The scene opens with a mid shot of Tris
with the mise-en-scene of blue walls surrounding her and Four. This could show
that Tris feels isolated because she’s in an unfamiliar place, suggesting that
she is used to a more civilized and warm atmosphere. This contrasts to the idea
of Four being shown as a cold-hearted figure, implied by the colour. This also
highlights his transformation after he has been brainwashed. Non-diegetic
subtle chanting sound occurs, giving connotations to Four being in a trance.
The chanting is religious, suggesting that Four is compared to an extreme
believer who thinks they are doing the right thing. There is then an eye line
match showing their equal dominance. In the same shot, there is mise-en-scene
of white windowpanes. This made me feel like I was looking into a blank canvas,
Four’s old self had been wiped and someone else had taken his place. A straight
cut to a close up of a control panel of a brain starting to turn red,
foreshadowed danger and blood, fitting in with the Sci-Fi and action genre
conventions of violence and the brain being of use to scientific conventions. In
the background, the lilac floor symbolises femininity, foreshadowing that Tris
will take control very soon. Lilac also calms the mind and nerves, suggesting
that Four is in a trance with a lasting effect.
A sudden non-diegetic sound of a dramatic
drum rhythm, matches the action of a sudden fight between Tris and Four. The
fast pace and high volume created suspense, further creating excitement for me as
it was pulse raising. The sound reminded me of rhythmic drums, showing
adrenaline between the characters but it also showed that Four had his own
rhythm, which was being controlled, linking to the fact that he was executing
demands but not from his free will.
After 3 straight cuts of moving the intense action along, there is a
diegetic sound of lab equipment being knocked off a table, implying that it is
a chaotic situation. The lab equipment adds to the sci-fi conventions further
because lab equipment usually involves experimentation, showing the science
aspect of the genre. The recurring diegetic punches and kicks also enhance the
action conventions. The next over the shoulder shot was a fight break out with
Four and Tris. The lovers fighting were a clear comparison to ‘The Hunger
Games’ where Katnis had to fight Peter in order to survive, making me empathise
with the two characters. The comparison shows that fighting is an action
convention used in those genres. There is mise-en-scene of their black outfits representing
that they’re ruthless, they have dominance and they both have authority. It
shows me that they both possess equal strength. There are then multiple
straight cuts showing the fast pace of the action, which was pulse raising for
me. A straight cut to a low angle of Four towering over Tris is used. This shows
his superiority in that moment. There is a clear binary opposition in this
scene of good vs. evil. Tris is good and Four is evil, however I know that he
is not evil because he has been brainwashed.
There is then an extreme close up of a gun
lying on the floor panning sideways to Tris, foreshadowing that she will have
power over Four since a gun signifies
power and the pan to Tris implies that she will likely use it. An eye
line match is used where Jeanine is looking at Tris and Four, resembling her dominance
and her significance to the plot. Her dominance is also shown through her
performance. Behind her, there is mis-en-scene of white walls and a white
ceiling, signifying purity and the recurring binary opposition of good Vs evil.
However, this is juxtaposition, since in the plot Jeanine is the evil
character, leading me to question why there are connotations of purity towards
her. This could show how in her mind, wiping out divergent’s is the right thing to do, showing that she has been
misled, to thinking that she is pure. However, she is in high key lighting,
suggesting her power at this
point, emphasising her evil, as the lighting exposes who Jeanine is.
Tris and Four are in low key lighting, contrasting to the idea that they are
not powerful when it comes to beating her.
The non-diegetic sound increases in volume
when there is a straight cut to Tris holding a gun up to Four’s head,
signifying that the action is about to reach a climax, which made me feel
tense. A straight cut to a repeated low angle of Four standing over Tris, highlighted
his superiority, followed by a high angle of Tris, showing that they are equal
in power. An eye line match between them indicates that their love still
remains and they still had a connection, no matter the circumstance. This made
me upset that Four had forgotten his love for Tris up until this moment.
At this point, non-diegetic sound decreases
in volume, making me anticipate that the action was over. However the extreme
close up to the gun trigger after Tris put the gun to her own head, showed that
the action was not over, foreshadowing further violence. There is then a
straight cut to the performance of Four, fighting with his inner self, to try
and restore his composure and need to kill Tris, rising the tension for me. The
close up shot of Tris at gunpoint can be compared to the film ‘The Avengers’ when Natasha is held at
gunpoint by someone she cares about (Clint). This is the scene, when Clint has
been brain washed, similar to Four and he is about to kill Natasha, showing the
dominance of males as a popular convention in the action genre.
Non-diegetic supernatural music then occurs
when there is an eye line match between the two of them, showing their connection,
highlighting that Four is starting to remember who he is about to kill. I felt
empathy for Tris and an emotional response, as I understood the emotional
involvement the two of them had and the narrative built a personal
relationship. The music emphasises the extraordinary circumstance of Four when
he overcomes his brainwashed state, another regular convention of science
fiction. The non-diegetic rhythmic sound kicks in once again, instantly
building suspense, followed by a straight cut to the fighting beginning once
again.
There is an extreme close up of Tris
picking up a knife, suggesting a further threat. Multiple jump cuts are used to
show action moving along quickly showing that Four and Tris are not having any
trouble defeating their opponents. The jump cuts highlight the intensity of the
fight and the recurring diegetic gun shot sounds add to the action genre
conventions. A straight cut to Jeanine with a blue suit also implies that she is cold hearted, the
mid shot then with the mise-en-scene of a control panel indicates that it is
the driving force behind the ‘mind wipe’ of Dauntless. The panels gradually
turn from white to red, showing the transition of purity to impurity, as well
as the red foreshadowing the imminent danger. A straight cut to a medium-close up of Tris
shows her significance and that stopping Jeanine is all down to her. I worried
that she could fail in her mission. There is a straight cut to a projection
screen of faction citizens being ordered to kneel. There is a sideways pan to another
screen showing the same, which highlights the mass number of people under
threat. The next forward tracking shot of the knife flying through the air, suggests
violence and threat. Once it stabs her in the hand, the non-diegetic music
stops suddenly, which added to the shock factor for me. The non-diegetic sound starts to build up again,
matching the fast pace of Tris walking towards her target. Another straight cut
to Tris threatening Jeanine with a knife shows she is superior and is thinking
one step ahead. The repeated sideways pan to the projection screen enhances the
idea of the number of people under threat. The mise-en-scene of more red panels
on the control pad showed the increased death and escalation of the slaughter.
This manipulated my emotions as I felt angry and felt that it was an unfair
reality.
Parallel editing is used from the lab scene
to Dauntless pointing guns at civilians. Dauntless’s
black outfits as aspects of
mise-en-scene once again show
dominance, compared to civilians with grey outfits, creating the idea of them
being lifeless, with depressed emotions. The fight sequence is linear with an equilibrium
and a new equilibrium throughout the sequence, similar to the equilibrium in The Matrix when the fight
commences. The climax of the fight made me feel excitement. The jump cuts used,
relate to the fast paced fight, similar to divergent. In both sequences, the
guy and the woman team up to fight their opposition, showing that a partnership
is an action convention.
