Tuesday 16 December 2014
Sunday 14 December 2014
Sherlock, textual analysis of class and status
Watson meets Sherlock's 'arch enemy'
The main camera shot used in this clip is close-ups of the two characters face at equal height to show that they have equal status at the start of the clip. Both of them try to gain power by asking questions/answering with one word word answers and this is shown also by the steady change of shots both focused on their faces at equal height. This first set of shots is only interrupted with something new when Watson gets a text from Sherlock where the shot changes to a long shot and the words of the text appear on the screen. This first shows the audience the relationship between the two men and show how they are stood at a distance, showing they are not friends and directly facing each other to show that there is a confrontation of power. When Watson asks if they are done to try and show his status that he can leave when/if he wants but the man replies with "you tell me" which clearly isn't what Watson expected as there is a slight pan across his face as he decides whether or not to answer question or to just leave. As Watson walks away shallow focus is used to show him in focus but the man unfocused in the background. This could mean that Watson has the power and therefore higher status as this point as he is choosing to walk away and not answer any more questions. As Watson turns round both characters become in focus again showing the status is once again level, this switches to a long shot as Watson shows his hand and the man moves towards him. An extreme close up is used to show the change in tension as Watson says "don't" to touching his hand and shows how he is afraid of what he is going to do. The extreme close up of Sherlock's enemy when he raises eyebrows to show he does not need to explain is used to show that he has higher status as he gets Watson to do what he wants. Over the shoulder shots of Watson are used to show that he is always under the power of the man as he is standing over him and in charge of him. A two shot is used as it zooms out to show Watson steadying his hand and shows once again the relationship between the two men and how it has changed as he had moved closer and clearly unsettled Watson. The close-ups of Watson's face show that he does not make eye contact with the man, clearly showing he does not trust him and that he believes he could be dangerous. As the man walks away the camera tracks across to follow him and show him playing with his umbrella showing that he is not at all unsettled by the conversation and, unlike Watson, his status has remained unchanged. Shallow focus is used again to show Watson's face as he thinks over the man's offer but to show the woman approaching behind him and then the focus pulls as it changes to show her as she asks him his address. Another long shot is used to show Watson receive another text which this time he applies to. The clip ends on a tilt shot to show what Watson is looking at as it moves from his hand up to his face showing that he was thinking over what the man had said to him and that it has unsettled him which leaves the audience believing that Watson's status is lower than Sherlock's enemy's at the end compared to the start where they were equal.
The editing used in this shot is used to highlight the status of both characters and to highlight important areas. When Watson receives a text in this clip the writing of it appears on the screen to show the audience what it says and to show the hold that Sherlock has over Watson and his higher status. The texts are demanding of Watson as at first Sherlock asks him to come but then it changes to "if inconvenient come anyway" to show that he wasn't really asking him but rather, telling him. Shot reverse shot is used as an editing technique to make the conversation appear continuous and to show how they are both equal. Both characters try to keep their status and neither backs down which is shown through shot reverse shot as they are quick changes of the same shot, known as graphic match. Eye line match is also used as every time the shot switches it shows the other character but in the view of the other making them both appear equal. The editing used in this clip is fast paced as they both use one word answers and phrases to try and keep their status which means the editing is made up of short takes to show the struggle of power between the characters as both try to remain on top. The track used across Watson's face is used as expansion of time to try and make it seem like his thought process lasted longer than natural as he considers Sherlock's enemy's question and what to do next.
The man who calls himself Sherlock's enemy has an accent that highlights him to be of a higher class than Watson, he appears to be well spoken and contains his temper well unlike Watson. His voice and accent makes him appear calm and of a higher status than Watson who often sounds uneasy about the questions he is being asked and makes him seem as though he has done this before. The lines used in this clip show how the change in status is a constant battle as neither character wants to back down but how Sherlock's enemy has a natural edge as he not only was able to get Watson to come and meet him but knows a lot about him when he doesn't even tell Watson his name. The man first says to Watson "I worry about him...constantly" which is referring to Sherlock and how he is not an enemy in the way that he wants to hurt him or beat him but he is worried about the trouble he will get into. The man also tells Watson that "You're very loyal..very quickly" which the audience could see to be used as a technique to make Watson doubt Sherlock and could convince him to be on his side. Watson, however, does not give in and tries to show his status as he says "are we done?" but the man does not give in and instead replies "you tell me" which appears to unsettle Watson so he leaves. But as he does the man tells him "I can see from your left hand that's not going to happen" which intrigues Watson and so he turns back to the man. Watson quite sternly says to the man "dont" when he suggest to hold his hand to feel the tremor, this could be because he does not trust him and is unsure on what he is going to do or because Watson wants to keep his status and not give in to what he wants. Sherlock's enemy says "you walk with Sherlock Holmes you see the battle field" to which Watson replies "what's wrong with my hand", ignoring what he has just said and demanding to know why he wanted him to hold out his hand. This shows the audience that at this point in the clip the man has power over Watson and Watson is starting to doubt himself and letting his status slip which is shown when he says "who the hell are you" but then "how do you know that" when he realises he may have spoken out of turn. Sherlock's enemy says "welcome back" to Watson to imply that him siding with Sherlock is the adventure he needed like the war to stop the tremor in his hand that, he suggested, was down to him missing being apart of the war. When Anthea asks Watson his address he replies "bakers street, erm 221B bakers street" which shows that he is unsettled and is no longer thinking about what he is saying or is interested in giving himself a higher status.
