This document provides an analysis of a scene from the film "The Call" between 1:16:46 and 1:18:22. It analyzes elements of the camerawork, mise-en-scene, sound, editing, and intended audience. Specifically, it notes that the establishing shot and panning camera build suspense by not revealing context. Props like unlabeled bottles imply illegality. Background sounds of rustling and breathing indicate the character is nervous. Blood splatters and a mannequin head suggest danger and possible psychological issues. The music escalates tension. Slow editing and shots maintain anticipation. The film is rated 15 due to violence.

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Media Text Analysis:
“The Call”
Dylan Koolman
Analysis from 1:16:46 – 1:18:22

2. 1:16:46

3.  This establishing shot begins with at a wide angle
with a full shot of the denoted man in the scene. This
is an effective way to commence the scene as it
allows the audience to formulate context as to what
is happening within the scene. If the audience are
able to collate ideas about the themes of this scene, it
would make the aspect of fear within the scene more
intense. Before transitioning to the next scene
through a straight cut, the camera further expands
the audiences scope of view with a panning shot.
This allows the audience to build up more fear due
to the fact that they are still unaware as to what the
intentions of the character are, despite having
established where the scene is.
Camera

4.  Within this scene you can see there is table with
various vials and bottles on them. These bottles
however do not have a label on them. The connotations
of this would be that they are either illegal due to the
inferred medicinal purpose juxtaposing the omission of
a label, or that they are legal however they have been
obtained through dubious methods. This creates an
element of suspicion within the audience due this
conforming to the enigma code created by Barthes,
beckoning the question within the audience as to the
intentions of the man in the scene with these
ambiguous liquids. Additionally due to fact that there
is only one light source in this shot, it connotes the lack
of hope that a character has, as well the typical
associations with any antagonist which is the element
of darkness.
Mise-en-scene

5.  The sound effects in the back ground consist of
purely rustling sounds made by the man,
accompanied by light, quick paced breathing and
the sound of what appears to be a sort of extractor in
the background. The connotations of the rustling are
that the man is fidgeting. This is typical behavior
demonstrated when someone is nervous or ill at
ease as to what to do. This accompanied by the
quick breaths that are being panted out provide the
audience with the interpretation that the man is not
only nervous, but is in some sort of tough situation,
seeming as if he is panicking. With the extractor
effects in the background, it creates a gradual
heightening in tension for the audience as they too
are unaware as to what will happen.
Sound

6.  There is a long duration of screen time for this
character during this first establishing shot and a
little after once the panning shot commences. This is
effective as it builds suspense as the audience are
able to anticipate that an action is about to take
place. This is due to the fact that the audience is
more able to focus on the mise-en-scene aspects of
the scene such as the characters facial expressions
and the various props in the room. This conforms to
the typical genre conventions associated with a
thriller due to the slow shots are indented to prepare
the audience for the events that are about to happen.
Editing

7. 1:17:05

8.  This is an over the shoulder midium right third shot.
The intention of this shot is so that the audience are
able to see what he character on screen can see, getting
a perspective point of view angle of the room he’s in.
This is effective due to the fact that the audience are
still able to see the character in the screen, a reminder
that the other characters are not safe yet, but because
the character is in the right third of the screen, the
audience have two thirds of view of the surrounding
room. This is used as a continuation from the
establishing shot in order to reveal to the audience
what is in the room. To get to this point, there is a
panning action shot as the character walks past the
camera, which follows the camera to now reveal this
shot. This is effective as it allows the audience to follow
easily the movement happening in the scene.
Camera

9.  On the walls and the bed, there are blood splatters. This has connotations of
death, but due to the fact that they are splatters and not just blood drips, it
infers that there not only death but murder, allowing the audience to infer
that this character is dangerous and is not afraid of killing, again, still
conforming to Barthes enigma code due to the fact that the audience don’t
know the motives behind these killings. Additionally, on the night stand to
the left there is a mannequin head with blonde hair. This mirrors the
previous scene where other mannequins were shown. The connotations of
this relates either to do with an interest in hair and beauty or could relate to
some type of psychological struggles of the character, now being reflected in
his later years due to the fact that possesses a mannequin head, typically
used by those in the hair and beauty industry or children. This scene is also
significantly more lit than the previous scene. This, in conjunction with the
props in the scene, create connotations that this is where most of the killing
happens, and due to the cultural code associated with serial killers, they
enjoy the feeling derived from killing, therefore providing a reason for the
extra light; the killer wants to be able to see what he is doing.
Mise-en-scene

10.  At this point, the extractor sounding effect in the back ground
has been replaced with crescendo music which is heightening
in pitch and speed. This is effective as it contributes greatly to
the tension building of the scene. There is also a sforzando
once the character stops walking. This is effective as it invokes
fear within the audience, due to the sharpness of the sound
creating an unpleasant effect for the audience to hear, which is
unpleasantness that the audience are able to associate with
this character. This music is an example of parallel sound due
to high pitched crescendo music typically being associated
with the genre of thriller. This music however started in the
previous scene during a medium close up shot, which is a
very effective sound bridge because whilst the music itself is
building tension, the sound bridge is building anticipation,
making the audience unaware as to what is going to go wrong
in the next scene. This fear of the unknown is the hook that
allows the audience to remain engaged with the movie.
Sound

11.  In terms of speed, this shot conforms to the
previous. This accords to the continuity aspect
of this scene due to the fact that this scene is
still being shown at a slowed pace. This further
elevates the anticipation of foreboding actions
that are about to happen.
Editing

12.  According to the British board of film
classifications, this movie is rated as a 15. This
is understandable due to the excessive use of
artificial and the connotations of murder as
opposed to merely death which are connoted.
Additionally, there is the frequent inclusion of
violence and struggle in the film which would
not be suitable for certain audiences.
Audience