http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01mnxzd/margin-call
The first shot of Margin Call is a bird's eye view of a sprawling, vast cityscape at night. The night is cloudy, lending the shot a cold, blue-grey hue that does not make the city look vibrant, rather dull & unwelcoming. The shot is time-lapsed, so the minute movements of the clouds & window cleaners are noticeable as they are shown faster than they would appear in real life. The skyscrapers are tall & unmoving, possibly signifying the unchanging, seemingly faceless facade of high-powered businesses. The non-diegetic sound that accompanies this shot is of indistinct chatter & slow, minor-key, chordal music which gives a first-impression of dour times to come.
This cityscape shot cuts to black, where we see the title of the film, which cuts from black to a long shot inside an office building, where we see a cluster of dour-looking, dark-clothing-clad, clipboard-wielding business types (a human resources team), who look around their surroundings judgementally. Their costumes & performance exude a sense of foreboding for bad times to come.
Next, we have a shot-reverse-shot of Paul Bettany's character, Emerson, as he watches the human resources team. He leans back on his chair & chews gum in a relaxed manner before averting his eyes (probably so as not to attract attention) before we get the reverse-shot back to the human resources team, now lose enough to be in a mid-shot. The shot is hard-focused, as we see the members of the team going out of focus as they walk forward until the camera is focusing on the face of the dark-haired female human resources team member, implying that she is important.
This cuts to Penn Badgley's character Seth. He sits up on his chair, in contrast to relaxed Emerson, & has an inquisitive & apprehensive look on his face. He utters the first piece of diegetic dialogue in the film, "Is that them?" he asks to his superior. He stands up to be level with Zachary Quinto's character Peter (Seth's superior) & the camera tilts to follow him. Both men look around, showing that they are nervous about the human resources team. We cut again to the dark haired woman, her face holding a neutral, unreadable expression. The non-diegetic piano music creates an atmosphere of apprehension & tension.
There is then a shot-reverse-shot between Emerson & the pair of younger men, showing that there is a rift between them. Emerson is more relaxed & has been with the company longer, so he is not nervous about the inspection & looks as if he pities his younger colleagues. Even though he is seated, he is framed in an eye-level close up, so as not to look down on him. He is in a position of power compared to the other young men, but not compared to the rest of the office, so he must be seen at a neutral angle.
The first shot of Margin Call is a bird's eye view of a sprawling, vast cityscape at night. The night is cloudy, lending the shot a cold, blue-grey hue that does not make the city look vibrant, rather dull & unwelcoming. The shot is time-lapsed, so the minute movements of the clouds & window cleaners are noticeable as they are shown faster than they would appear in real life. The skyscrapers are tall & unmoving, possibly signifying the unchanging, seemingly faceless facade of high-powered businesses. The non-diegetic sound that accompanies this shot is of indistinct chatter & slow, minor-key, chordal music which gives a first-impression of dour times to come.
This cityscape shot cuts to black, where we see the title of the film, which cuts from black to a long shot inside an office building, where we see a cluster of dour-looking, dark-clothing-clad, clipboard-wielding business types (a human resources team), who look around their surroundings judgementally. Their costumes & performance exude a sense of foreboding for bad times to come.
Next, we have a shot-reverse-shot of Paul Bettany's character, Emerson, as he watches the human resources team. He leans back on his chair & chews gum in a relaxed manner before averting his eyes (probably so as not to attract attention) before we get the reverse-shot back to the human resources team, now lose enough to be in a mid-shot. The shot is hard-focused, as we see the members of the team going out of focus as they walk forward until the camera is focusing on the face of the dark-haired female human resources team member, implying that she is important.
This cuts to Penn Badgley's character Seth. He sits up on his chair, in contrast to relaxed Emerson, & has an inquisitive & apprehensive look on his face. He utters the first piece of diegetic dialogue in the film, "Is that them?" he asks to his superior. He stands up to be level with Zachary Quinto's character Peter (Seth's superior) & the camera tilts to follow him. Both men look around, showing that they are nervous about the human resources team. We cut again to the dark haired woman, her face holding a neutral, unreadable expression. The non-diegetic piano music creates an atmosphere of apprehension & tension.
There is then a shot-reverse-shot between Emerson & the pair of younger men, showing that there is a rift between them. Emerson is more relaxed & has been with the company longer, so he is not nervous about the inspection & looks as if he pities his younger colleagues. Even though he is seated, he is framed in an eye-level close up, so as not to look down on him. He is in a position of power compared to the other young men, but not compared to the rest of the office, so he must be seen at a neutral angle.
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