Music is used throughout this clip in a discrete way as it remains quiet through the majority of it only getting louder slightly to create tension in parts of the clip where the conversation has stopped. This is used to make the audience feel like something bad is about to happen and also highlight the silence of the conversation.
This clip is quite dull and the colours are kept to a minimum as most objects in the clip are a dark blue or black aside from the faint yellow in the background of the setting. The lighting is dark and there is no natural light that appears to be used in this clip only lights above the character's heads which makes the setting of the empty warehouse seem more realistic. Sherlock's enemy's costume is a suit with tie which, similarly to his accent, makes him appear of a higher class and smarter to Watson who is dressed in a shirt and trousers but with a zipped up jacket. Alongside this, Watson is leant on his walking stick throughout most of the clip which gives him a slumped posture unlike the man. Although the man uses his umbrella similarly to how Watson uses his walking stick his umbrella appears much taller allowing him to keep his straight posture adding to his higher class. His umbrella is also used a prop to show how is calmer than Watson as often throughout the clip he moves it around and plays with it to show his freedom to be there unlike Watson. The man also brings out a book at one point in this clip which he claims has information about Watson in it "trust issues, it says here" but even then he has his umbrella hung on his other arm rather than putting it down. This also implies to the audience that the man may do something with the umbrella that would put Watson in his place if need be. At the end of the clip as he walks away he swings the umbrella around to show his attitude to the situation and how he is still in control and does what he wants. Anthea, who the audience sees in an earlier clip on the way to warehouse, has a phone which she always appears to be texting on to show that either she is too important to talk to Watson or to take an interest in what is going on or that she has been instructed not to get involved and so distracts her attention this way. Sherlock's enemy uses his facial expressions to project his status rather than explaining himself; for example when Watson says "don't" he simply raises his eyebrows and Watson conforms. Watson has a very stern expression through most of the clip that remains unchanged and does not show much change of emotion to what the other man is saying.
The main camera shot used in this clip is close-ups of the two characters face at equal height to show that they have equal status at the start of the clip. Both of them try to gain power by asking questions/answering with one word word answers and this is shown also by the steady change of shots both focused on their faces at equal height. This first set of shots is only interrupted with something new when Watson gets a text from Sherlock where the shot changes to a long shot and the words of the text appear on the screen. This first shows the audience the relationship between the two men and show how they are stood at a distance, showing they are not friends and directly facing each other to show that there is a confrontation of power. When Watson asks if they are done to try and show his status that he can leave when/if he wants but the man replies with "you tell me" which clearly isn't what Watson expected as there is a slight pan across his face as he decides whether or not to answer question or to just leave. As Watson walks away shallow focus is used to show him in focus but the man unfocused in the background. This could mean that Watson has the power and therefore higher status as this point as he is choosing to walk away and not answer any more questions. As Watson turns round both characters become in focus again showing the status is once again level, this switches to a long shot as Watson shows his hand and the man moves towards him. An extreme close up is used to show the change in tension as Watson says "don't" to touching his hand and shows how he is afraid of what he is going to do. The extreme close up of Sherlock's enemy when he raises eyebrows to show he does not need to explain is used to show that he has higher status as he gets Watson to do what he wants. Over the shoulder shots of Watson are used to show that he is always under the power of the man as he is standing over him and in charge of him. A two shot is used as it zooms out to show Watson steadying his hand and shows once again the relationship between the two men and how it has changed as he had moved closer and clearly unsettled Watson. The close-ups of Watson's face show that he does not make eye contact with the man, clearly showing he does not trust him and that he believes he could be dangerous. As the man walks away the camera tracks across to follow him and show him playing with his umbrella showing that he is not at all unsettled by the conversation and, unlike Watson, his status has remained unchanged. Shallow focus is used again to show Watson's face as he thinks over the man's offer but to show the woman approaching behind him and then the focus pulls as it changes to show her as she asks him his address. Another long shot is used to show Watson receive another text which this time he applies to. The clip ends on a tilt shot to show what Watson is looking at as it moves from his hand up to his face showing that he was thinking over what the man had said to him and that it has unsettled him which leaves the audience believing that Watson's status is lower than Sherlock's enemy's at the end compared to the start where they were equal.
