SCENE ANALYSIS

The Life Aquatic

Directed by: Wes Anderson

Cinematography by: Robert Yeoman

Brief summary: Steve Zissou is a legendary adventurer who sets sail on a mission to find the rare Jaguar Shark that killed his partner. The odds are against him and his crew, which now includes his possible son, Ned, as they face obstacle after ridiculous obstacle.

The following scene is from Day 27: Rescuing the bond company stooge. The crew has landed on one of the Ping Islands. They are hunting the pirates who robbed their ship and kidnapped one of their men. After they search the abandoned hotel and cannot find them, Steve feels like a complete failure, falls down a flight of stairs, and asks to speak to Ned alone. Steve tries to communicate fatherly feelings to Ned, and although they are vague, Ned accepts them. Hand in hand, they help each other to their feet, and their luck changes for the better.

Shot 1 is an establishing long shot. The bottom of the frame is partially covered by a banister, which helps establish space. We see the full bodies of several characters as they continue to search for the pirates. The framing stays this way as everyone assembles. Meanwhile, Steve begins to walk forward and Ned follows close behind him. Steve is in the center of the frame in the foreground and is therefore the center of attention. The camera “pushes in” or character dollys to an MS and eventually an MCU to show Steve’s emotional distress. Ned is positioned slightly behind and to the side Steve. His close placement establishes the relationship between the two. It also shows that he is not as important as Steve, but that he is more important than the other crew members in the background behind him. It should also be noted that Klaus, though farther in the background, is framed in between Steve and Ned. This comments on Klaus’ jealousy of Ned. Throughout the film, Klaus gives Ned a hard time because he also sees Steve as a father figure and desires his attention and affection. The form of this shot also supports the content through the use of lighting and shadows. Before this shot, when the characters were hopeful of finding the pirates, it was not raining. Now that the characters are losing hope, the rain begins to help illustrate their disappointment. We can see shadows of raindrops that are casted on the crew’s wetsuits and along the wall on the side of Steve opposite from Ned. These raindrops symbolize tears and the sadness Steve is feeling. At the end of this shot, Steve and Ned place their hands on the banister to remind us of the spacial constructs of this location.

Shot 2 is the reverse of Shot 1. We are now looking over the banister, which Steve’s hand is still on, from the characters POV. There are more waterworks symbolizing tears as two spouts of water trickle down from the ceiling and into what is now a small pond in the middle of the abandoned lobby. This is a high angle, XWS that shows the dilapidated state of the lobby. The camera tilts up slightly to show a little more of the room and we no longer see the banister. This shot establishes height that will come into play in the next few scenes.

Shot 3 reverses again and it is the same as the end of Shot 1. The decaying, ruined state of this hotel is comparable to and comments on Steve’s decaying ego and career. He mentions that he had visited this hotel before when he, and it, was in better shape. “Things are pretty different now,” he says as he turns and we jump cut to the next shot.

Shot 4 begins by showing a staircase. Steve quickly enters the frame and begins to walk down the stairs. He falls and the camera tilts down to reveal more stairs. This tilt creates a high angle and we look down at Steve as he continues to tumble and descend.

Shot 5 switches to show Steve continuing to fall down the next flight of stairs until he completely falls out of the frame. It holds long enough to show his crew running down the stairs after him, again, looking down at him. Using stairs as the location for this scene made it easier to communicate a sense of failure. It would not be the same if this scene took place on level ground.

Shot 6 is a CU where the camera is placed directly above Steve, looking straight down at him. He has finally stopped falling and has hit rock (--okay, carpet) bottom. On screen, he is upside down. His position and the way he is framed is that of someone who has been defeated, whose world is upside down. His arms are raised and he is covered in dirt; he is lying flat on his back. The camera tilts up and establishes an eyeline between him and his crew who still stand on the stairs, above him. The high angle of the camera looking down at Steve is now a slightly low angle looking up at the crew.

Shot 7 cuts back to Steve still lying on the floor, framed the same as at the beginning of Shot 6. The mood established here supports the dialogue as Steve comments on how washed up and sorry he is and how his life, career, and relationships are all in shambles.

Shot 8 cuts back to the crew still on the stairs, frame the same as at the end of Shot 6. They continue to adhere to the eyeline set earlier, looking down at Steve and watching as he continues to criticize himself.

Shot 9 is a wider shot of Steve still positioned on his back. It is no longer overhead and is now more of a profile shot. The frame cuts off around his knees and shows that although he is on his back on the floor, his legs are still pointed up on the stairs. He is lit somewhat dimly.

Shot 10 is a CU of Ned sitting on the stairs. The shot is framed with Ned on one side in the foreground and Steve’s feet sticking up the stairs in the midground on the other side. This helps to maintain the space of the scene and their proximity to one another.

