1.MISE EN SCENE
Description/representation of Dr Jackman
In terms of mise en scene, the lead character (Dr Jackman) is running through the alleyway wearing a smart black suit and white shirt.
He is quite formally dressed but fashionable, which could suggest he is fairly affluent, lives in a nice area and has a good job. His hair is curly and has a medium frame. He is represented as a well-spoken man who has a career path and possibly 2.4 children judging by his age.
Dr Jackman is running in a menacing fashion after a black van, which leads him down an inner city run down alleyway, which invariably has connotations of crime/criminality as a place where bad people hang out. The location is London as signified by the moving red buses in the background.
Jackman bumps into what seem an innocent couple and lands on the ground taking them with him. He gets up alarmed in terms of his body language and behaviour; he is represented as being apologetic, sorry and sympathetic therefore in terms of his gender he is seen as a nice man, who acknowledges what he has done
Description/representation of Billy
The other male character, part of the male/female couple is represented as an aggressive young male archetype. The male is white and in his early 20’s which correlates with youth inner city crime in a variety of locations across the UK. One could suggest he is a ‘Chav’. He has working class clothing epitomised by his grey hoodie and thus has a stereotypically thuggish representation.
His posture, demeanour also suggests aggression in the way he grabs Dr Jackman and forcing him against the wall. At this point one male character in terms of gender is middle class and pleasant the other is a working class thug with a knife who wants to attack Dr Jackman for no viable reason
Description/representation of Girl
The girl, white (16-25) blonde haired and blue eyed. She is represented as an attractive women and emphasis is placed on her short skirt and her tryst with Billy.
She is wearing a wholesome blue dress, which promotes femininity, as does her soft pale look of a traditional English Rose. She is not as aggressive and is indeed represented as being rather weak, soft and stereotypical as a damsel in distress. She verbally pleads for calm from her boyfriend and screams for him to stop as the situation escalates.
The lighting suggests natural daylight in the initial part but as Jackman changes to Hyde it seems to get darker, as dark shadows are cast on Hyde’s face, which shows his change in character. His face is half dark and light, which shows his internal conflict throughout the sequence
2. Camera shots, angles, movement & position and how they are used to highlight GENDER issues
Initially the shots are essentially long shots, which show jekyll’s arrival in the alleyway, and then a range of hand held shots as the group lands on the ground in a huddle.
When the altercation starts in order to see the gender representation closely between the men the director films in a variety of close ups which allows us to the see the angry expressions on their faces and the tension build up from the actors and their dialogue. The close ups show that Billy is dominant and very angry as he grabs Dr Jackman and throws away his Dictaphone, which we are shown in a close up on the floor undamaged.
When Jackman changes we zoom into his eye in an extreme close up which also turns green. This has connotation of a green eyed monster or even the hulk. The colour signifies the change in Dr Jackman to Mr Hyde. Smoking connotations of rebellion
The angle of the shots becomes more swayed/off centre (Dutch tilt) to show that his mindset of Jackman has altered and he has now changed. We see more extreme close up of various parts of Hyde’s face, which give those connotations of madness this his representation has changed and from a placid, none aggressive man he turns into a sexually deviant angry monster
A two shot is shown in a high angle/low angle exchange between Billy and Hyde where Hyde is now dominant. The close ups of Billy now show him afraid thus the representation of Billy has changed from an aggressive male to subordinate wimp who is scared
As Jackman asks to be attacked with the lad and his knife the camera work becomes hand held to give us a realistic insight into such a fight in a documentary, actuality style of representations as it frantically pans around the action
Cutaways are used in medium shots/close ups to show the weak representations of the girl who is crying uncontrollably in a stereotypical female representation of what most girls/women would do in such a situation if they witness violence.
The men are also stereotypical represented as aggressive and egotistical monsters that have split personalities who are constantly trying to confirm their masculinity in front of impressionable women.
The blood oozes from the Billy’s mouth which signifies defeat in the psychical battle between the males, which Hyde compares to a lions pride and takes it back to a primeval, Neanderthal battle between humans and Hyde character does explore the dark side of humanity.
After Hyde defeats Billy he acts like a sex fiend and forces himself on the women in a two shot and we see a close up of his face close to her as he breaths on her, touches her and makes her scared to death of what he may do next. He is now represented not as a middle class family man but a sexual deviant who wants to have sex with the distressed women which shows his change in personality
3. EDITING
The editing starts off fairly pacey during the chase sequence and builds up a climatic fashion when Jekyll crashes into the couple the edits then slow down but are still constructed in a seamless fashion despite the great number of camera set ups
The edits are primarily shot reverse shots, which are edited to show the dialogue between the characters and also show their proximity to one another.
When Jackman changes we have a fast edited zoom in into his eye, which turns green. Fast/speeded up edits are used when Hyde turns quickly away from Billy during the three attacks this represents Hyde as being almost superhuman and represents him as having unique powers that the other male ‘Billy’ doesn’t.
There are various straight cuts as the camera pans as Jackman circles Billy like a lion; this editing creates an un-easy sensation in the sequence.
When the men get up close and personal the director uses faster edits to show their conflict, as this is the key physical action of the scene.
In terms of gender the editing helps to enforce the idea that both men are aggressive and confrontational. The editing shows Jekyll more as he is the main characters as such his hierarchal order is being conveyed through the selection of close up edits on his face.
There are various eye match shots between the three main characters and the tempo and frequency of the cuts increase during the conflict sequences.
The edits slow down as Hyde dances away showing his masculine bravado and confidence in attacking another male without remorse or guilt.
4. SOUND
• The main components of sound are dialogue which is diegetic and through dialogue you can clearly see the behaviour of the men and women in the sequence.
• Billy has a cockney accent which suggests he is from a white working class background in London and Hyde has a broad Belfast accent, which may have a foreign, un-English element to it?
• “Here comes God” which is high pitched and loud demonstrates his power and alter ego and ability to do whatever he likes to Billy, they are both at his mercy and he is all powerful, like god.
• Sound effects such as the ribs crunching are used to show Billy’s weakness and demise from a loud, aggressive, violent lout to a pathetic wimp.
• Girl crying, weeping shows her weakness as a women and inability to stand up for her boyfriend or challenge Hyde in any way
• The sound become louder in terms of pace, pitch and frequency (like a train) as Hyde approaches the girl and acts like a pervert culminating in a lion roar/growl as he shows her his teeth
• Hyde walks away whistling demonstrating his confidence as the Alpha male destroying his rival and happiness at what he has just done which is break someone’s neck. This suggests as Hyde his male representation is violent, aggressive and he treats people with contempt and has a degree of sexual deviancy towards women.
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