The editing used in this shot is used to highlight the status of both characters and to highlight important areas. When Watson receives a text in this clip the writing of it appears on the screen to show the audience what it says and to show the hold that Sherlock has over Watson and his higher status. The texts are demanding of Watson as at first Sherlock asks him to come but then it changes to "if inconvenient come anyway" to show that he wasn't really asking him but rather, telling him. Shot reverse shot is used as an editing technique to make the conversation appear continuous and to show how they are both equal. Both characters try to keep their status and neither backs down which is shown through shot reverse shot as they are quick changes of the same shot, known as graphic match. Eye line match is also used as every time the shot switches it shows the other character but in the view of the other making them both appear equal. The editing used in this clip is fast paced as they both use one word answers and phrases to try and keep their status which means the editing is made up of short takes to show the struggle of power between the characters as both try to remain on top. The track used across Watson's face is used as expansion of time to try and make it seem like his thought process lasted longer than natural as he considers Sherlock's enemy's question and what to do next.
The man who calls himself Sherlock's enemy has an accent that highlights him to be of a higher class than Watson, he appears to be well spoken and contains his temper well unlike Watson. His voice and accent makes him appear calm and of a higher status than Watson who often sounds uneasy about the questions he is being asked and makes him seem as though he has done this before. The lines used in this clip show how the change in status is a constant battle as neither character wants to back down but how Sherlock's enemy has a natural edge as he not only was able to get Watson to come and meet him but knows a lot about him when he doesn't even tell Watson his name. The man first says to Watson "I worry about him...constantly" which is referring to Sherlock and how he is not an enemy in the way that he wants to hurt him or beat him but he is worried about the trouble he will get into. The man also tells Watson that "You're very loyal..very quickly" which the audience could see to be used as a technique to make Watson doubt Sherlock and could convince him to be on his side. Watson, however, does not give in and tries to show his status as he says "are we done?" but the man does not give in and instead replies "you tell me" which appears to unsettle Watson so he leaves. But as he does the man tells him "I can see from your left hand that's not going to happen" which intrigues Watson and so he turns back to the man. Watson quite sternly says to the man "dont" when he suggest to hold his hand to feel the tremor, this could be because he does not trust him and is unsure on what he is going to do or because Watson wants to keep his status and not give in to what he wants. Sherlock's enemy says "you walk with Sherlock Holmes you see the battle field" to which Watson replies "what's wrong with my hand", ignoring what he has just said and demanding to know why he wanted him to hold out his hand. This shows the audience that at this point in the clip the man has power over Watson and Watson is starting to doubt himself and letting his status slip which is shown when he says "who the hell are you" but then "how do you know that" when he realises he may have spoken out of turn. Sherlock's enemy says "welcome back" to Watson to imply that him siding with Sherlock is the adventure he needed like the war to stop the tremor in his hand that, he suggested, was down to him missing being apart of the war. When Anthea asks Watson his address he replies "bakers street, erm 221B bakers street" which shows that he is unsettled and is no longer thinking about what he is saying or is interested in giving himself a higher status.
Music is used throughout this clip in a discrete way as it remains quiet through the majority of it only getting louder slightly to create tension in parts of the clip where the conversation has stopped. This is used to make the audience feel like something bad is about to happen and also highlight the silence of the conversation.
This clip is quite dull and the colours are kept to a minimum as most objects in the clip are a dark blue or black aside from the faint yellow in the background of the setting. The lighting is dark and there is no natural light that appears to be used in this clip only lights above the character's heads which makes the setting of the empty warehouse seem more realistic. Sherlock's enemy's costume is a suit with tie which, similarly to his accent, makes him appear of a higher class and smarter to Watson who is dressed in a shirt and trousers but with a zipped up jacket. Alongside this, Watson is leant on his walking stick throughout most of the clip which gives him a slumped posture unlike the man. Although the man uses his umbrella similarly to how Watson uses his walking stick his umbrella appears much taller allowing him to keep his straight posture adding to his higher class. His umbrella is also used a prop to show how is calmer than Watson as often throughout the clip he moves it around and plays with it to show his freedom to be there unlike Watson. The man also brings out a book at one point in this clip which he claims has information about Watson in it "trust issues, it says here" but even then he has his umbrella hung on his other arm rather than putting it down. This also implies to the audience that the man may do something with the umbrella that would put Watson in his place if need be. At the end of the clip as he walks away he swings the umbrella around to show his attitude to the situation and how he is still in control and does what he wants. Anthea, who the audience sees in an earlier clip on the way to warehouse, has a phone which she always appears to be texting on to show that either she is too important to talk to Watson or to take an interest in what is going on or that she has been instructed not to get involved and so distracts her attention this way. Sherlock's enemy uses his facial expressions to project his status rather than explaining himself; for example when Watson says "don't" he simply raises his eyebrows and Watson conforms. Watson has a very stern expression through most of the clip that remains unchanged and does not show much change of emotion to what the other man is saying.
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