Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Sherlock Holmes (2009) - First 5 Mins

Camera Work

From the credits the camera tilts up to give an establishing shot. The carriages pull into the shot and the camera then follows the carriage on a dolly (speeding up as it gets closer), the camera zooms into the carriage until inside to a two-shot, mid close up which shows the characters body positions as well as their facial expressions. This then cuts to an extreme close up of someone loading a gun which immediately tells the audience that where the carriage is going a gun is important, as by having the weapon in so much of the frame means that it must be imperative in this scene. From the gun the camera tilts up to a medium close-up of the ‘Inspector’, by being this close you can see the ‘Inspector’s’ reaction towards the gun (uneasy). Shot-reverse-shot is used between the ‘Inspector’ and ‘Dr          Watson’, this way the audience can see how the characters react with each other and establish their relationship. From this the camera then cross-cuts to ‘Sherlock’ who is running, so the camera is again on a dolly so the audience can get a sense of what speed the character is at, and to build an adrenalin for the audience. Also the camera shows a close up of his feet whilst he is running, which also adds to the speed of the scene. A close up of the character ‘Sherlock’ shows the emotion on his face and even though there is fire in the foreground he still looks strong, showing that he is a brave character. The camera then takes a shot from on top of the carriage, show the audience can where the characters are at that moment, and also the jolty movement tells the audience that they are in a rush to get to their objective. As ‘Sherlock’ enters the building he is show through a low angled shot, showing that he is important and dominant. A high angled, long shot of the antagonist is also a point-of-view shot from the protagonist ‘Sherlock’, which shows that ‘Sherlock’ thinks of himself higher up and better than the antagonist. A close up of ‘Sherlock’ shows the concentration on his face whilst he is thinking of plan, showing the audience that he is a smart and clever character. The over-the-shoulder, medium long shot used during the fight is good as the audience can see the action whilst also seeing the expression on the characters face. The bird’s eye view of ‘Sherlock’ as he goes down the stairs makes him seem smaller and the flights of stairs seem endless. A crane is used to get a bird’s eye view on the possessed woman at a long shot, this way you can see how the character reacts to beginning possessed. The crane then pulls away to a high-angled, extreme long shot of the whole setting so the audience then knows where the next scene is set (establishing shot). A big close up of ‘Lord Blackwood’ highlights how covered/dark his face, connoting that he is evil. This shot is followed by an extreme close up of his mouth, this way the audience can concentrate more on what he is saying, and can also notice the oddly shaped tooth he has. In this scene the camera looks up to ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Dr Watson’, and down on ‘Lord Blackwood’ and his men – showing that ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Dr Watson’ are dominant, more superior and here to save the day, whereas ‘Lord Blackwood’ is shown to be insignificant and a threat (as dressed in black). A point of view shot from the character ‘Sherlock’ shows how he looks round the room and investigates, by doing this the audience can understand the character and his thought processes easily. A three-shot, medium close up shows all three characters expressions and you can watch the two talk whilst the other one is being strangled, making it easier for the audience to follow. After killing an antagonist we see a shot of the two main protagonists ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Dr Watson’ from worms eye, making the two seem very powerful and dominant. The over-the-shoulder long shot of ‘Watson’ (from ‘Lord Blackwood’) is at a high angle, making ‘Dr Watson’ seem helpless and ‘Lord Blackwood’ powerful. The two-shot of ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Dr Watson’ shows both their expressions and the glass rod, so by the shot being a close up you can also see how the characters react to the rod.

Sound

The fast paced non-diegetic music played at the start helps to build up tension and adrenalin. The texture of the sound builds up as more sounds are introduced (guns being loaded, sound of feet when running, horses, chains and fire crackling in the wind – which shows how fast the character is running). The crow heard and seen is typical iconography for a horror film, which builds up the suspense. The music becomes quieter when the character ‘Sherlock’ enters the building, which enhances how quiet and agile he is. The ringing noise helps the audience to know how the character feels by hearing what he hears (getting hit in the ear leaves your ears ringing). The sound of crunching bones enhances the pain that the character is feeling. When the camera cuts to the shot of the possessed girl a high pitched noise is heard shocking the audience (making them “jump”) – music heard hear is creepy and unnerving, making the audience feel uncomfortable.  The sound effect of being shellshock heard by the audience lets them know what the characters are feeling, so it makes it more realistic to the viewer.

Editing

The cuts start off slow at the beginning of the film (a long continuous shot). The cuts then become quicker as the character ‘Sherlock’ becomes introduced to the film - when he is seen running, the shots also get faster as the audience sees the horses and the carriage which the main characters are travelling in, the change in speed of cuts increases tension and builds suspension for the viewer. The cuts then slow down when ‘Sherlock’ is inside the building. When ‘Sherlock’  is fighting one of the antagonist the shots are slowed down (when ‘Sherlock’ is planning how he is going to attack) so that the audience can see everything that the characters do, this makes the character ‘Sherlock’ seem smart and clever as he is able to perform tasks (fighting) at a fast rate. When ‘Sherlock’ is fighting the antagonist (at normal rate) the cuts speed up to increase the action in the scene, make the scene more interesting and involving. After this scene the cuts slow down to decrease the tension in the audience. The cuts speed up again when ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Dr Watson’ are fighting ‘Lord Blackwood’s’ men and go to bring down ‘Lord Blackwood’, by speeding up the time of cuts it increases the tension in the audience, and helps to put the audience “on-the-edge-of-their seats”.

Mise-En-Scene

The character ‘Dr Watson’ dresses neatly as previously fought in the Afgan war, is middle-upper class as he dresses smartly (in suit) and wears a hat and has a cane. ‘Sherlock’ wears a long dark cloak, which is typical iconography used to represent a detective. The girl on the table which is possessed is dresses all in white connoting that she is innocent. ‘Lord Blackwood’ is covered in dark colours connoting that he is an antagonist.

The clip uses low-key lighting at the beginning to create an eerie and uneasy atmosphere. Then when ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Dr Watson’ are fighting ‘Lord Blackwood’s’ men it uses natural lighting to make the scene seem more realistic. The characters wear natural make-up to make them more appealing to the audience, although the possessed girl is wearing dark make-up to enhance the fact that she is possessed. The film is set in London in 1891, you can tell this by the way that the characters dress (hat and cane), their use of transport (horse and carriage) also by the weapons they use (revolvers).