In this wide-rectangular (2.35:1) shot, we see a close-up of a man at an eye level shot that reveals his entire head and part of his torso. The man has dark hair with a cut akin to a bowl cut and a clean-shaven face. His eyes are slightly squinted, possibly from the sunlight since he is outside, as he views something off screen, just past the camera. Being outside, the man is flanked by green foliage that is out of focus, compared to our in-focus view of the man in the center-left part of the frame. The foliage seems to be part of trees, though any shape, including a top or bottom of these plants, is not readily discernible. The man wears a white shirt with a v-neck collar and some type of gray-blue coat or shirt is draped over his shoulder, obscuring half of his shirt on the right side of his torso. The man's right hand is also just barely visible, rising out of the frame in front of the gray-blue shirt over his chest. His fingers curl around a cracker held by his index finger and thumb and his mouth is cocked in a way that indicates that he is currently chewing the half-eaten cracker as he views whatever is off screen.
As for the context of the shot, we know that Bruce Lee's character, Cheng Chao-an, had just finished fighting a group of thugs sent by the Boss at the factory where he was previously working. At the factory, he discovered the bodies of his ill-fated family members, confirming his suspicion that his friends are not actually missing and that they were executed for meddling in the illicit affairs of the factory. After this discovery, the Boss's henchmen, including his son, try to eliminate Cheng, only to be vanquished. The next day, or later that same day, we now see Cheng approaching the Boss's mansion, where he hopes to avenge his fallen brethren, and rescue the woman who seems to be his love interest, Chiao Mei, who was previously captured by the Boss's men in a raid of Cheng's family home, where the rest of his cousins were slaughtered. In the imminent melee, Cheng hopes to defeat the Boss and his men and save Chiao Mei, and having defeated all prior threats sent his way, he approaches the compound with confidence, munching on a cracker, which seems to indicate a degree of cockiness in his demeanor.
Hi Leo,
ReplyDeleteYour screencap analysis is very well done and follows Sikov's example precisely. The descriptions you wrote for the camera shots, the man's appearance, and the scenery are all highly detailed and create a complete analysis of the screencap.
The contextualization you wrote for the screencap is also descriptive and fully explains what happens during this scene in the movie. However, I believe your contextualization should be solely based on how you interpret what is happening in the screencap rather than what you know happens during the movie. For instance, someone who has not seen The Big Boss before would not see this screencap and know that the man was about engage in a fight and avenge his dead friends.
Overall your screencap analysis and contextualization were very well written and informative.
-Gabby
Thanks for the comment, Gabby, and I appreciate the compliments. As for the bit about the contextualization, I was unsure of whether or not we were supposed to do it like that, and after reading other posts, I'm still unsure. That said, I do think it would be interesting to do it that way and I have some ideas for what it would sound like. Either way, thanks again!
DeleteHey Leo, my apologies for posting this so late, i hope you get to see it in time.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis of the selected screen cap is incredibly detailed and follows the example very well. The notes about the camera shot the the colors worn and shown are both very precise and accurate.
The context is also extremely detailed and accurate. I like that your context was complete, but there are a few extraneous details that don't necessarily provide context needed to the scene. I would've also liked if you said another sentence about the cracker bit, i think it is unique and unusual considering the seriousness of the movie up until now. Otherwise, good work!
Hey, Isaac. Don't worry about the late post. I waited last minute to do these to make sure I caught all of them. Anyway, thank you for the response and compliments. I had fun talking about the technical aspects (i.e. the shot, colors, etc.) as it's not something I normally do when talking about a film I saw. It was nice to do something new. Anyway, you're right, I'm sure there are some details I could have probably gotten rid of. I tend to get a little verbose with things like this and feel the need to just include everything I think of. Thanks again for commenting, though!
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