He That Travels Far Knows Much: An Analysis of Road Movies
A Brief History
When one thinks of the different genres of cinema, “road movie” is not usually one that often comes up. However, we see road movies all the time without even knowing it. A common definition is: a film genre in which the film’s plot takes place during a journey. Thus, films like Dumb and Dumber, The Lord of the Rings, Rat Race, and Stand by Me all fall under this category. While we might think of these movies as comedies or actions or dramas, they are also road movies. The genre finds its roots in the stories of Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid — both well known epic journeys. The road movie typically involves one or more characters who are facing a challenge and emerge from their journey with some type of newfound knowledge. In other cases they’ll grow and improve or have an epiphany, and in the most tragic cases, come face to face with death. Many times the character has a desire for change — he or she is searching for something new, something better.
The Mise En Scene of Bonnie and Clyde
Dominant: Where is our eye attracted first? Why?
The eye is attracted to Bonnie and Clyde first because they are in your direct eye line according to the rule of thirds.
Lighting Key: High Key? Low Key? High Contrast? Some combination of these?
The scene is shot with high key light because it is filmed outside during the daytime using natural light. The viewer can see the shadows of the people and the trees.
Shot and Camera Proxemics: What type of shot? How far away is the camera from the action?
As the action increases in the clip, the camera gets closer. In general it is a medium distance.
An establishment shot is used when you first see the road at the beginning of the clip, then it switches to a medium shot when Bonnie and Clyde appear in the car. Then a lot of medium shots. Then a lot of close ups in the row once the action in the scene picks up. When they’re in the car the camera is extremely close.
Angle: Are we (and the camera) looking up or down on the subject? Or is the camera neutral (eye level)?
The camera is looking up, down, and at eye level. They also experiment with the angle at some points. The angles represent point of views of the people in the scene and lets us see the scenery and action. There are low to high angles when Bonnie is getting shot, and then high to low angles on the car afterwards.
Color Values: Color values: What is the dominant color? Are there contrasting foils? Is there color symbolism?
Green is the dominant color – we find green in the apple, the trees, and the grass. Red is the contrasting foil, which becomes very apparent when they are being shot. There is green, which symbolizes growth, all around the characters, but at the same time they are facing imminent danger, which is where the red comes in to symbolize danger and death.
Lens/Filter/Stock: How do these distort or comment on the photographed materials?
There aren’t any lens filters because the director wanted the film to have a very natural feel. There is a lens blur when the camera pans up to the birds flying towards the sun, which is exactly how the audience would see it if they were there.
Subsidiary contrasts: What are the main eye-stops after taking in the dominant?
After the dominant eye attraction, the main eye-stops are the green apple and the birds. Also, the whole shooting scene is an eye-stop itself. The scene ends with a birds-eye view of them dead by the car, laying lifeless, which is the final eye-stop.
Density: How much visual information is packed into the image? Is the texture stark, moderate, or highly detailed?
There is a great amount of visual information in the scene – the director was trying to make it seem like you were there and wanted to make it really close to life. There is only a moderate amount of texture — te didn’t zoom in on the leaves or pan the camera to anywhere you wouldn’t have looked if you were they yourself. The shot always took you where your eye would take you observing the scene in person (i.e. the birds flying away, the emotions of the characters, and the shooting scene).
Composition: How is the two-dimensional space segmented and organized? What is the underlying design?
According to the rule of thirds, the majority of the action takes place in the center of the screen. The nature shots are spaced and wide open, whereas the actions shots are shot closer together to capture more detail.
Form: Open or closed? Does the image suggest a window that arbitrarily isolates a fragment of the scene? Or a proscenium arch, in the visual elements are carefully arranged and held in balance?
In this scene, the shots suggests a window – the window that an observer of the scene would have. In the car, the director uses the window of the car to frame the two actors; there are a variety of shots, but none of them were shot too up-close.
Framing: Tight or loose? Do the characters have no room to move around, or can they move freely without impediments?
The framing is very tight at first — the characters don’t really have a whole lot of room to move around. They are in the car for the first half and even though you are out in the nature, you get the sense that they are trapped, which is what the director wanted. The framing on the other man is different than Bonnie and Clyde. The loose framing on him suggests that he’s not in danger, as opposed to the danger that Bonnie and Clyde are about to face.
The Mise en Scene in Death Proof
Dominant: Where is our eye attracted first? Why?
Our eye is attracted to Jungle Julia’s foot first, which is hanging out of the car window, and thus out of the natural framing.
Lighting Key: High Key? Low Key? High Contrast? Some combination of these?
This scene uses mainly low key lighting because the shots remain very dark and they are filmed when at nighttime.
Shot and Camera Proxemics: What type of shot? How far away is the camera from the action?
The scene consists of mostly medium shots until they get killed when the director opts for extreme close-ups to show their bodies getting torn apart and blown up. The camera also occasionally zooms in on the girls talking in the car, ominous of their pending doom.
Angle: Are we (and the camera) looking up or down on the subject? Or is the camera neutral (eye level)?
We view the scene neutrally through eye-level. When the cars crash, we are provided with a bird’s eye view to get the full effect of seeing them crash head on. It is filmed from low to high when we see the body being blown into the air.
Color Values: Color values: What is the dominant color? Are there contrasting foils? Is there color symbolism?
The dominant color is black – not only are they are surrounded in it, but it is the color of the car. The black is ominous of their soon to come doom. The contrasting foil is red, which is seen sporadically flashing in the background throughout the scene, symbolizing danger.
Lens/Filter/Stock: How do these distort or comment on the photographed materials?
The filters that the director uses give the feel as if it was shot on film, even though it was shot digitally; it is meant to be a little grainy.
Subsidiary contrasts: What are the main eye-stops after taking in the dominant?
The main eye-stops are the images in which each individual person dies. The scene was edited to rewind and replay each death; each death was filmed in its own way.
Density: How much visual information is packed into the image? Is the texture stark, moderate, or highly detailed?
The scene is highly detailed; there is a lot of visual information packed into the image. The highly textured detail can be seen in the rain drops on the car window, the wind going trough their hair, the glass shattering during the crashes, and the blood going everywhere when they die.
Composition: How is the two-dimensional space segmented and organized? What is the underlying design?
The camera is focused mainly on the car, which is in the middle of the screen and surrounded by blackness on each side. The space varies throughout the individual camera shots.
Form: Open or closed? Does the image suggest a window that arbitrarily isolates a fragment of the scene? Or a proscenium arch, in the visual elements are carefully arranged and held in balance?
The window of the car creates a closed form in most of the shots; the window also fragments the scene.
Framing: Tight or loose? Do the characters have no room to move around, or can they move freely without impediments?
The framing is very tight through the whole scene in order to capture as much action as possible and to provide the sense that they are doomed – there no way out of their current situation. In the last death, when the car tires run over the woman’s face, the framing is extremely tight, showing that she obviously can go nowhere.
