I watched a clip called “Is there a Bomb?” from the film Man on a Ledge. The director is Asger Leth. The production designer is Alec Hammond. The art director is David Swayze.
Directors turn the script into the action on screen (“Film Director”). Directors are responsible for “casting, script editing, shot composition, shot selection, and editing” (“Film Director”). Directors must have creative vision regarding bringing the story to life. Casting the right actors to bring characters to life is crucial. Actors must be believable in their role. Editing the script to make the story flow better helps audiences understand the message of the film. Shot composition and shot selection make the film visually appealing to the audience. Editing removes scenes that do not make sense or do not contribute to the momentum of the story.
Production designers work “with the director and the cinematographer to” create the “look of a film” (“Production Designer”). Production designers create “the set and scenery” to produce the desired emotional response in the audience (“Production Designer”). In addition, production designers work with lighting, special effects, wardrobe, make-up, and hair to create the vision of the director (“Production Designer”).
Art directors work with the production designer to assist in developing the look of the film (“Art Director”). The art director assists in visualizing scenery, props, costumes, and the set itself (“Art Director”). Art directors hire crewmembers for the art department (“Art Director”). Art directors actually help build the sets (“Art Director”).
It appears that in the scene “Is there a Bomb?” natural outside lighting is used. The impact of the natural lighting makes the characters more believable. In addition, the natural lighting makes us believe the story is actually happening. The action in the film Man on a Ledge takes place outside so the natural lighting enhances the sense of danger in the film.
The setting and culture is modern day New York City. The action takes place mostly in a hotel room at the Roosevelt Hotel and out on a ledge at the hotel. The rest of the action takes place in another building just across the street where two people are trying to steal a diamond.
Costuming reveals much about the characters. Based on what people are wearing, we can determine if they are business people, homeless, rich, middle class, police officers, pilots, military, or prisoners. In addition, costuming helps viewers understand the era when the action takes place. For example, if actors are wearing togas, we know the action is taking place in ancient Rome.
Costuming may also tell us what is important to the character. Some people are concerned about always looking their best and others are more casual. If a male character is always dressed in power suits, audiences know this person is career driven.
If the film is a western, the characters will be wearing cowboy hats, jeans, boots, and possibly chaps. This costuming will let audiences know immediately what to expect from the plot. Generally, in westerns, there is a feud between two characters that is settled through a gunfight.
Hairstyle helps tell the story by showing the audience whether the person cares about his or her appearance. This gives audiences insight into what is important to the character. If the character is wealthy, they will have gorgeous hair, as appearance is everything to the wealthy. If a wealthy character appears in a scene with messed up hair that generally means something is going wrong in their life and they are upset.
If a character is supposed to be one of those people overlooked by others where they work, that person may have a plain hairstyle so that they blend in to the background. A plain hairstyle may indicate the character does not have much money. Plain characters will appear without makeup. Generally, this type of character feels inferior to others.
If a character is a punk rocker, they may have a huge mohawk. Gothic characters will have black hair. Their makeup will be pale all over the face with dark lipstick and eye makeup.
As for the mise en scene, the film’s aspect ratio appears to be standard. The character of Nick Cassidy is isolated from everyone else by close-ups when he is on the ledge. Viewers know he is the hero by his isolation and close-ups. In close-ups, the main character takes up most of the space in a scene.
The two detectives in the scene, Jack Doughetry and Lydia Mercer, are more loosely framed. They generally appear in the scene showing about three-quarters of their body. The two detectives are part of the story but they are not the main characters.
The distances between Cassidy and Mercer are definitely public distances, especially when Cassidy is out on the ledge alone and Mercer is speaking to him through the open window. The space between them in this scene indicates that Cassidy is on his own in his mission to attract attention to himself. Even when Mercer joins Cassidy out on the ledge, Mercer keeps a public distance from Cassidy.
When detectives Dougherty and Mercer are arguing about what to do while they are in the hotel room, they keep a social distance from each other. This shows that their relationship is professional, not personal.
The design elements do appear to work together to tell the story and do match the filmmaker’s vision. The scene is slightly discordant when it switches from the ledge to the inside of the hotel room to where the other police are located. This discordance shows that these characters are not on the same page about what to do about the situation.
References
Art director. (2012). Career Profiles. Retrieved from Get in Media
http://getinmedia.com/careers/art-director.
Film director. (2008). Film, Film Job Profiles, Direction. Retrieved from Skillset
http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/direction/article_3880_1.asp.
Full cast and crew of man on a ledge. (2012). Man on a Ledge. Retrieved from IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568338/fullcredits#cast.
Is there a bomb? (2012). Man on a Ledge. Retrieved from Movieclips
http://movieclips.com/fGVx-man-on-a-ledge-movie-is-there-a-bomb/.
Production designer. (2012). Career Profiles. Retrieved from Get in Media
http://getinmedia.com/careers/production-designer.
