AS Media Studies Homework

sherlock clip essay

AS Media Studies

During the beginning of this extract, we see that blackouts are leading into the scene, this shows us where the setting if the scene is and who is there. The blackouts are used to show the audience that there is something dramatic that is going to happen during the scene. Throughout the extract, we get introduced to a variety of different topics such as camera work, sounds, editing, and Mis-en-scene. These simply just show us how the scene from the extract had been played out.

Camerawork: The body language (movements) between the characters throughout the extract is very slow, which implies that this scene is going to be dramatic. This also shows us as an audience that it is a serious situation that keeps us as an audience eager to find out what happens next.

As the scene progresses we see that there are a lot of long shots that have been used- there are a few medium and over the shoulder shots, reaction shots and wide-angle shots. We see as the audience that the over the shoulder shots happen when one of the characters pulls out the gun. The way that they had used quite a lot of these angles and shots were getting us to be apart of it all and get us to "experience" the same feelings those characters had been feeling. The use of rocking focus had also played a part in this extract when the camera had focused on the man standing at the head of the gun then slowly changed to focus on the gun.

Sound: At the beginning of the extract we can hear that the music starts quite slow and quiet but as the scene progresses, the music becomes faster and intense, this gets us as the audience more curious about what is going to happen next. As we get deeper into the beginning part of the extract we can see the intensity of the scene get intense, there is a diegetic sound in the background mimicking a heartbeat coming from Sherlock and his sidekick. The dialogue that's been used during the scene is quite serious and straight to the point, the tone coming from Sherlock is more on the serious side of things whereas with the other character had quite a creepy tone which then changed to a very unimpressed tone. There is irony coming from the extract as well as symbolism these just simply add more meaning to the scene, we get this by listening to the song staying alive that gets played while the phone is ringing as Sherlock is pointing the gun at the other character's face. 

editing: During the beginning of the extract we can see that there had been a lot of cuts, this shows us that they are trying to get the audience more interested and make the scene look more dramatic. The transitioning coming from the extract was quite fast and gave us as an audience a recap to where and what they were doing during the last scene. 

Mis-en-scene: Throughout the extract of sherlock holmes, there were a lot of different things happening that fall under the category of Mis-en-scene such as the props they were using, the lighting that had been displayed, the costumes that had been worn, the setting and expressions that were showing up. There is a very strong contrast showing in this setting because they are set in a pool area which usually symbolizes fun and exciting times but in this case, it is used as a mysterious crime setting. Throughout the extract, the colors that have been displayed are quite dark and scary, which creates suspense for the audience. The suite that the other character is wearing shows us as the audience that he is a quite successful and powerful man, we as the audience also get the impression that he isn't the type of person to get his hands dirty, he would rather send someone to do his dirty work.