Shot 11 is similar to Shot 9. It is slightly tighter and Ned’s legs are now in the foreground. We can see that Ned’s feet are literally on the ground which gives room to also interpret it metaphorically. This is important in contrast to Steve, whose feet are in the air.

Shot 12 is the same as Shot 10. Shot-Reverse-Shot is employed to show both characters facial expressions throughout the conversation. In both shots, we are still able to see some shadows cast by rain hitting the windows.

Shot 13 is the same as shot 11.

Shot 14 is the same as 10 and 12.

Shot 15 is the same as 11 and 13 but Ned’s hand enters from the top of the screen as he extends it to help Steve get up. As they rise, hand in hand, the shot switches.

Shot 16 is the final shot in this scene. It begins without the characters in the frame. This is a MS and about eye level when they enter the frame, there is no high or low angle. Steve and Ned enter from the bottom of the frame. The helped each other up and they are both standing on their own feet. This use of a MS here conveys a since of closeness without being too close, similar to the semi-sweet yet really vague nature of the conversation they are having. This shot, as well as many others, is handheld to give the audience the feeling of being there with them. This taken further when the two are interrupted by Klaus and the camera pans to show the crew ready for action. They have found what they were looking for in the coat check.

P.O.P., y'all.

GOOOOOOALS!

    I love to tell stories. I want to be a storyteller and so far, the most exciting medium I’ve found to do that through is video. In terms of filmmaking, as of now, my goals are simply to learn as much as possible, take advantage of every opportunity I’m given, and see where that takes me. Ultimately, I want produce/help produce quality work that people will enjoy watching. Right now, there isn’t any particular position that I just HAVE TO HAVE, because I haven’t tried on all the hats yet. I enjoy writing. I enjoy operating the camera. I enjoy envisioning scenes and telling people where to go and what to do. I’m even starting to have fun playing around with lighting, as frustrating as it can be sometimes. I think like most everything else, I’ll like it a lot more once I get a better understanding of how things work and how I can manipulate them.
    I suppose since I can’t say much about the position goals, I’ll say a little more about the kind of things I want to make. Ideally, I want to work on projects that people can learn from. Whether that means documentaries about interesting people or places, or shorts and feature length productions. I want to show people things they’ve never seen before and/or make them think about things they’ve never thought before.
    My learning goals for this course are pretty similar to my other goals. I want to learn as much as I can, seize each and every opportunity to practice and perfect new skills, and hopefully create work that others will enjoy watching. To get a little more specific, I especially want to get better at lighting and more familiar with past and present filmmakers and their works. I also would love to get a more in depth understanding of how to operate different types of cameras, and there will always be some new trick or something I didn’t know how to do in Final Cut. I'm really looking forward to this semester and everything we will be working on. :)

Visual Style

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a children's book that I would recommend to any and every one. It was written and illustrated by Brian Selznick. The book is several hundred pages long, but the majority of the pages are captivating drawings. There are words too, but for the most part, this book is a wonderful example of how to tell stories visually. The book also gets bonus points because it references Georges Méliès, who is one of my favorite early filmmakers. The entire book could be read in about an hour or two, and Scorsese is actually directing a movie version expected to be released later this year.

The Science of Sleep is a film that I find incredibly interesting. I've always been into surreal, dreamy things (as I'm sure you'll notice a little further down this page). If you have never seen this movie before, please do.

 

 El Secreto de Sus Ojos or The Secret in Their Eyes is a film I saw a few months ago. These two stills are from a scene where the two main characters have just been informed that the murderer/rapist they convicted has been let out early on good behavior and that there is nothing that they can do about it. As they get in the elevator to exit the building, the newly-freed killer gets in with them. Although they ride down without speaking, the killer begins to take out (what might have even been a government issued) gun and loads it. After several tense moments, he exits and in the reflection of the elevator walls, we see him turn and finally face the people who put him behind bars. Because we can no longer see the gun in the shot, is unclear if this is the end for the main characters or not. I find shots that utilize reflections as a reveal or to build tension exciting and visually interesting.

 

Pes is brilliant. He uses stop motion animation to create short films and commercials. He uses every day objects as substitutions for other objects, if that makes any sense. Everything he does is so weird and interesting to watch. This still is from my favorite short called "Western Spaghetti." Instead of me rambling on about how much I love it, I'll just post a link so that you can see for yourself.

Western Spaghetti 

If you like it, watch some of his others. They are all pretty short.

I would recommend Game Over, Roof Sex, Moth, and Fireworks.

The rest of these images are simply some of my favorite pictures to look at. As I mentioned before, I really like surrealism. I also really like sweet things and things that can make you grin just by looking at them. There are a few other pictures that may have more of a politcal message, like this first one "Mujer Fatal," or are classics that I've always found captivating, like "Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror."

 

 

Dizzy Gillespie and Natalie Dee rule.