Sherlock Holmes- Title and Mise-en-scene Analysis

Sherlock Holmes- Title and Mise-en-scene Analysis

Setting

Throughout the sequence we can guess that the setting is somewhere in Britain as the characters inside the movie scape have a stereotypical English accent and they are wearing very English costumes such as suits and waistcoats etc. But the main giveaway and the truth where it is actually set in Britain come clear when a long shot of the building of the tower bridge is show nearer to the end of the sequence showing that the setting is London. London, a great industrial city in the Victorian times of which filled with dark secrets of the time creating a action filled gritty movie scape fit perfectly for a detective thriller film.

Make up

 

In the title sequence there is barely any make up that we can see, this may be done to compliment the costume idea i talked about earlier, that although these characters are intelligent and very skilled at detective work the work they do has a physical effect on them showing that sometime it is quite hard however skilled you are and this lack of make up gives the characters and actors a gritty and ignorant feel to them that they are too bust to do basic hygiene tasks, this maybe showing that they overwork too much and sometimes lack human abilities, maybe resulting in sometimes a change in personalities that may be bad towards reaching their goals.

 

Lighting:

 

The lighting in the opening sequence is very dark due to the black and white filter that had been used, this gives the effect of mystery and enigma, Also it creates immersion for the audience as it also gives off the historic vibe of the industrial Victorian times by giving the whole scene a gritty or sooty look of which your eyes would of suffered from back in that time period because of factories and the likes of early motor vehicles.

 

 

Costume

 

In the title sequence the costumes used compliment the time era of the Victorian/industrial times perfectly. The costumes used by the main characters Sherlock and Winston are smart yet quite worn and tattered at the same time, although a quite strange mix it compliments the characters personalities and personas extremely well; the smartness of the clothes so that they fit in with everyone else not just because they can but to be used as a disguise to blend in with everyone to be less prone to being caught by anyone chasing them. But then you have the tattered side of the clothes this shows that the clothes the two protagonists wear are worn and the audience assume from earlier cases they have undertook, this giving them the vibe that they are highly experienced in what they do almost accustomed to it as they do things like it nearly everyday, that yes the job is hard and the have a few scrapes but their skill and intelligence pulls them through. Also at one point in the sequence there is a scene where main protagonist Holmes is shirtless and fighting, as he is shirtless it shows his masculinity and as a result this emphasizes that not only are the characters skilled intelligence wise but also physically, these personality traits coming together to somehow create the idea that Sherlock is some kind of super person who is skilled in every way.

Editing

 

Although the soundtrack is very fast paced the shots and how they were put together are actually quite slow, transitions are used between the different scenes adds little pauses in the narrative in which the titles for the production companies and cast are shown in a VFX created old style book in old time typography of an ink quill , this adding to the historic Victorian gritty feel of the film, this creating immersion for the audience and a glimpse into the past this again keeping the audience interested and entertained at the same time as this is a unusual but extremely creative and effective way to show the titles themselves . This done so the audience can take in the information showed and it isn't rushed so they miss it, although the shot pace is slowed the soundtrack keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. Furthermore, there is a lot of cross cutting between different scenes in the opening titles, this done so the audience get to see sneak peaks of what is to come, often always containing action or mystery it entices the audience to continue to watch as they need to know what happens next and what events led up to such a scene. Also the whole of the opening titles has either a sepia or black and white filter over the top of it this furthermore adding to the historic feel of the whole opening, also this has been used in the opening titles to show masking of the story so that the plot isn't given away, as this sequence is to entice you with snippets of narrative so you watch the film and not all of it has been used almost to show that this is only a preview and that the actual narrative is masked and this masking is shown in the form of filters such as sepia, once the film actually starts its in normal colour notifying the actual narrative starts there.

 

Sound

 

In the opening titles of Sherlock Holmes the use of sound is predominantly used in the form of the non-diegetic soundtrack, the only diegetic sound heard all through the scene is the main protagonist Sherlock Holmes saying "Case reopened", although so little diegetic sound had been used these two words are what kicks off the whole scene and is the queue for the soundtrack to suddenly start playing. Also as these are the only words said it doesn't give away to much of the plot so the audience are grabbed straight away and feel like they have to watch to see this 'case' unfold. Because the start of the soundtrack is so sudden it automatically gets the audience focused and interested in what is to come. The soundtrack itself compliments the history factor of the film, the way its played is almost purposefully out of tune and nowhere near perfect this showing the instruments used may not have been at the best quality as they wouldn't of been back in the Victorian times. This out of tune idea continues further and gives the hole scene a sense of chaos and a hectic vibe, this adding action and tension to keep the audience interested. But throughout the soundtrack there are very noticeable beats of a big percussion instrument like a drum running over the slightly out of tune string instruments such as banjo guitar and violins this creates contract between out of tune and tuned and therefore gives the scene a more controlled feel thus giving the audience the idea that characters involved in the scene especially the main protagonist is in control despite the chaos around them, this showing how skilled and focused Sherlock Holmes is , this giving him a good portrayal of the character just like in the books. As the scene progresses the soundtrack gradually crescendos and the pace picks up this adding even more tension and action for the audience to enjoy and it foreshadowing some of the things to expect later in the movie.
The use of a crescendo in the soundtrack is typical in most soundtracks for thrillers, it is used to build up tension and excitement as the events in the movie scape progress. It uses specific beats in the rhythm louder than the lower melody to signify danger or something gradually getting closer to a reveal as the time span between these beats gets smaller each time. This quick paced rhythm gets the audiences hearts beating in suspense and in an urge to find out what happens next.

Camerawork

 

Throughout the titles sequence there are lots of similar shots used as the sequence progresses, the main shots that are used frequently are medium shots mixed with a two shot so it contains two characters at once, there is multiple uses of this with the main protagonists Sherlock and Winston, because a mid shot has been used the two protagonists faces can be seen showing their body language , also in almost all of the shots where Sherlock and Winston are in there is a eye level match, this shows that although Sherlock is the main protagonist in the film, Winston is just as talented and sometime needs to take over from Sherlock. Furthermore the two shot element has been used to show a connection between the two characters of Sherlock and Winston, it shows they are a team and a good one at that as all the shots are of them doing a particular job whether it detective work or physical work like fighting, also to compliment this most of the shots are from a low angle, this has been done so the two characters are shown larger than they actually are showing that they are a force to reckoned with, also maybe to show that they are smarter than the audience watching and are that skilled at what they do that they are always one step ahead of the audience. Throughout the sequence we get glimpses of the setting of the film but nothing to significant that shows where they are in Britain for certain until the very end where their is a long shot/establishing shot of the London bridge being made, this has been done so the audience figures out where the film is set and also sets the time era in as they bridge is only just being built it lets the audience get a feel for what London may have been like back in that time, this adding emersion for the audience.
The use of the low angle two shot is typical in thriller films when showing the main protagonist(s) or antagonist(s) it is used to create a contrast in authority between either the characters in movie scape or even the audience themselves, if there is a confrontation between opposing forces (protagonists and antagonist) one will be portrayed in a low angle shot to show which is more powerful, if there is no confrontation that is where the audience will either feel more or less powerful, if the antagonist or protagonist (predominantly antagonist) is portrayed in a low angle shot the audience feel weaker than the character.