SCENE 1
I began by watching my first scene, where Walt tries to kill Gus in his home.
STYLE/EDITING
I originally chose this as one of my scenes because it gave me the chance to use some trademark "Breaking Bad style" shots, whilst still being able to retain my own vision. Below I have listed the trademark shots that appear in this scene:
POV
As Walt parks up near the house, we cut inside the car and see the house in the distance. We then cut to him and he looks over to the house. It then cuts to a closer shot of the house, and this is Walt's POV. Point of view shots were used a lot throughout the series. A lot of the time, the POV was that of an inanimate object, which is why the camera was placed in unusual positions.
NO FACES
As Walt walks over to the house, we as an audience only see the back of his head. We don't see Walter's face until he is stopped by his ringing phone. The director made a choice, and that choice was to not show the emotion on Walt's face as he walked over to the house. No showing or highlighting the faces of the main characters was a common technique used during the production of Breaking Bad.
WIDE SHOT
Wide shots were used a lot throughout the series, and they were used with good intention. In this shot, the director has chosen to cut to a wide shot when Walt pulls his phone out his pocket. This shot helps to highlight the fact that there is nobody around, and yet Gus knows Walt is there and interrupts his mission with a phone call.
BIRD'S EYE VIEW
At the end of the scene the director has chosen to use a bird's eye view shot. These were used a lot throughout the series. In this scene it helps to highlight the fact that there is nobody around. It also makes Walt look very small and defenceless, which helps to represent how he feels after being defeated by Gus, again.
Editing is something I need to think really carefully about. Even though I haven't shot anything yet, the way in which I plan to edit the scenes together is still something I need to be constantly thinking about. This help me to work out how much coverage I need to get and how long I should hold each shot for. It will also help me set the pace for each scene, something that is very important, especially considering how tense both of my scenes are.
In this scene the editing sets a reasonably slow pace. The shots don't cut too quickly, most are held for more than 5 seconds. And when Walt walks towards the house, that shot is held for almost 30 seconds. Although this sets up a slow pace, this intense, and constantly building music, helps to increase the pace of the scene without having to increase the pace of the cuts. I will need to keep this in mind when I am shooting this scene.
In terms of sound design, this scene relies of ambience and music. The ambience helps to build the nighttime setting. The sounds of crickets in the background, a sound used to represent silence, highlight the fact that Walt is alone on the street. The use of natural sounds throughout the scene, like Walt's seatbelt, the car door and the engine, help to build onto the realistic and natural feel that the show has, and I beleive this helps heighten the intensity of the scene. And finally the music helps build the tension all the way up to the point when Walt's phone rings, when it suddenly cuts out. When Walt puts his hat on, what can only be described as a "Breaking Bad sound" plays, that fits into their convention of using music that adds to the dark humour the show possesses.
SCENE 2
Next I watched my second scene, where Walt tries to kill Gus for a second time.
STYLE/EDITING
I originally chose this as one of my scenes because it gave me the chance to use some trademark "Breaking Bad style" shots, whilst still being able to retain my own vision. Below I have listed the trademark shots that appear in this scene:
NO FACES
As the scene begins, they have chosen not to show Gus's face. His face is not revealed until seconds before he starts to realise something is wrong. No showing or highlighting the faces of the main characters was a common technique used during the production of Breaking Bad.
POV
As the scene progresses, we cut to a POV shot. We see Gus through a pair of binoculars. These binoculars belong to Walt, who is spying on Gus. It then cuts to Walt, who is hiding behind a wall, looking through the binoculars. We know straight away that we're spying on Walt, because the composition of the shot suggests so. Then, by cutting to Walt, the director tells us it is Walt who is spying. All of that is done without any dialogue; it's done using the camera. A lot of the time, the POV was that of an inanimate object, which is why the camera was placed in unusual positions.
WIDE SHOT
Wide shots were used a lot throughout the series, and they were used with good intention. In this scene the wide shot is used to help set out the geography of the scene. We can see the distance between the two characters, which helps us to understand the intensity of the scene, because we can see how far Walt has chosen to get from the bomb, which suggests how dangerous it might be.
BIRD'S EYE VIEW (ALMOST)
At the end of the scene the director has chosen to use what is almost a bird's eye view shot. These were used a lot throughout the series. In this scene it helps to highlight the fact that Walt has been defeated, because the angle of the shot makes him look small and defenceless. And with that cardboard and bag, I actually think he looks homeless, something that strips his dignity from him.
As I said earlier, editing is something I need to think very carefully about. Similar to my other scene, the pace of the scene is not very fast. There is a contrast between the way each character is edited into the scene. When we are on Gus's side of the story, the shots don't cut too often, they tend to hold on him for at least 5 seconds or so. When we cut to Walt, the shots begin to cut a little more often, probably to highlight how intense his side of the scene is.
In this scene sound design is very important. The scene uses sound effects very effectively. Sounds are used to represent things or match action on screen. For example, as the scene plays out the sound of an ambulance rushing through the city begins to get louder and louder. I think this sound references the theme of death that plays on your mind during the duration of the scene. Another example is how the sound of a passing motorcycle is used as Walt looks from one side of the screen to the other, which highlights that action. When Gus stops, the sound of a car horn can be heard in the background, a sound which suggest that vehicle has been stopped or held by something, much like how Gus is holding up Walt's plans.
And finally, music plays an important part in this scene. It helps to build tension and the tempo changes depending on the content of the scene. For example, when Gus stops, the music slows; as he begins to move again, the music starts to build again. And then at the end of the scene, when Gus walks off, the music, which has build to a very high level, suddenly cuts off, shattering the tension, much like Walt's shattered plans.
Overall both of my chosen scenes are very stylistic and edited in a very specific manner, with sound design being very important. These are two things I will need to keep in mind when shooting and editing my version.
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