Scene Deconstruction 3

COMM 634.003: Film and Video Production II Instructor: Jonathan Adelman MFA Film and Electronic Media

Assignment 3:

Scene Deconstruction Silent Movie Scene 2001: A Space Odyssey

Presented By: Priya Krishna March 17, 2008

Table of Contents 1.0

INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................2

2.0

WITHOUT SOUND..............................................................................................................................2

2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 3.0

WHAT IS THE SCENE ABOUT?..................................................................................................................2 PLACE AND CONTEXT IN FILM..................................................................................................................2 MAIN CHARACTERS................................................................................................................................2 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHARACTERS.......................................................................................................2 TONE....................................................................................................................................................2 VISUAL ELEMENTS THAT CONVEY TONE....................................................................................................2 ACTION IN SCENE...................................................................................................................................2 VISUALS THE DESCRIBE ACTION...............................................................................................................2 WHAT IS THE SCENE ABOUT?..................................................................................................................2

WITH SOUND......................................................................................................................................3

3.1 WHAT IS THE SCENE ABOUT?..................................................................................................................3 3.2 PLACE AND CONTEXT IN FILM..................................................................................................................3 3.3 MAIN CHARACTERS................................................................................................................................4 3.4 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHARACTERS.......................................................................................................4 3.5 TONE....................................................................................................................................................4 3.6 VISUAL ELEMENTS THAT CONVEY TONE....................................................................................................4 3.7 ACTION IN SCENE...................................................................................................................................4 3.8 VISUALS THE DESCRIBE ACTION...............................................................................................................4 VISUALS THE DESCRIBE ACTION

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Introduction

The purpose of this document is to assess what a scene is about in a film when the film is set to silent. I watched a series of sequences from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey in the time code range of 54:61 – 1:00:35. 20

Without Sound

2.1 What is the Scene About? A title caption reads "Jupiter Mission: Eighteen Months Later." The scene seems to be about men in tombs and two guys not monitoring what they are supposed to be. They seem to be watching TV instead and eating. 2.2 Place and Context in Film This scene occurs near the end of Act II. It seems to be an informational scene to the audience. Maybe something happened between the two characters. There might be another reason why the two characters are not talking to each other. 2.3 Main Characters In this scene we have three characters that we see. The two that are eating and one that is in the tomb. 2.4 Relationship between Characters They seem to not even know each other. What’s odd is that they don’t even acknowledge each other. They might have had a falling out. 2.5 Tone The visuals seem to present and bleak and surreal tone. 2.6 Visual Elements that Convey Tone The scene is very surreal with the use of odd camera angles and how the scene cuts from an empty screen to people eating and watching a news program. 2.7 Action in Scene Action is in the eating and watching TV and this is intercut with electronic monitors of the guy in the tomb and his vitals in front of empty monitoring chairs. 2.8 Visuals the Describe Action The BBC news cast has text. The vital being monitored show text. The other guy eating the food gave the audience a clue that the second guy was also going to get food from that machine. 2.9 What is the Scene About? A character in this scene comes from another area in the spaceship to a central area wearing his uniform. We see another man in the background eating in a robe, the person that came in is orders his lunch from a machine. The character that’s eating watches anews broadcast from BBC. The first character gets his food and sits next to the second character. We see the monitoring area of the main terminal without anyone watching, but there is a feed of other places in the ship. Pa ge 2

Now we see a guy in an enclosed tomb type thing. It seems that the other men are busy eating and watching television instead of monitoring what they are supposed to be monitoring. We see scene if emergency procedures and monitors of the person’s vitals. 30

With Sound

3.1 What is the Scene About? Frank Poole and Dave Bowman watch themselves in a television interview on "BBC 12". Without sound it looked like the characters were just watching a TV program. With sound the audience was able to discern that the newscast is relevent to the mission they are on. The newscast also explains to the audience why then men are in the” tombs”. The BBC news broadcast informs the audience of Discovery's mission, of Dave and Frank, and of the hibernating scientists on board. They're being kept in a state of suspended animation, and they will not awaken until Discovery reaches the planet Jupiter. The BBC announced also explains the computer system HAL 9000 (Hal) which has human like intelligence. We see why the machines are unmanned with sound. Hal is running the entire ship. He also takes care of Frank and Dave, so that they do not lose their sanity on the long voyage. In fact, Hal has such complete control of the ship that Dave and Frank themselves have very little to do. They're little more than caretakers for Hal. It seems possible that if some accident were to befall the crew, Hal could conduct the entire mission on his own. We would not have understood this without sound. 3.2 Place and Context in Film This scene introduces the audience to Hal and we learn that Hal is supremely selfconfident, as if he has emotions. During an interview with BBC 12's The World Tonight, Dave commented, "He acts like he has genuine emotions. Of course he's programmed that way to make it easier for us to talk to him. Whether or not he has real feelings is something I don't think anyone can truthfully answer." This is followed by another broadcast of a birthday message from Frank’s parents during the broadcast we see that Frank Poole seems indifferent. This may have to do with his perspective from eighty million miles out in space, where events on Earth seem distant and unimportant. It also has to do with the roles that Frank and Dave are playing. They have nothing to occupy their minds for long, and they are lapsing into a dull routine. They have become so passive in their life aboard the ship that they are almost machinelike. They seem bored to death. 3.3 Main Characters There are two mission pilots, astronauts Dr. David Bowman and Dr. Francis Poole, and three scientists "sleeping" in cryogenic hibernation. There is also the artifically intelligent computer, Hal. 3.4 Relationship between Characters Even with sound we do not understand the relationship between the two characters. They seem distant to one another and there is no explanation of why they don’t acknowledge each other.

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3.5 Tone The tone is the same with sound bleak and surreal. 3.6 Visual Elements that Convey Tone The same visual elements convey tone with sound. 3.7 Action in Scene Actions are the same with Sound. 3.8 Visuals the Describe Action There is no new insight about the visuals that describe the scene.

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