The document provides a summary of the 2004 sci-fi film "I, Robot". It is set in Chicago in 2035 where robots work to assist humans. The film blends the genres of mystery, action and sci-fi. Will Smith plays the main character, who is introduced as a physically fit but disrespectful man living in the busy futuristic city. Through the use of camera angles, editing techniques, sound and mise-en-scene, conventions of the sci-fi, action and mystery genres are established. Key events introduce the laws governing robots and show the main character's surprise when a robot appears at his door, hinting at the central mystery of the film.

1. I, robot
Genre: sci-fi, action and mystery
Director: Alex Proyas
Release date: 2004
Released by: 20th century fox
Stars: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Alan Tudyk
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2. What is I, Robot about?
• I, Robot is based in a future Earth (2035) where robots work and assist their
human owners. However, one of the robots, Sonny, shows characteristics that are
against the laws of robots and it is meant to be impossible. It is impossible
because if they break one law then they can take over the world. Robot owners
has completely relied on them.
Where is it set – how do you know?
This film is set in Chicago, United States in 2035. There is a long shot view of a city
and text saying the place and year the film was set. We could tell that the film is
based in the future because there are robots and technologies that have not yet
been discovered in 2014.
Genre
I, Robot is a hybrid of the genres: mystery, action and sci-fi.
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3. How is the genre established – what conventions are present?
Mise en scene
We see texts that says the three different laws for robots. The text is in white and we see bubbles in
water. The bubbles overtake the text to another scene. This creates mystery because the overtaking of
the text implies that the laws are secretive and the audience would want to know more information.
Between the overlapping of the text, we see someone struggling. It is not clear until we see that scene
again. There is a woman underwater trying to get out. The medium shot of the woman allows us to
examine her. Her facial expression seems frightened. A robot breaks the car window and saves her. This
is a typical convention of action as the woman is being saved.
When the character turns around in bed, we see he is holding a gun. This is an iconographic of the
action genre. After, we see a medium long shot of the character sitting on the bed. The lighting is quite
dull. The genre established here is mystery. In a typical mystery film it is usually dark. This creates
mystery and tension because the audience does not know what is going to happen. In an action film,
the main character is normally Hench. In I, Robot we see Will Smith’s (one of the main characters) body.
He is Hench and he is lifting and working on his arms.
When he opens the door we see a robot. This shows that the genre of this film is sci-fi. We see a long
shot of Chicago in 2035. The genre of action and sci-fi includes big cities. Chicago is a huge city in United
States. We see a fast approaching train that does not look like trains in 2014. This implies that the film is
set in the future. Another convention of action and mystery is clothing. Will Smith is wearing a black
leather coat, grey top and a black hat. Overall, he is looking dark.
This creates mystery because the audience wonder what his
occupation is as there is a different style in each occupation.
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4. How is the genre established – what conventions are present?
Sound
We can hear bubbles, splashing of water and a mysterious music as we see
the three laws. The pace of splashing increases as we see the robot saving the
woman. This connotes how much humans need robot which creates tension.
This is because we do not know how the woman managed to be locked in her
car under water. We hear the robot breaking the window. This is a convention
of action because the robot is using violence to save the woman. In a typical
action film, the protagonist uses violence to achieve their goal.
The voice of the robot sounds electronic and is a convention of sci-fi because
it implies that technologies have developed in 2035. When we see an
establishing shot of the city, we hear a calm and relaxed background music
with a few sounds of fast approaching vehicles. This is typical for an action
film because there are fast moving cars and trains.
We hear people talking and laughing suggesting that he is in a busy area. Even
when Will Smith and a young teenager are having a normal conversation, the
background music makes the audience think that something will happen. This
is because the music creates tension and mystery.
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5. How is the genre established – what conventions are present?
Camera
The background has bubbles and we see medium shots of the three laws. The use of
medium shots allows us to fully focus on the text. The extreme close up of the
character’s eyes makes us focus on his eyes and lets us see the terror. We think he just
woke up from a nightmare because he opens his eyes very quickly.
The medium shot of the man getting out of bed is effective because we see there is a
dull lighting. This is a convention of the genre mystery because the dull lighting makes
the film look realistic. The use of medium shot of the character lifting is effective as we
see how physically strong he is. The medium shot of the character unwrapping his new
pair of shoes implies he is pleased. This is shown through the use of facial expressions.
The character is glad he has new pair of converses. The close up of the character tying
his shoe laces implies he is sporty.
We can tell the film is located in a big city by the use of medium long shot. This allows
us to see there are a lot of people and how busy the city is. The side view of the
character walking lets us see what other people are doing. For example, we see a
robot holding a couple dog’s lead. This is a convention of sci fi because there are
robots in this film.
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6. How is the genre established – what conventions are present?
Editing
There are constant shots of the text (laws) and a robot saving a woman. The woman is stuck in her car
under water. She cannot get out until a robot breaks the windows of the car she is in.
This emphasizes how useful robots are and how well they follow their laws. This is a convention of
action as there is a crash of the car. There are a lot of cuts used when the robot is saving the woman.
