Textual Analysis 1 - Sprockett

The film ‘Sprockett’ is a Virgin Media Shorts 2012 Shortlist nominee. It is about a boy named Freddy who is faced with a double-dare to enter the world of old man Sprockett. The director created a film similar to that of works by Tim Burton.

The opening of the film begins with the title of the film, along with the director’s name, in an animated, mechanical font and format. This gives us an idea of the films story line and the upcoming events involving strange mechanisms.

 Along with this there is a voice over which bleeds into the first scene. Constant non-diegetic music is played in the background, building up the tension in the film, until the climax.

All together there are 36 shots in the whole film.

The first scene is a wide shot of three boys standing outside what looks to be an old warehouse with chained gates giving the audience the impression that it may be a forbidden and dangerous place. Seeing as the first characters shown in the film are children, we know that the movies genre is to be Family.

A medium close-up shot shows two boys, with one boy in the centre of the shot, standing outside the gates talking to another boy (Freddy) standing between the open, but chained, gates. Here the boy holding the torch (Boy 1) tells Freddy about the story of old man Sprockett. With this we get the sense of an upcoming adventure with an unexpected turn.

A medium close-up shot is used here to show the fear on Freddy’s face, making the audience sympathise with his fear for his safety.

Shot-reverse- shot is used between these two characters to show the tension building up as boy 1 continues to tell Freddy about the rumours of old man Sprockett. (There are two extra shots of shot-reverse-shot to this scene.)

The next scene we see a long-wide shot, showing Freddy’s surroundings as he enters the old warehouse, walking quietly and slowly further inside.

We see an over the shoulder shot of a slow walking Freddy as the camera pans along with his movements, showing more of his surroundings. In this shot Freddy is in focus and the rest of the shot is slightly blurred. This emphasizes the importance of Freddy in this scene and the blurred surroundings suggest a sense of being in an unknown environment. We also see a glowing entity further in the back of the warehouse, which leads the audience to assume that the man sitting is old man Sprockett.

This shot is the same as shot 4, however Freddy has moved further into the warehouse approaching behind Sprockett. We can clearly see the fear on his face, which is highly effective in creating suspense and fear within the audience.

This is a point of view shot of Freddy approaching behind, who is assumed to be, Sprockett. The camera gives this effect well by slowly panning across, similar to the movements of Freddy. There is good use of lighting in this shot to highlight the man sitting in the chair. Due to this the audience will come to believe that this man is in fact old man Sprockett.

In this close-up shot the audience are given the chance to see a part of what is keeping Sprockett so occupied as to not notice Freddy’s presence. The mechanical part shown here is similar to that which we saw in the animated film title, keeping the consistent idea that these mechanical parts are a central theme in the film.

Shot 9 is the same as shot 7, a point of view shot of Freddy looking at Sprockett. The camera continues to pan in the same way as shot 7, until we see Sprockett click his fingers and say ‘Don’t move’, in which case the camera comes to a halt as does Freddy, when the shot cuts back to shot 10. Shot 10 is the same as shot 6; however we see that Freddy has moved even further into warehouse and we can see even clearer his frightened expression.

In shot 11 Sprockett finally begins to reveal himself. We are first introduced to him, in very low lighting, as a shadowy figure, which can make the audience believe that he may have a sinister nature about him. As we are unable to see his face, this build up suspense, sending the audience into guessing what he may look like.

This is another medium close-up shot of Freddy, where we are again able to see his clearly frightened expression, as he waits for Sprockett to reveal himself.



In this shot we see a medium close-up shot, as Sprockett walks into the light completely revealing his face to the audience and Freddy. From his appearance, i.e. white beard and clothing, we get the thought of him being quite gentle and friendly, where the audience could possibly compare his appearance to that of ‘Santa Clause’ – due to the white beard and glasses.

 This shot is still a medium close-up of Freddy, but is slightly closer than in shot 12. Throughout the film we have seen that the shots have gradually become closer to focus on his facial expressions.

In this medium close-up shot we are in full view of Sprockett’s appearance. The idea of comparing his appearance to that of ‘Santa Clause’ is now reinforced as we can see clearly the similarities between them, i.e. white beard, glasses and plump physique.

Shots 15, 16, 17 and 18 are Shot-reverse-shots.

In this shot however we are introduced to the sinister side of Sprockett, despite his appearance, as he attempts to scare Freddy by shouting ‘I was just starting to get hungry!”

Here we see Freddy become completely frightened after Sprockett shouts at him.
Shot 19 is a close-up shot of Sprockett looking down on Freddy with shadowy eyes. The lighting in this shot gives off a sinister aura from Sprockett as he asks ‘Are you frightened little boy?’ which then cuts to shot 20 as Freddy quietly answers ‘No’. From the audience may begin to sympathise with Freddy being scared.

Shots 18, 19, 20 and 21 are shot-reverse-shots. However in this shot, Sprocket lowers his head to conceal his face and making himself even more sinister looking. This effect suggests to the audience that something dramatic may take place.

