line of the boy framed in MS	The boy seems to be trying to move through the crowd to reach is father but cannot.
16	2	Still eye line MS of the man in the hat	The man in the hat is then shoved by a soldier away from his son.
17	2	Still slight high angle shot framed in MS of boy being pushed amongst the crowd.	The boy is hidden amongst people much larger than him and is pushed away from his father.
18	2	Still LS of the man in the hat being led away with many other people.	The man in the hat is located back with his wife and is seen being marched in an orderly group once again away from their son; the man looks back over his shoulder as if he was getting the last glimpse of his son.
19	3	Slight high angle shot framed in MS of boy being pushed through a group of soldiers with small pan right	The boy is ushered through a group of soldiers. No one else other than soldiers and the boy are framed in the shot.
18	2	Still LS of the man in the hat and his wife being led away with many other people.	We see the women screaming for her son. The man in the hat, the husband, grabs her by the shoulders and pushes her in the direction away from their son.
19	3	The boy is framed in LS at eye line with no movement	The boy is seen sitting down and crying
20	2	Still high angle LS of people being led in an orderly group.	The group of people have been grouped and sent in the given direction again escorted by soldiers. The wife is seen to be resistant and trying to retrieve her child but is stopped by soldiers.
21	2	CU handicam shot of women struggling	The mother is seen in screaming and crying as she is held back by soldiers and sent away fro her son.
22	1	Still eye line MS of boy crying	The bot is staring back towards his mother as we can still hear her screaming for him
23	2	Still high angle MS of women in crowd	The woman is now in the centre of the crowd still screaming and being dragged away by soldiers and her husband.
22	2	Eye line MS of boy crying then track left	The boy is seen to get up and run towards his mother.
23	1	Still high angle MS of women and husband in crowd	The woman has now been turned away from her son and is being sent in the opposite direction to her son.
24	2	Still high angle LS of boy	The boy his seen running towards his mother.
25	2	Still high angle long shot of crowd	The crowd of people are seen leaving the location and then the gates are shut behind them by soldiers.
26	2	Still eye line of boy MS	The boy is seen crying and running but is quickly stopped by a soldier.
27	2	POV of boy MS of 2 soldiers locking the gate.	Two soldiers are seen locking the gate.
26	2	Still eye line of boy MS	Boy is seen in more distress from crying and the action of him reaching out with his hand towards where his mother and father have just gone.

Soundtrack

• The soundtrack starts with the sound of heavy rain.
• The sound mix then has more layers added including dogs barking and men shouting. But these sounds are very quite as if they are quite far away.
• As the camera shots become closer to the crowd of people the dogs barking and people shouting are amplified. The footsteps can also be heard from the crowd walking through the mud.
• 41 seconds into the clip non-digetic slow tempo string music is played creating an eerie  atmosphere.
• Shot 8 shows a man or women working with a spade. Diegetic sound of the spade is added to the sound mix.
• In shot 14 we see a still eye line MS showing the mother and son from side on. We hear them begin to shout, the sound of them shouting is easily identifiable as coming from the two characters but what is said is not clear of understandable.
• After the split of the family beyond shot 14 the music becomes more intense with added violin music to the current slow string music.
• We then hear the cries of the mother as they are amplified, thunder is also added to the sound mix creating the negative atmosphere.
• As the gates close the sound of the woman shouting reduces in volume and the diegetic sound of the gate closing is amplified.
• When we hear the diegetic sound of the gate being locked the cries from the women can no longer be heard this is when we hear the cries of the boy are then heard. This focuses the audiences attention on the boy and so they realise that the women is no longer at the location.

Evaluation of Technical Analysis

• I believe studying the clips shot by shot has made me identify the fine details in shots which them seem realistic and grip the audience.
• The shot in which the camera is placed in the exact position is higher than I originally thought, this has altered my view when filming my opening sequence.
• The sound mix is directly related to the visuals and is key to establishing enigma or dramatic tension in the clip.
• I have learnt that the rule of thirds is key for the audience and have seen how much it is used from studying the clip shot by shot.