I’m using Sam Mendes as an example of a superb director as he’s directed one of my favourite films; ‘Spectre’.
I chose to edit and upload this clip as I love all James Bond films, especially Spectre. The Camera work and cinematography are outstanding and I greatly enjoy Daniel Craig’s acting. I’d love to achieve a panning shot like that when it follows a character over a great distance so smoothly in my ‘going local’ project.
Mise-en-scène
The mise-en-scène of this shot is extremely important as you notice James Bond walk along the edge of a roof with the ‘day of the dead’ festival below him in the background.
As he walks he takes out his weapon, places his ear piece in his ear and tightens his cufflinks. This gives the impression that he’s preparing to kill someone, yet somehow staying relaxed all through the shot.
This is one of the reasons why viewers are so entertained as they’re gripped by Mendes’ camera work which makes viewers feel as if they can’t help but watch and see what James Bond does next.
Colours
The colours used in this shot are very faded with all the buildings being a dusty yellow colour. James Bond’s suit however is at a complete contrast being black. This draws the viewers attention and it’s very clear that he’s the focus of the shot.
This is a shot from ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ amd as you can see the dominant colour is red. This could mean – anger, passion, rage, desire, excitement, energy, speed, strength, power, heat, love, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence
Line
Lines are consciously used within shot composition, they could be a very clear horizon or organisation of elements within the frame to cause a line.
.JPG)
Shape
Like line, shapes are ‘caused’ by the arrangement of objects and characters within a frame, directors are noted for their use of particular shapes as a compositional method. Forming shapes is very pleasing to our eyes.
Space
Space is literally about the space that the characters occupy – this can be read, and is often intended, as a more metaphorical space – for instance the characters mind, or literally the place that they are situated.
Texture and pattern
Texture and pattern are used frequently in film, excellent and iconic examples of the use of pattern are found in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and in the films of Dario Argento. Texture is literally about how the surfaces within the shot feel. You could also consider scratches, dust and film grain as texture and add to the texture of the shot.
