Research for EARNEST - Macbeth (2010)
I chose this as my final piece of analysis even though it's not a movie because I love this adaption. I find it haunting and potent and very easy to follow, which not all adaptions of such old stories do well. I think the casting is excellent, but not as good as the idea to set it in a kind of Soviet Russia-esque location. The Macbeths' ambition and vices are cleverly but clearly portrayed and the three witches are more than a little creepy as war-time nurses.
The target audience for this film is going to be people who know the story, so either students or adults. Audiences will be expecting a good remake of such a famous tale, with accuracy but something to it that makes it stand out from the other reboots. The social groups presented in this story are Scottish noble families, and though it doesn't paint one of them in particular in a flattering light, it seems to suggest that their is a great strength in unity, as they band together in the end to defeat Macbeth.
Types of Shots
Close up
- The first shot we see of actual film is a bloody, twisted hand, immediately setting the mood of a violent war zone. It also works well to wake up any member of the audience who wasn't really paying attention yet.
Long Shot
- A darkly lit long shot shows off the chaos of the hospital, and is very dramatic. The silhouettes of the army officials in contrast to the stark whites of the witches foreshadows the soon-to-happen plot of the witches taking control of the story from the King.
Over the Should Shot
- None of these men seem at all worried about the man who is dying on the gurney, but rather more concerned he'll die before he can tell them what's happened. Their indifference is nicely conveyed using an Over the Shoulder Shot so that we get a sense of conversation, whilst still being able to read the superior officers' expressions.
Camera Angles
Canted Angle
- The camera tilts and shakes along with the building as it gets blasted with bombs to take the audience 'into' the battle zone and gives them a feel for the terror the men must be feeling.
Low Angle
- Using a low angle gets the camera and the audience right in the action, sparing no detail of the man's injures or the state he's in. It also adds gravity to what he's saying, as we know it must be important if it warrant a new camera angle.
Camera Movement
Track
- The shots constantly flick between war footage and the hospital, tracking along by the wheel of the gurney and the feet of the witch. The audience is kept constantly yon edge by this restless flicking.
Zoom
- The zoom on the man's wounds show us how hurt he really is, and also how important this message must be, if he is delivering it anyway.
- The zoom on the heart monitor as it slowly stops beeping lets the audience take in what has just happened whilst keeping the story moving forward.
Reverse Zoom
- Another beautiful visual is that of the lights shutting off one at a time as the flat-line beep of the heart monitor keeps going and the reverse zoom off the witches. You suddenly realise how quiet it is and how empty the corridor has become once the beep and zoom comes to an end.
Framing
Framing
- It's not every day that you get to type 'the dead body is framed between the three witches' but today is that day for me, and it's a very effective shot for establishing three famous characters, that fans of the story who've never seen this adaption before would find very clever.
Focus Pull
- The first hint that the 'nurses' aren't as they seem is when they let the messenger die, watching pacifically as the lethal injection does its work. A focus pull is used to show the heart monitor behind the corpse, and when combined with the slowly stopping beep of the machine, is a very dramatic shot.
Editing
Visual Effects
- Playing to the Soviet-Russia overall theme of the film, the opening title card is done in red and blacks, with Stalin-esque font in the title.
- Old fashioned war footage is used to provoke fear and unease in the audience, and to further push the Soviet-Russia setting.
Sound
Dialogue
- The language in this piece is the most difficult I've dealt with yet, but I knew that going in. Shakespeare's language is flowery and archaic; why say it with one word when you can say it with twenty? It's full of famous quotes and though it's spoken quite fast, it's easy enough to hear what the actors are saying. For someone who doesn't know the story well however, this might be a very difficult watch.
Direct Address
- When I first saw the direct address in this film, I was a little surprised, as it doesn't seem like the kind of movie to have three of the characters stare into the camera and talk directly to the audience. However, when I thought about it, it makes sense. This story is most famous as a play, one full of soliloquies and dramatic irony, the audience would be a part of any good production of this on stage. And what better characters to address the audience than the witches, who are omnipresent and seem to know all?
Nondiegetic Sound
- The sudden use of loud, military music creates tension and raises the mood even when the film has only been on for several seconds.
- The music comes to a crescendo as the clips of war get more and more graphic.
Synchronous Sound
- The booms of the explosions are well timed with the shaking of the hospital and the people inside it.
Mise en Scene
Makeup and Costume
- The military dress of the men and women seem obvious due to the setting, but they work very effectively, with dark colours and sharp angles.
Colour Design
- This is very darkly lit piece, which really emphasizes how pale some of the characters are, like Lady Macbeth. The colours make each set look dark, foreboding and generally scary.
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