24 Extract
The authors vision in this extract was clear to me. The author wanted the audience to feel suspenseful. The author wanted the audience on the edge of their seat waiting to see what happened next. There is a buildup throughout the whole extract that leads to a big explosion of emotions. The author also wanted the audience to feel the frustration rising in the characters. This buildup of frustration also contributes to the boom of emotions towards the end of the extract.
The extract starts out with a man entering a room with a woman sitting in it. The camera zooms in on the woman and then cuts to the man. He looks angrily at the woman. He then looks at what appears to be a surveillance camera. There is already a tension between the two characters. The woman looks down when the man angrily looks at her. This interaction shows the audience they are not on friendly terms and wondering what is going to happen. The surveillance camera the man looks at shows they are being watched. This and the woman being in a chair in a dark room with just a table hints at the audience that this is an interrogation room and the woman is a criminal. The man hands the woman a paper and the camera cuts to people watching a television. This reinforces the theory that they are being watched and that the woman is a criminal.
The two people watching the ones in the room appear to be anxious as one of them is fidgeting. This builds suspense because the two in the room appear to not like each other and the ones watching them seem nervous so the audience is wondering what will happen. The dark lighting of the room gives the audience a somewhat creepy feeling that strengthens the feeling of tenseness in the scene. The music in the background is slow and along with the lighting gives the audience a feeling of suspense. This room is small and dark with only two people who do not like each other. The audience cannot help but wonder will there be yelling? Will someone get hurt? The woman looks at the clock which is the first hint that they are low on time. The dialogue lets the audience know that there is a bomb in which only the woman can deactivate. The dialogue also lets the audience know that the man does not trust the woman. He is visibly getting frustrated as he keeps pacing across the room. The woman appears calm but there can be a little agitation seen on her face when the man does not give in to her deal.
The close up on the man and the lighting highlight his anger and disgust at the woman. The frustration has built up and he throws a table. The man screams in the woman’s face as she remains calm. The camera then cuts to the people watching them grow more anxious. This builds up more suspense in the audience because the man is not being stopped even though he is being watched so it is not the climax yet. The dialogue reveals that if the man hurts the woman, he will be at a disadvantage. The man gets visibly more frustrated by her words and the music intensifies for a moment before calming down as the man backs off. Everyone calms down by his actions and more suspense is built. The man though is set off by the woman saying another thing. The frustration and suspense have built up to the point he does not care about the repercussions of his actions. The climax is reached when a split screen shows the man grabbing the woman by the neck and the watchers going to stop him. The man walks away with the watchers.
I am right, author wanted to build suspense and show frustration with this extract. Through the dark lighting and eerie music, the suspense was being built from the beginning. While the actor's facial expressions and movements showed a growing frustration between the two in the room. The actors watching from the TV built suspense with their anxious actions. The close ups and shot reverse shots highlighted the anger and frustration building. Finally, the suspense and frustration built up into the climax at the very end.
