GC: Technical Analysis - Sucker Punch

GC: Technical Analysis - Sucker Punch (Snyder, 2011)

Shot: Extreme long shot zooms in to medium close up as camera pans around character
Duration: 51 seconds
Mise en scene: Dark lighting creates a sinister atmosphere

Shot: Low angle over the shoulder shot from girl showing man in a medium long shot - uses rule of thirds
Duration: 3 seconds

Mise en scene: Man has glasses and briefcase to help audience acknowledge he is a doctor

Shot:  High angle over the shoulder shot from man showing girl in medium long shot - uses rule of thirds

Duration: 2 seconds
Mise en scene: Shadow of lightning flashing through window to help build a slightly scary atmosphere. Girl's orange costume makes her stand out from the other dull dark colours used so far to help convey her as the main character

Shot: Mid shot of man showing girls face. Camera crabs left to show girl running away from camera
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise en scene: Bed at end of corridor to show where she's running to

Shot: Starting with a high angle close up of the body, camera tilts up to show girl running toward camera in a long shot. As she gets closer it turns into a mid shot.
Duration: 5 seconds
Mise en scene: Women in nurse costumes to help clarify what is going on in the scene, and camera starts the shot focusing on dead body to show audience this is what the girl is running to

Shot: High angle long shot from outside the room through window. Shallow focus on the window means people inside are slightly blurred.
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise en scene: Rain on window builds up a depressing mood

Shot: Medium close up of two girls with camera directly in front of them
Duration: 1 second

Shot: Close up of both girls' knees dropping to the ground. Camera is placed low down so as not to create a low angle shot and keep the same level as the focus of the shot.
Duration: 2 seconds
Mise en scene: Top third of screen is covered by black shadow to suggest they are kneeling by the bed.

Shot: Close up birds eye view of hand pulling away sheet.
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: Close up birds eye view of dead woman. Camera slowly zooms in to focus audience attention to the identity of the dead.
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise en scene: Face half in shadow to create mystery. Also appropriate make up is used to make the actor seem dead. Flashing light across face to replicate lightning.

Shot: Eye-level close up of man loosening his collar. He is shown on the right of the frame instead of centre to subtly make audience not as attached to him compared to the two girls who were framed in the centre of the shot earlier on.
Duration: 4 seconds
Mise en scene: His face seems to be glistening slightly compared to other characters to maybe convey he is sweating through stress or anxiety which makes audience wonder who he is.

Shot: Eye-level cose up of girls. Contrasted to the last shot, they are centred to allow audience to 'warm' to them more.

Duration: 3 seconds
Mise en scene:Tear rolling down the cheek of the blonde girl to show she is clearly upset about the death.

Shot: Canted birds eye view long shot slowly rotating clockwise to help establish the scene.
Duration: 4 seconds
Mise en scene: Everyone dressed in black to help show it's a funeral. One of the girls throws a rose into the grave to show the funeral was for the woman they saw dead in the house earlier.

Shot: Over the shoulder shot to show both girls in a medium close up.

Duration: 1 second
Mise en scene: Blonde girl looks scared of character being filmed from over the shoulder. She's holding the other girl protectively which builds tension.

Shot: Close up of man seen sweating earlier on. This time he is central to the frame.
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: Worms eye view from inside the grave showing the sweating man in a long shot.
Duration: 2 seconds

Mise en scene:Man shovels dirt down into camera to clarify the grave is being filled in.

Shot: High angle close up of letter label

Duration: 2 seconds
Mise en scene: Label on letter shows this must be the will of the person who died.

Shot: High angle close up of hand reaching for letter opener. Camera tracks in slightly.

Duration: 2 seconds
Mise en scene: Box full of bits and bobs and then the gun. This conveys a sinister atmosphere and shows the gun may be hidden in this box.

Shot: High angle close up of letter being opened
Duration: 1 second
Mise en scene: Seal shows letter is official

Shot: Low angle close up of man reading letter
Duration: 3 seconds

Shot: High angle extreme close up of text on the letter. Camera crabs along the page to show the man is reading it - almost like a Point Of View shot.
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise en scene: Important text is slightly bold to show the audience what line to read. Text around the edge of the frame is slightly blurred out of focus to highlight concentration on the right bit of text.

Shot: Even closer extreme close up of text. Camera remains stationary this time.

Duration: 2 seconds
Mise en scene: Again, important text is slightly bolder and edges of frame are blurred a bit.

Shot: Long shot with man central to the frame. Good establishing shot to show surroundings. Also leaves enough room in the frame to capture the books being thrown to the floor.
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise en scene:Violent reaction shows how angry the man is at this letter. Bright lightening coming from the window helps reinforce the anger in the scene.

Shot: Medium close up eye level shot. Window still framed in background.
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise en scene: Brown coloured liquid in a glass bottle suggests it is alcohol the man's drinking.

Shot: Over the shoulder shot showing a close up of the girl sleeping.
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: Close up low angle shot.
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise en scene: Dark haired girl shown out of focus on the bottom of the screen to clarify the scene is still in the same room.

Shot: Long eatblishing shot with both girls centred.

Duration: 3 seconds
Mise en scene: Very dark lighting, high contrast with the lamps to convey a sense of security around this bed scene.

Shot: Low angle mid shot with flames positioned in front of the man.
Duration: 4 seconds
Mise en scene: Bright light from flames contrasts to the drained colour tone used so far to suggest the importance of the character's anger.

----Finished analysis at 2:07---

Soundtrack

Throughout the whole opening scene, slow music is used with soft vocals which works well with the slow motion to help create a dreamy perspective. After the death and upto the point where the man reads the will, the music remains gentle and quite low in volume. However, after the man reads the will he suddenly becomes angry. The music grows louder in a crescendo to illustrate this, electric guitars start to come into the song which help build up a more tense atmosphere. Diegetic sound is used to create the lightening effect throughout the clip. The voiceover at the begining is deigetic sound also and is done by the main character, it's used to give a clue as to what wil happen in the rest of the film.

What have you learnt from the analysis?
Quick cutting rates can be used very effectivly to help make the scene more dramatic and to build tension among the audience. Also, framing is important when trying to portray a character as good/bad to the audience - this can be achieved using the rule of thirds. However even when using quick cutting rates, the music can have a big impact on how a scene comes across to the viewers: slow, gentle music mixed at a low volume can make a scene seem somewhat relaxed or dreamy - as proven with the sequence of shots showing the blonde girl finding the other woman dead. Another thing I have learnt from this technical analysis is that camera angles can change the audience's viewpoint, for example: the extreme long shot at the begining which changes to a close up is used to slowly introduce the audince to that character. Camera angles can also be crucial when establishing a scene. The birds eye view shot of the funeral was an excellent example of this. Mise en scene can also be effective in setting a scene as appropriate costumes, make up, and lighting can give a more professional finish and make the storyline clearer for an audience to follow.