Extract essay

In the extract from the show 24, the director includes a very dramatic and intense scene of a cities fate in the hands of the woman he is interrogating. He conveys a feeling of intensity as he tries to pull information out of the suspect about a bomb. He creates a message that violence doesn’t always solve the problem. 

The first scene begins with the detective walking into the room angrily while the suspect sits there calmly. It opens with incidental music that continues through most of the extract. By including the music, it emphasizes the importance of the scene and the information she is withholding. The detective, Jack, looks at the camera in the corner of the room, where the director then uses the camera movement technique of zoom to show the audience that Jack knows he is being watched and cannot get too violent with her.  This foreshadows the future as he eventually loses his cool and starts to choke her. Jack then shuts the door which is a diegetic sound to the scene. This gives an underlying effect that something is about to happen. The scene then proceeds to display a close up of the suspect, Nina’s, face. This demonstrates the calmness that she holds in the situation showing that she has an underlying power. Jack walks closer to Nina, as she looks up at him it reveals a low angle of jack. This represents that he has the higher power as he is the detective and she is the suspect. 

The scene then switches from the interrogation room to the monitoring area outside of it. The director uses cross cutting to go back and forth from the two areas. This allows for the audience to see what is happening at two different places but at the same time. In this scene you can also see the costumes and clothing the actors are wearing. The professional business attire such as suits and sweaters make it look more realistic. This clip also includes a wide shot of the other detectives watching the TV monitors exposing what is taking place inside the room. This helps to show the area around them while including the actors. 

The scene then switches back to inside the interrogation room by using an editing technique called cutting. This acts as a transition for the two clips going from one area to another. Then director uses lowkey lighting in the interrogation room to dramatize the situation; this shows its mystery and dreariness. Nina looks at the clock in the room which is ticking loudly. This is an important prop showing that they are in a rush and by adding the sound effect technique it emphasizes the time limit. The two then start to talk about the bomb. This is called dialogue and it helps the audience understand what is going on in the scene. After Nina’s request, the camera focused on Jack’s angry face through an over the shoulder shot from Nina. This is one of the many shots that help make the clip interesting while showing the important features in the scene. While the two are talking the director includes a shot reverse shot in the room. This keeps the person talking in view which allows continuous action to remain on the screen. Jack and Nina continue talking when Jack gets mad and throws the table. He then goes close to her face and yells at her. This is a two shot which presents the actors’ emotional reactions to the situation. Acting is very prominent in this clip as it shows him becoming very furious making the scene intense. 

The scene then cuts back to the monitoring area. This scene includes a reaction shot of the two detectives watching them in the room. It demonstrates that they are uneasy about the situation, which can also foreshadow the coming actions of Jack. This short clip also incorporates a medium shot of the other male detective looking at the TV. By using a medium shot it not only shows his face emotions but his body language like his shoulders being tense and biting his fingers. This adds to the uneasy feeling. 

Once the scene switches back to the interrogation room the director includes a sound motif of Jack's reaction when Nina says he could be taken off the case. This creates more tension between the two. Jack sits down and stares at her thinking what to do next. The director uses a pan shot of them staring at each other. This allows the audience to connect to the scene by feeling what they feel such as tension, anger, and intimidation. This scene also involves a sound mix technique when Nina is talking with the incidental music behind her. It adds to the feeling of intimidation and anger. The scene proceeds with them in quiet with close ups of their face. This shows the makeup that they wear. This scene uses natural looking and not an exuberant amount of makeup as the director tries to make the scene genuine to the audience. It also shows a little bit of sweat applying that this is a stressful situation. 

The scene moves to an intense portion where Jack shoves Nina into the wall. The camera shows a high angle of him choking her. By using a high angle, it shows Nina is powerless in the situation making her vulnerable. It then goes right into a split screen showing Jack being violent in the room and the other detectives racing to get him off of her. This helps the audience visualize the separate actions simultaneously; it tells the same story in a more exciting manner by including the split screen. On one half of the screen it shows the detectives rushing to the room by using a tracking shot. Tracking shot keeps the audience engaged with the actions on screen by following the frantic detective. After the detectives and officer get into the room there is a long shot of Jack standing next to Nina gasping for air. This shows the cold and darkness of the room while also bringing attention to his body language. It displays the whole situation that is taking place including the setting and the work of the actors. While Jack is walking out of the room the director adds score music into the scene. This increases the level of drama while he walks out keeping the audience to think what happens now. 

The director uses a variety of camera angles, shots, camera movements, sounds, props, and editing to bring the point across that violence doesn’t always solve a problem. When Jack doesn’t get his way, he uses violence to try and get the answer out of her, however this didn’t work and caused more trouble. The director uses those techniques to dramatize and emphasize the effect of the problem they are faced with.