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Micro analysis Of A Film Sequence Essay

The film I am analysing is Inception. The film is the directed by Christopher Nolan; it was released July 8^th 2010. The film is about the main male character Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a thief with the rare ability to enter people's dreams and steal their secrets from their subconscious. The clip I am using is the dream-collapsing scene. This essay will analyse how the micro-elements of sound and mise-en-scene create audience response and meaning, the clip I am using is 3:48 minutes long, this occurs near the beginning of the film. The micro-elements I will be analysing are sound and mise-en-scene.

Mise-en-scene

The first micro-element I will be analysing is mise-en-scene. The props that are involved within this scene are: envelopes, guns, statues, bath, suites, dresses, rubble and the chair. Within the scene the settings within the scene are also unusual, the first scene that lasts most of the way through the scene is an interpretation of a Chinese Temple, the second scene that is shown within the film is a hotel room and bathroom within the city of Mombasa.

Within the first scene of my film clip, one of the props that is used are the envelopes, within this scene there are two envelopes both are a gold-copper colour, one contains blank paper and the other contains the confidential documents. The significance of the first envelope contains blank paper, whereas the second contains the information that is needed. This shows that it acting as a decoy and also Saito’s reaction from finding the blank paper also shows that he has been deceived by Cobb, and feels he needs to get the other envelope containing the real information as a matter of urgency. The significance of the envelope within the film is to show the audience that Cobb is unable to find the most important information in the second envelope, however Saito knows what Cobb is planning to find but he allows him to continue his work as he is auditioning Cobb’s team for hi inception, also the envelope contains the expansion plans for Saito’s company, however Saito left out key information because of the audition. There are two envelopes within this scene this creates the meaning to the audience that Cobb is going to deceit Saito with the envelopes. However, the audience do not know what is in both envelopes so the audience have an air of suspicion about the envelope that is given to Saito, and whether it is the envelope containing the information.

Another prop that is used within this scene are the guns that are used by the guards in the temple, Cobb and Mal. These guns are all used as methods of threat, inducing pain, or a method of death to wake Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) up. Each gun is a different size, which can symbolise to the audience the level of power each character has within this scene, the guards all carry relatively small hand guns, Mal holds still a hand gun but is more the size of a pistol and Cobb holds the largest gun in the scene showing he is the most dominant, important and strongest character in the scene. Every gun that appears in the scene is black showing to the audience that they all have dark, unforgiving purposes with the intention to either kill or harm an individual. The gun Cobb holds is the gun used to shot Arthur, giving the meaning to the audience that it was Cobb’s intention to kill Arthur.

Also, used within this scene there are statues of Japanese or Chinese soldiers, helping the audience to understand where the dream is set. These help the audience to recognise that they are in some sort of Japanese or Chinese home or temple, this also leads them to wonder why has the persons mind they are in (in this case Arthur’s) transported them to the place and what significance does it hold to the film. Also, within the scene when the figurine falls it is almost like it has been made to fall in this way as it completely blocks Cobb’s route. The figurines all fall as if they have a job they must do when they fall. The figurines may also show the audience where the characters are within this scene, and also the figurines look like dark menacing figures that have a purpose, to the audience the purpose of the figurines are to stop Cobb from getting the confidential information that the envelope contains. To also help the audience realise where the characters are within the dream (a Chinese/Japanese temple), this is done through the patterns and colours on the walls in the beginning of this scene. The walls are a green colour and they have patterns of trees and dragons on the walls, showing the audience that the place they are in has some connection to the Chinese/Japanese culture.

Within the scene, another prop that is used within the scene is the bath. The bath in this scene is full of water, and this is what wakes Cobb up as it shows in the scene that when he hits the water, the water begins to come through into the dream, which ending the dream. The bathroom that is shown within the scene is dirty, grimy and looks very run down. The audience would gather from this that the area is very run down and poor, the audience would respond to this as they would wonder why they are there and why Cobb has been pushed into a bath in order to be woken up from his dream.

Sound

Within the opening of the scene the sound is a very quiet, low rumble, all this sound is non – diegetic, meaning the audience can hear the sound that is happening within the background of the scene. This builds suspense, making the audience feel tense, and full of suspicion about what is going to happen during the scene. Also, during the opening scenes of this clip, the low rumble changes into a very quiet, almost unaudioable orchestral sound, during this scene the orchestral sound begins to get gradually louder, as Mal and Cobb begin to converse. This is creating meaning to the audience, that their conversation is going to result in something happening, something bad. This also will make the audience feel suspense and wonder what is going to happen next. This may make the audience feel slightly uncomfortable, as they are unsure about the overall outcome of this scene, as the conversation they are having does not seem the most normal conversation to be having.

The low orchestra sound in the background then begins to crescendo as the action in the scene begins to unfold. The sound reaches it’s maximum when Cobb shoots Arthur, during this section of the clip the gunshots all then become diegetic sound, this recreates a more realistic scene as it allows the audience to feel as if they are in the film, as it makes them feel as if they are feeling what the characters within the film are feeling. The sounds of shouts from the guards are also diegetic, making the audience feel as if they are the ones that need to run because they are being chased by the guards. Another aspect of sound that is used throughout this clip is the sound of things falling, smashing and breaking.

·      The sound of things falling, smashing, braking and the sounds of gunshots are all diegetic sounds.

·      Loud orchestra continues throughout until Cobb is pushed in the bath.

·      All the sound slows as he falls into the water (non-diegetic), splashing sound when he enters the bath and when he comes up from the water.

·      Creaking as the water comes into the dream then a gushing sound.

·      When Cobb is under the water there is a non – diegetic beat to show he couldn’t hear anything.

·      During the end of the scene when they are ‘wrestling’ on the floor, there is the sound of shouts coming from outside the room on the street.