Sherlock Holmes (2009) - 2 Minute Analysis #2

Sherlock Holmes - 2009


Detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner Watson engage in a battle of whits and brawn with an enemy who's plots is a threat to all of England.

Conventions

Different conventions were included in the first 2 minutes which we would expect to see. These include: 

• The companies Logo
• An introduction to the main characters 
• Letting the audience see where the film was set, setting the location
• The point in time which is shown to us through the use of denotation

Mise-en-scene 

Costume - Police uniforms (From the time era), long dark coats, hats - All very                secretive/Protect recognition

Lighting - All very Low key lighting (Dark) - Mainly because it's night and for the secrecy of the film

Actors - All the actors in the first 2 minutes are extremely well organised and seem to have every step though through before hand. This gives the intention that it's a tense moment, and that if anything goes wrong, then it could lead to big consequences. Thus adding to the intention of secrecy and suspicion.

Make-up - No viable/prominent make-up has been used with the first 2 minutes. However some make-up has been used to portray the characters as a lower class of citizen or to hide their identity. 

Props - The main prop used was a horse and cart (Also helped to set the location/time zone) and also the costumes worn and the guns used.

Setting - The film was set in London in the early 1900's. We know this because of famous landmarks like the Tower of London which in the film was being build. Alot the costume the actors are wearing give the audience some indication of the location and time zone of the film.


Editing - Within the first 2 minutes we hardly see any editing at all! Only 'Invisible' editing was used, this is were 2 scenes are brought together without any disturbance or confusion. I think it's used to allow the opening to run smoothly and to keep the audiences concentration.


Camera - As with every film, there are different camera shot/movements used in the opening 2 minutes. At the very start, we saw the camera 'Track' the horse and cart, this allowed the audience to follow the movements of the carriage and to add some pace to the scene. There was also a 'Long shot' targeted at the carriage to show some distance and speed. 'Close-ups' were also used to let the audience see the expressions and reactions on the actors faces.


Sound
Diagetic - Diagetic sounds would include sound that the actors them self could hear. This would include the dialogue of the characters when interacting, the reloading of the gun and the noise of the horse and cart travelling along the cobbled roads.
Non-Diagetic - Non-Diagetic sounds are noises that have been edited in after the scene was shot. The only real Non-Diagetic sound was the voice of Sherlock Holmes, discussing and planning his tactics for passing the guard.