24 Practice Extract Essay

24 Practice Extract Essay

              The extract presented was a film focused on the main genre: Drama. The clip that was provided was a scene that involved an interrogation between a detective and a suspect. The theme of the video was mainly about keeping your calm in a pressure-filled situation. It is very difficult to keep one’s head on straight if they are in a conflict that is not being easily solved. This was portrayed in the film 24 by the use of various camera, editing, sound, and mis-en-scene techniques.
              Clearly, the intention of the author was to create a suspense-filled film that easily captured the audiences’ attention. In the beginning of the extract, it starts off with a man walking into a room. As he walks, there is a use of non-diegetic sound that suggests the man has power. This proposes to the audience that he is a place of higher authority than the other actress who is also in the room. Before any dialogue begins, there is a shot of one of the props in the same room. This prop is a security camera. Along with the camera, there is also a table, chair, and papers which are placed in front of the suspect. This helps the audience to identify the scenery of the two actors contributing to the dramatic mood the author is trying to create.
              Furthermore, in the middle of the extract, it is recognizable that the man and woman are in an interrogation room. This places the actual setting and shows that the man is a detective trying to wring a name out of the suspect. After this is established, there are a series of close-ups showing the actors emotions towards each other. This also shows their reactions towards the type of dialogue being used. This contributes to the dramatic feeling of audience when they realize what situation the actors are in. The dialogue that they use shows the audience what the characters are talking about and why they have the emotions they towards one another. This also shows the depth of the conversation, specifying that there is tension between the two. This creates a sense of suspense in the audience, as it is a slight indicator that something bad is going to happen.
              Moreover, the last three unique elements used to create the overall theme were a jump cut, wide shot and split screen. When the detective was trying to get a name out of the suspect, there was a jump cut to three supervisors watching the security camera. They were making sure that the detective didn’t do anything harmful to the subject because she was a valuable source of information. They were intently watching the screen, as if they expected him to lash out with anger at the suspect. This created suspense because it showed the audience there was most likely going to be a conflict occurring in the near future. Shortly after this edit, there is a wide shot of that exact prediction. The detective got so furious that he flipped the table over and grabbed the suspect by the neck, pinning her against the wall. This created a large thrill because what was expected to happen actually did, and it was at risk of the detective’s entire occupation. This added to the drama of the scene. Right after the detective pinned the suspect against the wall, there was a split screen of him choking her and the supervisors running to stop him from killing her. This created a huge rush in the audience because it was almost unknown whether or not the three supervisors would get to the interrogation room on time. The scene shortly ends after the detective is escorted out, leaving the suspect smugly in the interrogation room.
              In conclusion, the main idea of the movie was created from the act of the man not being professional by the use of camera shots, angles, movements, editing, sounds, and mis-en-scene. Because the detective exploded with agony, he was unable to get the information out of the suspect and was taken off the case. This establishes the theme that not staying collected in a stressful situation can lead to more futuristic problems. Because of the amount of suspense and thrill, this action backs up the theme and proposes that the main genre of the film is drama.