Split
2:25 mins - 3:50 mins
I chose this clip from the film because of its build in tension and its variety in camera angles, Split is a horror/thriller that appeals to a niche audience, this scene includes the main protagonists and the two other female characters in the back of the car. The build in tension is done though the lack of sound and the exaggerated camera shot types.
The clip starts with a point of view shot, the protagonist, who has in the film a mental problem called split personality disorder. He is walking toward the car and towards the male character whose packing things into the boot of the car. The director probably chose to use a point of view shot to make for inclusive viewing and to show that the viewer can as well feel as though they're involved, every single step. The sound at this part in the scene is very eeriy and makes the reader fell on edge and unconfutable.
This part is then followed by a shot from outside the car looking in through the front and side window. This creates even more of a tense atmosphere as the audience knows something is most likely about to happen. It also sections off part of the screen giving an overall edgy vibe for the next few seconds. This part of the clip is backed with the sound of the two girls in background talking about something on their phone, oblivious to the noise the girl in the front hears. This prompts the girl in the passenger seat to look at the rear view mirror. Hear the only sound the audience can hear is a little rustling at the back of the car and the two girls at the back of the car talking. This was probably a deliberate decision from the director as it allows the audience to wonder on their own thoughts, where-as if there was important dialogue, the audience would not be asking questions in there head as they watched on. The mise-en-scene in at this part, I think the car is a big prop used to add to the developing tension. As the camera pivots around the outside mirror, more and more tension builds and builds until the point where the boot slams shut and the car door opens.
The next part of the scene is very important to the plot line, as the protagonist gets into the car, the girl in the front pulls her seatbelt and looks again through the rear view mirror. This time as the camera changes to put the mirror back in focus the audience sees as much as the girl does, a pile of what looks like dropped shopping and smashed eggs. The camera then zooms in on the mirror. This creates a fearful experience for the audience as the camera zooms in, it leaves time for the audience to put one and two together and the seed is planted in there minds that perhaps the person who got into the car isn't the same person who was packing things into the boot of it.
For the first time, the camera is placed inside the car as though again like the protagonist we saw outside has come in. The point of view shot is almost a motif because it links back to the begining of the clip where the point of view shot was used as though you where the person walking up to the car. The girl at the front of the car turning around slowly indicates and suggest to the viewer something is wrong. Her expression implies extreme fear. This then signifies the first sight of the male protagonist in the driver seat. He wears glasses, a formal shirt with a silver watch around his hand, all signs that the persona portrayed is someone middle aged and quite formal. The protagonist is breathing heavily as the camera stays on him, which may suggest he is quite shaken by what he'd just supposedly done. This sense of tension is exaggerated due to the gradual stop in laughter from the two girls sitting at the back and the male character delicately placing things onto the dashboard with a bright yellow cloth in his hand. The yellow cloth represents dusting and also the colour yellow connotes to, contrastingly, happiness and joyfulness. The director probably made this chose deliberately to signify, whilst getting into a strangers car after whatever happened at the boot, he still may have another side opposite to the one portrayed at the beginning of the clip, which is what the film as a whole is about.
After this the camera id director back to the expression of the girl in the fronts face, this is still in shock horror and in a state of frozen. The music starts to play, classical, whitch is used as a motif for the audience to think of susspece and horror as they listen to the radio classical music. The focus of this part then shifts back to the protagonist in the driver seat. Then one of the two girls says how he might have the wrong car which triggers him to place a mask over his mouth, lock the doors and spay a chemical substance at them both. This was most likely ordered in this way due to the significance of the persona of the protagonist being a germaphobe. This persona was probably made this way because of the quirkiness of it. The closing bit of the scene uses a dolly zoom to capture the unsettling facial expression the girl sitting in the passenger seats face.
