micro essay

An Analysis of the Cinematography and Editing used in the opening scene of Frank Millers Sin City.
My choice of film is Sin City which is a hybrid genre as it is a crime thriller and uses neo-noir style filming, in the sequence the editing makes the whole sequence stand out to the audience as it uses very good techniques that other films do not and it is in black and white which you do not often see in the films of this day and age. The Cinematography in this sequence uses effective angles and shot types so that the viewer could become confused of what is happening or why it is. How Sin city uses these micro elements is what I am going to analyse.
To start with you see a medium-long shot of a female character and instantly you see her and think what she is doing there as it is out on a balcony and she is alone so it is a bit strange. This could be used by the director to say that she is lonely in her world and has no one to care for her or it could simply be that she just wants to be alone. Another thing about this scene that stands out instantly could be the red dress she is wearing, as everything else is black and white she stands out and this would make the audience look at her instantly. The use of her in a red dress could be to show that she is a significant character, that she is in danger of something because red shows danger when used, or it could even mean a moment of passion could happen because red is also the colour of passion and she could be a passionate women.

The next significant shot is the male character known only as The Salesman, is shown over the shoulder of the main female character this is used to establish the male character coming into the scene, as he walks in the women rubs her arms as if she knows someone is there and sort of looks round, this is used to inform the audience that the women could be expecting the Salesman or that she is nervous as someone is approaching her. Also the editing in this shot makes everything a bit brighter as there is light coming from inside the building, this makes the male character shadowed and dark which could mean the director wanted the character to look a bit shady and dark or even maybe evil so the audience knows something bad is going to happen. Towards the end of this shot however the male characters face is revealed and seems quite soft and normal.