In this wide shot, shot 22, we see the other two boys casually standing outside the warehouse as they wait for Freddy. We then hear diegetic sounds of a struggle, with the shouts of both Freddy and Sprockett. On hearing this the two boys panic and start shouting for Freddy, telling the audience that they do in  fact fear for his safety despite them daring him to go inside. And in shot 23 we see a close-up shot through the gates, as they try to open it and go to Freddy’s rescue. The way the gate has been shown in this shot looks as though the boys are in prisoned. This enforces the idea that the boys are unable to get through to help their friend who, they think, is in need.

As the camera cuts to a wide, two shot of the inside of the warehouse, we see that the struggling sounds were deliberate; perhaps a prank to be played on the two boys outside.

This shot is a slight over the shoulder shot and could possibly be a two shot. It is not behind the shoulder of Sprockett as he is facing toward the camera, therefore allowing the audience to see them both in action. In the first part of this shot, the camera is focused on Sprockett so Freddy is blurred and the second part vice versa. This shows that both characters are as equals in the film and are as equally important as each other, and allows the audience to see what they are doing individually.

This is an over the shoulder shot looking at Sprockett as he watches Freddy continue to make noise to scare the other boys. Here we see Sprockett’s soft side, a contrast to what we were introduced to at the beginning of the film. The expression on Sprockett’s face could suggest he may be thinking Freddy reminds him of himself, which is an idea used in many big screen films, therefore following that convention of a family film.

 Shots 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 are shot-reverse-shots.

While Freddy continues to hit the helmet on his head, Sprockett has an idea to give Freddy the heroic role in the film. He hands over his ‘hand mechanism’ to Freddy so that he may show the two boys later as a triumphant prize in their make belief fight.

In these shot-reverse-shots there is no dialogue, however the body language they both use is easily interpreted between them, and to the audience, as to take the prank a little further, as if they are having a telepathic conversation.

 

In this shot we see Freddy agreeing to the idea and accepts the ‘hand mechanism’ as a gift and also a memory of their meeting.

This last shot is approximately 30 seconds. Because of this we are able to see the reactions of the two boys and how Freddy continues to play along with the idea of him being the hero of the film.

Freddy pats the two boys on the back and as they jump up the camera pans along with their movements to then reveal Freddy standing looking victorious. Bombarding him with questions, the two boys follow Freddy away from the warehouse and to, what the audience may assume, home. Here the camera continues to pan along their movements until it stops at a similar position as in shot 1.

Lighting

At the moment we first watch the film we know that the film is set late in the evening. We know this due to the darkness outside and the artificial lighting used to light up the scene. Even as we are introduced to the inside of the warehouse the lighting is still very dim. This effect is believed to be used to create a mysterious and shadowy atmosphere. It can also be described as being quite sinister despite it being a Family genre film. It is possible to think that the director wished to make the film to seem darker and more shadowy yet still trying to keep it family friendly. Later in the film when Sprockett and Freddy have made, what seems to be like, a truce the lighting becomes less dense and dark, as we are able to see the whole warehouse clearly as well as being able to see Sprockett and Freddy more clearly.

Sound/Music

As soon as we see the title of the film the non-diegetic music quietly begins. It bleeds into the first scene, the same as the dialogue from boy 1. In the first scene when boy 1 says ‘old man Sprockett’, the music reaches a slight climax on the name ‘Sprockett’. This is to show that this new character we are about to be introduced to is very a very crucial part to the film. The music has a similar theme throughout the whole film. For example, when Freddy enters the warehouse the music begins the same way as in the first scene. Also in the warehouse scene we can hear justified sounds of the mechanisms and materials that Sprockett is using. This is telling us that he may be quite a busy person, working on a project of some sort and is also skilled in his work. Violins and xylophones are used for the film. The styles these instruments are played in are to create a mysterious atmosphere in the film. This is effective in going along with the genre. Even though the genre is Family, the story line and the music being used tells the audience that this film is, in a sense, an adventure film for family audiences.

This film uses a script and therefore there is dialogue. The dialogue is very limited, so we do not hear them talking very often. In the moments where there is important information said or at an event taking place is when we hear dialogue exchanged between characters. Tone of voice is used as a very effective tool in this film, to show the personality of each character. For example, when we are first introduced to Sprockett we think that he is a sinister character due to the deep tone of voice he uses or when he shouts at Freddy, to scare him, to portray his character. But later on in the film dialogue between Sprockett and Freddy ceases and they are seen to be communicating with facial expressions. In this scene we see that a lot of justified sounds are used when they are mimicking a struggle between them by hitting metal and pots and faking their struggle by shouting and arguing. Also in this scene (from shots 25- 31) the non-diegetic becomes calm and pleasant. This suggests that the relationship between Sprockett and Freddy has become like a friendship.

Due to these effective uses of sound and music in this film we know that it is a very important part to this film. The sound and music is very crucial in making the story effective and captivating to the audience.