"Black Mirror": To a Friend
Hi Blaine! You have already seen the show, but I want to talk about Netflix’s “Black Mirror”, specifically the first two opening shots and the factors that played into the elevation of tension. To set the scene, the show takes place in Britain and the main characters are Prime Minister Michael Callow and his cabinet. The primary conflict, at least in the pilot episode, is that Princess Susannah, the Duchess of Beaumont, has been kidnapped and held for ransom. The rest of the episode consists of Callow and his constituents trying to figure out the best way to deliver the ransom while ensuring that Princess Susannah will be released safely. The first shot that I want to talk about opens the show and the series, and simply consists of Callow answering a phone call where he is told that Princess Susannah has been taken hostage. The following shot is of Callow and his cabinet members watching the video that Susannah’s captors released to YouTube. One common trait of both these shots is that they both are able to heighten tension through the use of camera angles, low light, and other techniques.
The first shot of the series takes place in Callow’s bedroom, where he is then awoken by a phone call informing him that Susannah has been taken hostage. Initially, the camera is in medium-shot range, capturing Callow and his wife sound asleep in bed. The room is dark and motionless as expected. As Callow awakens to answer the phone, which had been ringing for quite a while before he finally got up to answer it, the camera begins to zoom in on him and his wife, even further heightening suspense. As Callow answers the phone, the camera gradually works up to close-up distance. Callow turns on the light and the close-up allows the viewers to easily distinguish his facial features and the discontent and uncertainty that lies upon his face. In terms of heightening the suspense and uncertainty that the viewer experiences, initially the episode opened in a dark room and the sound of phone ringing in the middle of the night which may lead the viewer to experience a sense of foreboding of the events that are to come. Next, the extremely slow and gradual zoom on Callow’s face also lends to heightened suspense; once again, it allows for the viewer to enter into a close engagement with a character which may allow their feelings to be better communicated. Together, these factors, readily transition into the next scene which properly opens the main conflict of the episode.
After the phone call, Callow heads to a room where his cabinet members are and they all begin watching the video that Susannah’s captors released; there are several key elements that work to heighten suspense in this shot. The scene opens with a long shot of Callow and his cabinet members, all visibly concerned with the safety of Susannah. Next, a subtle moment in the shot is when the camera stays focused on the long shot of Callow and his cabinet members while Susannah can be heard crying on the video that they are all viewing together, the textbook describes this as a “long take”. The shot captures the anxiety and uneasiness that may have been in the air. Once again, the director makes a point to incorporate several frame transitions, especially transitioning back to Callow’s face, still full of uncertainty and dismay. One final element that this shot incorporates is an extreme close up shot of Callow. This particular shot takes place as the terms of Susannah’s release are detailed, and as a result, Callow’s awe and the incredulity on his face are both fully captured. Careful placements of camera positions, long shots, close ups, and setting changes all lend to the suspense present in this particular shot.
Although you have already seen the show, Blaine, and I hope you were able to see the same significance in these two scenes as I did. The description of the show indicates that the focus of the show is to give insight into how technology of the world has the ability to greatly affect events, and this episode may have held a very small role in the overall plot. Nevertheless, the director’s ability to use the camera to communicate tension remains significant.
The first shot of the series takes place in Callow’s bedroom, where he is then awoken by a phone call informing him that Susannah has been taken hostage. Initially, the camera is in medium-shot range, capturing Callow and his wife sound asleep in bed. The room is dark and motionless as expected. As Callow awakens to answer the phone, which had been ringing for quite a while before he finally got up to answer it, the camera begins to zoom in on him and his wife, even further heightening suspense. As Callow answers the phone, the camera gradually works up to close-up distance. Callow turns on the light and the close-up allows the viewers to easily distinguish his facial features and the discontent and uncertainty that lies upon his face. In terms of heightening the suspense and uncertainty that the viewer experiences, initially the episode opened in a dark room and the sound of phone ringing in the middle of the night which may lead the viewer to experience a sense of foreboding of the events that are to come. Next, the extremely slow and gradual zoom on Callow’s face also lends to heightened suspense; once again, it allows for the viewer to enter into a close engagement with a character which may allow their feelings to be better communicated. Together, these factors, readily transition into the next scene which properly opens the main conflict of the episode.
After the phone call, Callow heads to a room where his cabinet members are and they all begin watching the video that Susannah’s captors released; there are several key elements that work to heighten suspense in this shot. The scene opens with a long shot of Callow and his cabinet members, all visibly concerned with the safety of Susannah. Next, a subtle moment in the shot is when the camera stays focused on the long shot of Callow and his cabinet members while Susannah can be heard crying on the video that they are all viewing together, the textbook describes this as a “long take”. The shot captures the anxiety and uneasiness that may have been in the air. Once again, the director makes a point to incorporate several frame transitions, especially transitioning back to Callow’s face, still full of uncertainty and dismay. One final element that this shot incorporates is an extreme close up shot of Callow. This particular shot takes place as the terms of Susannah’s release are detailed, and as a result, Callow’s awe and the incredulity on his face are both fully captured. Careful placements of camera positions, long shots, close ups, and setting changes all lend to the suspense present in this particular shot.
Although you have already seen the show, Blaine, and I hope you were able to see the same significance in these two scenes as I did. The description of the show indicates that the focus of the show is to give insight into how technology of the world has the ability to greatly affect events, and this episode may have held a very small role in the overall plot. Nevertheless, the director’s ability to use the camera to communicate tension remains significant.
As you said I have, in fact, seen Black Mirror and when I watched the first episode I can say that I was focused on many things, but the camera angles were not one of them. It is interesting that you chose to take a look at the camera angles for this show and how the camera was used to increase the tension and the suspense in the show. I think that I didn't quite give the cameras the credit that they deserved. I appreciate you singling me out with this and giving such an in depth look into these two shots. After reading this I think I might go watch some other episodes to see how the director continues the usage of cameras.
ReplyDeleteI like how you talk about the camera angles and the importance for setting the scene in a show. I think it's interesting how the camera can determine the mood for the scene in what's going on, and I think something to be added to just camera angles and focuses would be the background music. It often goes unnoticed by the viewer because they are so drawn in to the visuals, but the sound adds a lot to the mood as well.
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