'Control': A Guide to Scene Analysis

Here is a sample essay to use as a guide to the essay structure, content and analytical approach you should adopt for your first assignment. It is by no means perfect, but if you follow the technique it will give you a solid basis on how to integrate film language, description and the interpretation of meaning for your coursework essay. 

How does the use of cinematography in a key sequence from ‘Control’ convey a sense of isolation? 

The film Control is a music biopic unlike many others in the genre, it is shot exclusively in black and white throughout and conveys the representation that the media projected of Joy Division from the late 70’s. The film often rejects the normal conventions of a biopic, whereby an artist’s life is fantasised, choosing to focus upon the harsh reality of a day-to-day existence of the subject matter it portrays. The isolation of Ian’s character from the rest of the world is portrayed through films use of the shadows that the characters are hidden by in high contrasting lighting, or using a shot reverse shot technique to show just how far apart the main characters interaction are becoming. The scene I am choosing is scene 11 where Ian Curtis goes to see his wife Debbie. The scene starts with Ian entering the house. The camera doesn’t follow him in as it is shot using a mid shot, it allows the audience to see him enter the house and turn on the light. This separates Ian’s character immediately from the audience; he becomes isolated from any other characters when he discovers that he has epilepsy. It may also represent the fact that this is no longer Ian’s house and the camera is suggesting that he is almost waiting to be invited in. The sound moves from diegetic sound to non diegetic as the character goes into the house, as the audience can no longer see what he is doing but can still hear it. The scene remains silent in the background apart  from the diegetic sound of the television and Ian drinking. The diegetic sound is a technique the director uses to manipulate the audiences perceptions to making everything appear normal, but the way that the camera focuses upon Ian’s character in mid-shot isolating him from the house that he used to live in. It then cuts from the scene where Ian’s character is sitting smoking, to a close up of the bottle of spirit that we saw him drinking earlier. The audience had learned previously in the film that Ian is not supposed to drink because of his condition, and so drinking the large amount of alcohol that is in front of him could bring on another epileptic fit. Because of the cameras ability to isolate the character through a mid-shot then close up the audience sees that there is no one else in the house;  bringing about a kind of danger to Ian’s actions. This could relate to the fact that he almost has no ‘Control’ anymore and that he’s not of sound mind. The non-diegetic music takes on a more sinister tone with quite strange music, which then become diegetic. The music is taken from the film that Ian Curtis last watched. The plot of the story is a man that goes to America to fulfil his dream, and his whole life actually falls apart. This not only falls inline with the events of Ian Curtis’ life, but also add meaning to the narrative event of Ian’s anticipation in going to America, and what could inevitably happen if he did. The camera shifts to a close up to allow the audience to see what is on the television. Ian’s character is then zoomed into with a close up where the audience can see that he is almost in a trance like state. Ian’s character is being passive, and almost looks like he has no plan, so he’s just doing nothing. This links back to the film’s title, the issue of control or lack of, and also a reference to the character’s epilepsy. The camera focuses on this to give the audience an insight into what the character is thinking- not very much. When the television cuts out a close up is used so we can see and hear the diegetic buzzing of the television and see the character turn it off. People generally relate the white noise of a television set to being quite sinister almost; this subtly highlights an element of danger to the audience and suggests that Ian may be 'switching off' or cutting out any influence from the outside world or reality.

