“One Hour Photo” - Charlotte

“One Hour Photo” - Charlotte

What kind of character is the main character?

The main character portrayed by Robin Williams is a non violent and seemingly peaceful man, but he is obviously a criminal as he ends up sitting in an interrogation room, being investigated.

How do you feel about the main character?

To be honest, the main character freaks me out about as he seems too peaceful, although you may feel a bit sorry for him. He seems a bit confused but he is weird.

Analyse the opening credits – Why have they created them in this particular way?

The opening credits are shaped like a roll of film. This may connote with the narrative of the film as the main character is convicted with a camera and two rolls of film. It looks like the filmstrip is being processed.

The setting – what sort of atmosphere does this build and how have camerawork, mise en scene, editing and sound helped to create this?

In the first scene which includes the camera flashing at the character, it uses shallow depth of field this helps the audience focus on one object. The atmosphere builds around this as the focus of the narrative is based around cameras and the life of the main character. The camerawork and editing don’t use slow motion or any continuity techniques through the scene in the interrogation room as it is meant to represent daily life. Mise en scene builds atmosphere as it suggests that the main character is in some sort of trouble. This is shown through the setting/location as he is in an interrogation room at a police office. Also his clothing has dull colours and he is portrayed as quite a dull man. This contrasts with the flashback which is shown next as they are all wearing bright colours. I would say that contrapuntal sound is used to create atmosphere as the music is peaceful but the main character is being interrogated so the situation in reality isn’t really peaceful.

How do sound, mise en scene, camerawork and editing create the effect of the flashback?

The sound used in the flashback is parallel as the music seems happy and the family are enjoying themselves at the child’s birthday party. The sound changes completely from the reality of the main character in the interrogation room to the flashback. Mise en scene creates the effect of a flashback as the costume used through the flashback includes bright colours which match with the light hearted music. Slow motion is used throughout the flashback; this slows time down to show that they don’t want the happy memories to end. This matches with the dialogue at the same time from the main character. Many close-up shots are used throughout the flashback to show the families’ facial expressions which show happiness.

How do aspects of mise en scene and sound work to communicate very different atmospheres between the two places (the police interview room and the family celebration in the garden)?

The white police interview room is plain and doesn’t have the feeling of happiness, it connotes strictness and order. The sound used in the police investigation room (non- diegetic), is peaceful but contradicts with the situation as the man is being questioned for an offence. On the other hand there is the garden which is the complete opposite to the interview room. It has bright colours everywhere and the families smiling. The sound has a happy melody. Basically the mise en scene and sound are complete different in each of the places.