An critical review of the ‘Sherlock’ series 2 episode 'A Scandal in Belgravia’
In this episode of the popular television series, there are many techniques that I saw were used in order to convey the most emotion, both in the science and the actors. There were some that would be more difficult to shoot than others, but I could see how they could be done.
The first technique that I noticed was one that I chose to incorporate into my film, and is when Sherlock is pointing a gun at a bomb at the beginning of the episode (picture) shown in the picture below. his shot as the camera work is carried out very well and helps to elevate the atmosphere of the scene. When the camera is next to Sherlock with his hand and the gun in the shot, the shot does not move, therefore creating an emotional relationship with Sherlock, and is also creating suspense, as we do not know if he is going to pull the trigger.
In this episode, there can be seen an instance of Freud's Ego, Superego and Id, as John Watson is the ego throughout the series, Sherlock is the Superego, but the Id has been missing, until Irene Adler is shown to be the Id. This is because the Id consists of ‘all the inherited (i.e. biological) components of personality present at birth, including the sex (life) instinct – Eros (which contains the libido), and the aggressive (death) instinct - Thanatos.’ - (http://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html), which fits her perfectly as she is a dominatrix in this episode.
Watson is the Superego for Sherlock due the actions Watson takes to try and improve Sherlock, which according to the Superego is based on two systems, the conscience and the ideal self. The conscience can punish the ego through causing feelings of guilt, and the ideal self is an imaginary picture of how you ought to be, and how to act on the norms of society. Watson's constant correcting of Sherlock's behaviour shows that he is more alienated from society than we thought.
Freud said that the ego is 'that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world.’, which is true for Sherlock, as he is influenced by the world constantly, as he sees things that many people don't recognise. Also, the ego seeks to please the id’s drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bring grief. This is seen when Sherlock is saying to Mycroft that Irene Adler should just be forgotten about, as he knows it would be better for everybody in the long run.
In the scene where Sherlock is at Irene Adler's house, the lighting is very key, due to the amount of it. There are many windows and they are all quite large, so the light in the scene is natural, which gives a sense of softness and realism. This contrasts to a scene later in the episode where the shot is not lit by candlelight, but also some unnatural light. This creates the opposite feeling, giving a cold and dark tone to the scene.
The editing in Sherlock is very unique, as it draws attention to the centre of what makes Sherlock Sherlock. When he is deducing a crime scene or a person, the editing goes to an extreme close up of what he is looking at, such as what a person is wearing or what they did earlier in the week. We also see words appear on the screen, telling us what he is seeing and what he is thinking.
From this episode, there were several techniques that I could see potentially being incorporated into my film, such as the gun being pointed at the bomb in the beginning of the episode. I chose to use this because I felt that it was a very powerful shot, but I decided to twist it and make the weaker person in my film be holding the gun in the shot, and they stay lesser to the dominant person.
Also, the lighting was also a technique that I wanted to use, especially when Sherlock is trying to deduce Adler, as the light becomes darker, like a sunset. This is the type of effect I wanted to have in my short film.
Comments
Post a Comment