3785_Xinyi_XIA_Memento
**Posted by Evy at 2:10 PM
SCENE ANALYSIS
Xinyi XIA
3785
MEMENTO (2000)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan Nolan (short story “Memento Mori”)
Christopher Nolan (screenplay)
Run time: 113 min
Aspect ratio: 2.35: 1
SHOT ANALYSIS
Shot 1: 10 sec From: 01: 18: 45 To: 01: 18: 54
A: 01: 18: 47
B: 01：18：49
C: 01：18：52
COLOR:
The color is dark. We will know this scene should happen at mid-night. It is important to know the time because the things in the following minutes normally happen in mid-night.
SOUND:
At this time, the man has just wake up. There’s no sound around, also because it is mid-night.
MONOLOGUE:
The scene that I’m working on is some memory from the main character. At the beginning of this scene, the man said: SOMETHING WOKE ME UP. This sentence let the story move on. And at the shot C as the picture shows, the main character said: HER SIDE OF THE BED WAS COLD. SHE’D OBVIOUSLY BEEN OUT OF BED FOR AWHILE. This can let us know there should be another person in this scene.
LIGHTING:
It seems like natural light. But the time is 2:30PM, if only use natural light, should be darker, so they probably use artificial light to pretend the moon light.
CHARACTER MOVEMENTS:
The character woke up, and looked the side, nobody’s there. Than we can see he put his hand on the pillow, that’s how he found out the person who should be there was up for awhile.
SHOT TYPE:
The shot type should be Extreme close-up. From this, we can see the character woke up, and the time on the clock is 2:30AM.
CAMERA ANGLE:
The camera angle is looking straight at the character. Because the shot type is the Extreme close-up, the straight camera angle should be best. It is more comfortable for people to see the movie. And because the character is sleeping by sideways, using this angle is easier for people to see the character woke up.
CAMERA MOVEMENT:
From A to B to C is pan right than pan left.
Shot 2: 10 sec From: 01: 19: 07 To: 01: 19: 16
D: 01:19:07
E: 01:19:11
F: 01:19:14
COLOR:
The color is still dark. Just like shot 1.
SOUND:
We can hear someone is struggling. But it is not very loud, like someone just has been choked up. After this, with the movement of the main character, we can hear he found a gun, and he loaded it up.
MUSIC:
The background music is not as a music we normally think. It’s more like some warning sound. As the scene becomes more and more intense, the background music gets faster.
LIGHTING:
Mostly like shot 1. But this time there is a little white light that we can see in picture D. That shows us, there’s someone behind that door.
CHARACTER MOVEMENTS:
The character got up. He saw the light go through the door, and heard someone is struggling. That made he thought his wife might in danger. So he ran to the wardrobe or something else, found the gun, and loaded it up.
SHOT TYPE:
The shot type should be Close-up & Extreme close-up. To let us focus on the gun, so that we can know his next step.
CAMERA ANGLE:
The camera angle is looking straight at the character. Because the shot type is the Extreme close-up, the straight camera angle should be best. It is more comfortable for people to see the movie. (Just like shot 1)
CAMERA MOVEMENT & TRANSITIONS:
This time the camera moves very quickly. And use the jump-cuts to transition. In this way, can let us know the situation is tense & dangerous.
DEPTH OF FIELD:
This scene we focus on the foreground which is that gun. We can only sure that the main character and his wife are in danger is after he found the gun and loaded it up.
Shot 3: 19 sec From: 01: 19: 25 To: 01: 19: 43
G: 01: 19: 25
H: 01: 19: 28
I: 01: 19: 30
J: 01: 19: 43
COLOR:
The color is white, black and red. This scene is happen in bathroom. So white is the basic color. And there is a man who’s in black and masked let us know he might be the criminal. Because it is 2:30AM, dark out side, dressing black probably means he didn’t want any one see him.
SOUND:
The main character kicked the door, and the sound he pulled the trigger. After that, someone attached him, he hit the mirror and fall down.
MUSIC:
The background music was cut off when the main character kicked the door and shot the guy in black. And start again when another guy attached the main character. Finally stop at when the main character fall down and faint. When the music first off, it makes us think they are safe, just like the main character thought. But actually it’s not, so it starts again. And after the main character faint, the scene is truly over, than the music goes softer and softer.
LIGHTING:
Still bathroom’s white light.
CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS:
There are 4 people in this scene. The main character, his wife who’s in the large plastic bag, the guy in black A who’s trying to kill the woman in the bag and the last one the guy in black B who’s hiding in somewhere first and finally attached the main character. Obviously the main character and his wife are close, and that two guys who’s trying to kill them are not on their side.
CHARACTER MOVEMENTS:
The main character slowly moved to the bathroom, kicked the door and saw someone’s pinching his wife’s neck trying to kill her. Than he pulled the trigger killed the bad guy. But when he just about to check his wife, there’s another person attached him. So his head hit the mirror, he fall down and his head’s bleeding.
SHOT TYPE:
The shot type on picture G should be Medium shot, picture H, I &J are Close-up. The medium shot is for us to know what’s in the bathroom, and the close-up is to prevent us find out there is another person’s hiding in this room. And make sure we see the blood clearly.
CAMERA ANGLE:
The camera angle is looking from above first, should be high angle. Because that scene is the main character standing looking his wife, who’s lying on the ground. And after that the camera angle became to look straight to the character. At last, the camera angle back to the high angle, to let us see both the main character and his wife, lying on the ground. The main character’s bleeding and his wife is almost died.
CAMERA MOVEMENT & TRANSITIONS:
This time the camera moves also very quickly. It used zoom in to let us see the woman in the bag. Than zoom out to see how the main character and the bad guy attached. And pan up to when the main character’s bleeding, means his memory end. The transition is still the jump-cut.
DEPTH OF FIELD:
We focus on the characters in this scene. There is one scene the camera move from the bleeding character to the ground of the bathroom. There are two black spot which are apart on the ground. I guess they might mean the main character and his wife. Because after this accident happened, the main character can never have short memory. And because of that, he killed his wife. Those two black spot could mean the main character can never be with his wife.
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