This makes the audience panic as it makes time go faster.
Match on action is used from a medium close up to a medium shot of the character turning around in
bed. This lets us see he has a gun in his hand. Guns are a convention of the genre action as it connotes
conflict and killing. In a typical action film, there are constant conflicts and killings.
The use of bird’s eye view of the room allows us to see what type of house he lives in. This is a
convention of mystery as the protagonist is usually an ordinary and has a normal life. From the use of
bird’s eye view, we understand the character is an ordinary person because the room is plain and does
not have any interesting things. Match on action is used when the character opens the door to
portray how the character gets surprised when he sees a robot at his door. The use of facial
expression shows he did not expect the robot. There is an establishing shot of the setting and is a
convention of sci fi because it is based in a big city. Also, there are trains that looks like they are in the
future. Adding on, a typical sci fi film have high technologies. Another hint is the text shown that
writes 2035.
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7. How is the main character introduced?
Mise en scene
We first see the main character’s eye. His eyes look terrified and scared. When he turns in bed to turn off the alarm, he
is slow and calm. This suggests the character is relaxed. He is constantly massaging his shoulder with his hand and
lifting weight which shows that he is a physically strong person. Also, it implies that he is determined as it takes
patience and ambition to build muscles. We see a close up of Will Smith wearing converse, showing that he is sportive.
We see the character barging to a robot and not apologising. The audience thinks that he is disrespectful for not saying
sorry.
Sound
When we see an extreme close up of Will Smith’s eyes, we hear the repetitive alarm. The next sound we hear is the
music he turns on. It sounds like Jazz music and we are informed the type of music he listens to. The music continues
when he lifts and wears his converse and stops when he opens the door and sees a robot. The robot says “good
morning sir, you have a delivery.” The character responses with “get out of my face”. This implies that he is not
mannered as he did not listen to what the robot was saying. As he walks, we can hear a calm and relaxed music and
people talking, showing that he lives in an urban area.
Camera
An extreme close up of Will Smith’s eyes are shown to show his terror.
The use of medium shot of the main character turning around in bed is effective because it allows the audience to see
he is holding a gun. At this point, the audience wonders why he has a gun and whether he is a criminal. We see a
medium long shot of him sitting on the bed. The use of medium long shot is effective because we can see part of his
house. We see a back view of him getting out of bed. The use of the view lets the audience see how messy his house is.
This makes the audience think that he is not an organised person.
Editing
Shot reverse shot has been used between the bubbles and the text (laws) and the woman in her car. The use of shot
reverse shot is effective because it emphasizes how much the woman needs help.
There are cuts between the medium and long shots of Will Smith doing things, for example getting out of bed. This
makes time go faster and shortens the time taken for him to do those.
The use of match on action has been used when he opens the door. This is effective because we see his reaction in his
facial expression when he suddenly sees a robot. He looks shocked and frightened perhaps because he did not expect a
robot to appear as soon as he opens the door. There is an establishing shot of Chicago, implying that the character
lives in a busy city.
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8. What clues do we get about the film from the opening sequence?
From the opening sequence, a clue we get about the film is robots saving humans when
they need help. At the start of the film, a robot saves a woman. The medium shot of the
robot breaking the car window makes the audience assume the robots will carry on with
their kindness.
Another clue we get is the gun. The gun implies that there will be conflict between Will
Smith and opposition. The character is lifting weights and we see his Hench body. This adds
to the conflict between the characters because it suggests that he gets ready for fighting
and violence.
The next clue we get is the setting. We know it is set in a huge city because when Will Smith
walks on the road, there are a lot of people talking. This is shown through a medium long
shot. Adding on, there is a text stating the place and year the film was set – Chicago, 2035.
There is a negative relationship between Will Smith and robots. This is a clue because when
we see the character and a robot, he does not act pleasant towards the robot. He could
think robots are useless.
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9. What questions are raised in the sequence that
will keep an audience watching?
The first question that was raised are the laws at the beginning. The audience wonders what the laws are
about. In between the laws we see a woman struggling to get out of the car under water. We are eager to
know what has happened to the woman and how she managed to get under water. We hope she survives
and when see a robot saving her, we feel relieved.
Another question is when we see an extreme close up of Will Smith’s eyes. We wonder and ask whether he
saw a nightmare of the woman and a robot saving her. This leads to the audience questioning the link
between the main character and the woman trapped in the car.
The use of medium shot of Will Smith turning around in bed with a gun leads to a different question. We
wonder why he has a gun with him when he sleeps. We think he has a gun for attacking or protecting but we
do not know the reason.
The character gets out of his house and starts walking in a fast pace on the road which makes us question
where he is going. We wonder if he is late for something as he is in a rush.
As he walks, he has a conversation with a young boy across the road. The young boy then crosses the road
catches up to him. This leads to the audience questioning who the young boy is and what kind of relationship
they have.
All of these questions that are raised in the sequence will keep an audience watching because they are eager
to know the answers of their questions. They assume they will find out if they carry on watching.
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