Get Out Analysis

Get out analysis

Describe these elements effectiveness. 

Mise en scene

Lighting

• dark lighting - night. connotes danger
• street lights
• car lights shown change from white to red - reflects shift in narrative and red connotes danger. white connotes pureness. change from innocence to danger
• connotes something bad is about to happen- foreshadowing the event 

Props

• phone (call) - reflects normality. also connotes fear and the need to communicate. 
• white car - may reflect race differences. the owner may be wealthy as a classic car is not cheap.

Costume

• casual- jeans, jacket: working class, innocent, comfortable 
• all black, mask: evil, hidden identity. He is the villain
• creates a sense of good v evil
• enigma code- he is wearing a mask- who is it?

Setting

• elegant street lighting - suggests wealthy area 
• reinforces the idea that the victim is uncomfortable, which rejects the stereotype of black people
• suburban area
• residential
• big trees
• wide roads
• you can see the houses are big 
• no parking- people have big houses in which they have big spaces. 
• the location is a wealthy area.
• reaffirms the fact this is where he feels uncomfortable as a person of colour.
• white suburban v black working class

Colour palette

• dark and shady

Performance

• uncomfortable 
• assault- antagonist is someone who is used to attacking others as he is skilled in immobilising - professional hitman?
• visceral pleasure as we were not expecting 
• talking to himself- reassuring himself, states directions as  lost as not in somewhere familiar

Editing

• one/long take/shot
• one cut to a wide angle where we can establish the location
• sound effects - music
• slow paced - tension builds
• no edit- leads to suspense and tension
• one cut to a wide angle where we can establish the location
• straight cut 
• continuity editing- it smoothes edits from one frame to another- this develops the narrative.

Identify different editing techniques and then explain there effectiveness in this opening sequence.  

An editing technique within the opening sequence is the fact that at the beginning it is slow paced. This is effective as it builds the tension of an audience. By this, we get a foreboding sense that something bad is about to occur. As the scene or narrative develops, the pace gradually shifts to a fast pace. This is effective as it releases this tension the audience feels. This can be linked to Altman's theory of genre and audience pleasures. The violence creates a viceral pleasure, as well as the emotional pleasure of shock. 

• Highlights the narrative disruption within the film- Todrov's theory
• The editing must compliment the events that occur. 
• As the plot thickens, and enigma develops the pace of editing compliments this by developing into a fast pace. 

Camera work

• camera moving down the street, following character - viewers are put in the characters position
• steadicam/tracking shot- gives a sense of reality as we are following the character along in their journey
• rolling shot
• rule of third- director is pointing us towards the threat, the car
• wide shot of street first, establishing shot, sets scene
• mid shot of character - connotes normality
• medium shot- facial expression, look of concern and discomfort
• one take 
• ends with another wide shot - cyclical: this is a repetitive thing that often occurs
• we cannot see the facial expressions during the attack, this is deliberate
• ^ enigma code- were kept guessing as to who the person/antagonist is. 
• back shot- 
• at the end of the sequence there is a long shot- distance showing the setting as the camera pulls out and reveals the suburb environment. 

In this sequence, we can identify that the protagonist is usually captured in a mid-shot. This is effective as we can easily interpret his facial expressions, which connote concern and discomfort, and foreshadows that something bad is going to happen. We can link this to 

Sound

• diegetic sound: phone call, nature sounds (wind, animals, dialogue, walking)
• man talking
• car
• radio music
• music turns non diegetic
• contrapuntal sound, upbeat music - doesn't reflect the danger that is occurring.
• speech- a mans voice: a low, nervous, uncomfortable voice. connotations of a nervous voice suggest that the man may be a victim. 
• dog barking- connotes an ominous undertone and suggests the scene is in a domestic, residential area.
• car- urban area
• crickets- connotes that it is possibly night time, and he is in an outside area that is not very built up. 
• radio 
• old fashioned music- tempo of music intensified, went from diegetic to non diegetic. 
• screams- connotes a struggle- there is an attack
• the song lyrics are about the farmer chasing the rabbit with his gun- the song is about pray and predator 
• a gunshot- connotes violence and death. conforms to the genre of horror
• parallel music- devils chord- very commonly used in horror movies to signify something negative 
• speech- a mans voice; a low, nervous, uncomfortable voice. 
• radio 

Horror connotations 

• dark street at night 
• attacker in black
• devils chord music 
• lighting low 
• attack 
• insect noises in background 
• lost victim 
• deserted street 

Equilibrium theory

• him walking around lost
• the car doing the U-turn
• the assault
• him struggling as his trying to resist
• he is dead and the antagonist is on the loose

Propps theory: Character types

• villain is likely to be the masked character as he carried out the assault on what seemed an innocent  man. 

Binary opposition

• black v white
• evil v good
• working class V  middle class
• protagonist V antagonist
• strong v weak

Action and Enigma codes

Action code: 

• car u-turn: why?
• assault: why?
• after assault: alive or dead?

Enigma code:

• why is the victim in an unfamiliar neighbourhood?
• where is he going?
• the white car- who is in it? who is driving? 
• why is he attacked?
• who are the attackers?
• is he dead or alive?

Pleasures 

Visceral pleasure 

• shock, scared, excitement- attack
• confused- white car/music/attack

Emotional pleasures

• concerned
• intrigued
• worried
• lost
• sadness
• angry-attack
• shock

Intellectual pleasure

• because the entire opening sequence is an enigma code in the context of the movie, the audience is immediate intellectually stimulated and left wondering what happens next.