There is then a straight cut to Debbie arriving outside using a long shot, so we can see the whole scene in the frame, and the only sound we can hear is the diegetic sound of the old car engine. We then cut to the house from the inside to show the character coming in through the door, rather than waiting for the character to come in like it did with Ian’s character. This may also represent that Debbie owns the house in total freedom and can enter when she wants. There then becomes a divide in the frame, it is split into light and darkness. Ian’s character is framed in the dark, and steps outside of the light, whereas Debbie’s remains totally in the light. The characters are framed on opposite sides of a spectrum, they no longer relate to each other, one is positive and one is negative. The use of shadows is used as a sort of convention to Film Noir; this is where the director will have got the idea to keep Ian’s character shaded to reflect his intentions as being clouded or concealed. The Big Sleep shows examples of this throughout the film; with mise-en-scene such as plants and blinds casting shadows not only on the scene but also the characters. The camera doesn’t follow their conversation with a shot reverse shot; instead it allows Debbie’s voice to be out of the scene whilst we just focus on Ian’s reactions and speech. The director does this because previously there have been elements to hint danger, and surely enough Ian’s mood changes instantaneously to show how fragile his moods seem to be. We then see the conversation from behind Ian’s character in an over the shoulder shot as he remains in the shadow/dark and we focus on Debbie’s reaction in shallow focus. At this point, because of the contrast between the focus of the characters it shows another divide, whether it represents their divide in character and how their marriage has split, or it might represent their state of mind at the time. Debbie’s character seems to be getting on with life and coping whereas Ian’s character has become less focussed, and evidently isn’t. The scene then cuts a side viewpoint, and not quite behind Debbie’s character, the door frame is another divide in the frame, showing the diversity in the characters and the divide between them after their split, and a divide in their intentions. At the beginning of the film, there isn’t this divide between them but after they become married framings seem to change, and here it is evident more than ever just how far they are opposites. The shot shifts to a close up of Ian, his character remains to be in the dark, we can see that he’s in distress we see this through the darkness almost masking his intentions. The low key lighting in this film is emphasised by the fact that the film is black and white but this also represents the difference in character, with Ian’s being consistently in the shadows more. The isolation of Ian’s character is also evident earlier on in the film where Ian and Debbie are walking back to their house after being at a party. Ian asks Debbie if she wants to sleep with other men. The background at this point becomes out of focus, using depth of field to isolate the couple from the environment around them. When Debbie identifies that Ian no longer loves her, she walks on into the foreground and becomes out of focus of the camera. Ian is now completely isolated from his environment. Corbijn uses a telephoto lens to create this effect; this allows the director to focus on whatever he chooses and at this point it seems to represent Ian's isolation.

When the two argue and Debbie’s character is forced to leave, the scene falls completely silent apart from the non diegetic sound coming from Debbie getting into the car and driving away. But the camera remains static in the same spot where Debbie was standing. The camera lingers on Ian's reaction in close up, giving the audience an insight into how Ian would feel after the argument. The camera staying on the same spot for a few seconds reflects regret, and keeps the audience in the moment and reiterates the situation. This then moves onto New Order’s song 'Get Out' which is non diegetic and it becomes diegetic even though the character is listening to another album. The actual album that the audience should be hearing is Iggy Pop’s ‘The Idiot’, however the New Order song was written specifically for this part of the film and sets the scene and mood for the audience far better than the original soundtrack would’ve done. We see this through the close up shots of the record and then the record player. When Ian’s character is writing the letter we have two layers of non diegetic sound, we have Ian also reading out what he is writing, but this isn’t actually happening in the scene. The non-diegetic voice over allows the audience to listen to the characters state of mind, and this links the scene to the beginning of the film where we see Ian’s character in despair, sitting in his room. The non-diegetic voice over is like a narration of what’s actually going on, rather than what the other characters have been believing. Ian’s state of mind is explored throughout the film, at one point quite subtly, when Ian returns home (to his mum and dad) from staying at his band mate’s house. The shot is tilted upwards to show the audience what the character is looking at. The pivotal part of the frame is filled with a telephone pole, with wires going from the central point (the pole) to various other places. Again the audiences are manipulated to make their own judgement on what this shot represents, with the fact that it is the main focus in the frame. This simple but effective shot, represents the many different ties that Ian has - to many to keep hold of. And this shows the audience that Ian’s mind (and heart) is not in just one place. He’s no longer in ‘Control’ and suggests that he is being pulled in many different directions.

In the final house scene, the diegetic sound in the background completely stops and we focus on the characters epileptic fit and this is shown with a close up of the character in his discomfort. The only sound we can hear diegetically is Ian’s fitting as he convulses; it makes the scene quite uncomfortable to watch. The use of a close up and the reality it conveys in the scene makes it quite hard to watch, but this ultimately shows the audience the characters vulnerability and sense of despair in his fragile state of mind. The scene then ends in total silence and concludes on a close up of Ian’s characters face. The shot then dissolves into a black screen. The close up and the fading away makes the moment linger in the audiences mind again and the sense that he has slipped away. This final dissolve reinforces the serious condition of Ian's state of mind, making the viewer sympathise emotionally with his situation and the impact this will have upon his friends and family.

Grading criteria:

Technical Aspects

Meaning