Film Title: Sin City
Released: 2005
Director: Frank Miller
Camera – distance, angle, movement…
Sin City opens with an establishing high angle shot, tilted in a way that shows both the city landscape and an elegant looking woman emerging from the bottom of the screen. The effect this creates is that it allows the audience to firstly; become familiar with the setting of the film (an unspecified city) and secondly; introduce the distinctive editing techniques that have been used, that being that almost everything is shot in grey scale, bar certain things shown in red to add contrast to the scene, which in this scene happen to be the woman’s dress and lipstick which suggests that she may be killed as red connotes death.
A mixture of CU and MS are then used to establish a flirtatious and somewhat close relationship between the two characters (the woman and the man that has just joined her). SRS are used to track the conversation and show the characters facial expressions in order for the audience to develop an understanding of the characters. As the man showers the woman with compliments the camera doesn’t show him talking but shows the audience how the woman is reacting, which allows them to see that she may feelings for the man due to the longing and fairly lustful look in her eyes.
This is followed by a MS of the two characters; the woman standing with her back to the man as he remains staring at her. The camera slowly zooms in which is effective as it coincides with both the dialogue and music, creating a sense of growing attraction between the two characters.
Next there is a CU of the man leaning in to kiss the woman, followed soon by a mid, two shot of the distinctive silhouette of the couple embracing. The camera tilts up and down (due to obvious height differences to show the facial expressions of the characters; hers appearing to be a sense of hope and his being a blank gaze at the thought of what he is about to do. After he has shot her, the camera tilts down to follow the pair as she collapses on him, followed by a HA shot of him holding her as she slowly dies in his arms, reinforced by the camera slowly zooming out to represent her life fading away.
Sound – effects, musical score…
The extract begins with a mix of ambient sound (cars) and a non-diegetic saxophone and a piano. The jazzy mix of a saxophone and piano is effective for a number of reasons. Firstly, it establishes a sense of location, as jazz is a cultural signifier of America, especially in American cities such as New York. The American location is reinforced by the fact that the dialogue is said in an American accent. Secondly, it produces a romantic atmosphere which is important as it runs parallel with what is happening on screen. Dialogue plays a key part in this extract and is used to generate a certain attraction between the two characters. Both speak very calmly and slowly, using very complimentary and flirtatious language reinforcing the sense of a mutual attraction. Ambient sound continues throughout the scene, with the start of the rain being signified by thunder, which could also suggest a climax within the scene. Also, as thunder was heard to signify the beginning of the rain, it is heard again as he shoots the woman to signify the end of her life, and promote a sense of sadness.
Editing – speed, style…
From an editing stand point, Sin City uses one of the most distinctive and unique editing styles to date. The extract is cleverly shot in black and white, with the contrast of red introduced with some elements (such as the woman’s dress and lipstick in this scene). The shots have been edited to make the colours contrast more, with black elements being darker and white elements appearing much brighter, making every look much more vibrant and striking than it normally would in standard black and white. The effect of having everything in black and white with only a few splashes of colour is to create a ‘comic-book’ feel to the extract.
In this scene, red has been used for emphasis of both the woman and what she is wearing. She is shown in a long red dress which suggests that she is quite elegant, creating a sense of femininity. The dress could also be seen as a signifier of her class, as it looks quite expensive and sleek. Red also connotes love and passion, which can be seen as a key theme in this extract. However, this is juxtaposed with the fact that red also connotes death and murder, which suggests that she is in danger. When the couple are talking, the woman’s eyes flash green as the man compliments them. This emphasizes the fact that he likes them and also shows how she is gazing at him longingly.
The pace of the extract is kept slow throughout to allow tension to slowly build by the development of the conversation. The calm straight cuts help to create a calm and casual atmosphere which juxtaposes the fact that she is going to be killed, as even when this happens the pace remains slow.
Mise-en-scene – props, costume, setting, lighting, colour…
The main character is wearing a red dress with red lipstick to provide contrast to everything else which is shown in black and white, such as the man’s suit. Red connotes both love and death, which is important as the scene focuses on both of those factors. The woman has been chosen to be shown in red as it suggests to the audience that something will happen to the woman, either something positive (love) or negative (death).
Both characters wear fairly sophisticated and high class clothes which suggest the types of lives they lead. This is reinforced by the strong, charming character of the man and the quiet yet confident character of the woman, who remain casual throughout to coincide with the slow pace of editing. The man uses very positive facial expressions and seems very sure of himself and his actions. Similarly, the woman matches the man by replying in the exact same manner, which suggests a close bond between the two.
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