I chose the iconic Joker clapping scene from The Dark Knight, which is a Batman movie. I really like this scene because while it's relatively short, and even shorter is the Joker actually being on screen, it adds a lot to both his character and the character of Commissioner Gordon. The scene opens with an unknown hand laying sharp, dangerous-looking tools out on a table. The rubber glove on the hand adds to the uncertainty. In the background, there is some unfocused movement, as if a lot is happening, and this is re-enforced by the various clunking noises in the background.
The next shot is extremely well done. It's a medium shot that pushes in slowly so that you almost don't realize that it's moving at all. There are obscure silhouettes and shadows framing the center of the screen. This draws attention to the subject in the shot, which is The Joker, sitting behind what appear to be jail cell bars. In the background of the shot there are figures moving quickly around as if a lot is happening, but the contrast between the rapid movement and The Joker's angry stare is what is chilling to the audience. The lighting is coming from the right side of the screen which casts a dark shadow on once side of his face, giving another cause for uncertainty.
We then cut to a moving shot of Officer Gordon quickly walking in apparently yelling at the people behind The Joker. He is followed by two others. The lighting in this shot is from scattered lights on the ceiling which create shadows that the characters walk through. This adds to the uncertainty of the scene, as does the fast movement. However, when the shot switches to the other side and his face is in full view, the tension is somewhat released. The mayor almost immediately walks into the shot from the darkness behind Gordon, and a rack focus to him as he emerges and then another to keep him focused while coming back to Gordon allows him to seamlessly become part of the conversation. The two begin to discuss The Joker as the shot switches to behind them with The Joker framed between them, but slightly off-centered so as not to give any satisfaction to the audience.
The shots change between the two talking and The Joker, including a close pan-up shot that ends with his face almost smirking at the two, adding a real tension to the scene.
Then the shot goes to a close up of Gordon, and slowly moves towards him as if the audience is The Joker being watched by Gordon. Before the shot is switched to include the mayor, we hear his voice, and it's like we're snapped out of the daze that Gordon and The Joker were in. During this shot the mayor announces that Gordon has been named Commissioner. The shot pulls back to reveal everyone clapping and then the Commissioner notices something offscreen, where we know The Joker is.
The shot that follows is one that is very famous for the creepiness, the phenomenal acting, the fact that nobody can tell whether it was supposed to be genuine or sarcastic, and that it was improvised. The Joker is clapping very eerily at the Commissioner, and has no expression on his face except an almost-there-but-not-quite smirk. However, since this is his resting face, it's tough to tell whether he means anything by it. The lighting is still giving the harsh shadow on the left side of his face and over his eyes. His downward set head adds to the uncomfortableness of the scene.
The shots switch back and forth between the Commissioner's personal life with his wife and son, and the jail cell where the Joker is still sitting quietly and calmly as people freak out around him creates a juxtaposition that makes us feel that the Commissioner and his family are not as safe as they think. This contrast is helped very much by the use of lighting and music. The shots of the Commissioner and his family are shot with soft, orangey lighting, that is set evenly around so as to leave little to no shadows, while the lighting in the jail cell is very blue/white, and cold, and is extremely harsh so as to create tension. In the family shots, a gentle melody plays in the background and the dialogue is softly spoken, and slowly to show no rush, whereas in the jail shots, people are moving quickly, speaking loudly, and the only sounds are clanking of metal and crashing and banging.
Part of what makes the scene so easy to watch even though there is a lot of tension is that every shot is moving, even if it's very slightly. This puts the audience slightly at ease but also makes it more interesting to watch. In some parts, such as the shot of the Commissioner describing the lack of evidence, it even builds drama. I think this is a great all around scene because of the way it builds tension, and adds to the characters even in such a short time.
BTS/Reflection
This week I helped work on F.R.I.E.N.D.S. This was a lot of fun because it was a night shoot at school so it felt like we were important since no one else was there. The cast was great, and so was the crew and it all went super smoothly. I was initially asked to help run lights, but having experience behind the camera, I was asked on location to help a bit with some of the shots. This project taught me a lot about the importance of preproduction, because without the director's time commitment to storyboarding and shot listing the entire thing, the shoot would not have gone anywhere near as smoothly as it did. This was in part because of the need to replicate fairly exactly what the actual show opening was, but the same need for storyboarding applies to any shoot. It was fun to be running lights because it wasn't super complicated, but it allowed me to be part of the shoot, and to help when needed and stay out of the way when I wasn't. In addition to this shoot, I worked on a storyboard for a horror movie idea, which I ultimately decided I needed to restart on, and I discussed and searched for a TV show intro to do. I found a couple that I like, so the coming week will be useful in figuring out logistics of them such as cast and crew and timing.
