Wednesday 19 December 2012

Case study: The Third Man

Introduction
Shot in 1949
Directed by Carol Reed
Rated 8.4 stars out of 10 from 70,603 users
In the opening weekend it made:
$13,576 (USA) (9 May 1999) (1 Screen) (reissue)
It's Gross made was:
$596,349 (USA) (19 December 1999)
 47257 8.4
Females  6678 8.3
Aged under 18  334 8.5
Males under 18  282 8.7
Females under 18  52 7.4
Aged 18-29  22575 8.4
Males Aged 18-29  19968 8.4
Females Aged 18-29  2607 8.3
Aged 30-44  20823 8.4
Males Aged 30-44  18623 8.4
Females Aged 30-44  2200 8.2
Aged 45+  9610 8.6
Males Aged 45+  8042 8.7
Females Aged 45+  1568 8.6
IMDb staff  10 8.2
Top 1000 voters  721 8.3
US users  20247 8.6
Non-US users  33688 8.4
IMDb users
Also reviews suggest more males watch this film that females. Although males under 18 and over 45 have the best rating at 8.7

Sound
During the opening to The Third Man, the use of non diegetic is well presented because the theme is aimed at 'Harry Lime' or 'Orson Welles'.
This theme tune directed at the character of Harry Lime makes him seem an ambiguous villian or not very serious. It also points to 'Orson Welles' character as charming and sort of glamourous. 
There is also the use of a voiceover which helps to explain the story and introduce it to us and also introduce the characters to use as well so one can get a better understanding for them.

Camera Angles
 Throughout the Third Man there are various types of shots used and one that is used effectively is the high angle shot. Here is 'Holly Martins' as he looks for Harry Limes. And this shot is meant to be from a German who looks at him in this way. It suggests that he is small and isn't noticed as he is new to the country from the USA. In turn, this connatates that he is seen as a nobody.




There are also a good range of Tilt shots used within this film. The tilt shot is used in thrillers and many other genres which attempts to disorientate the audience but also makes it seem scary and provide that sense of nightmare. The shot also attempts to add the aesthetic interest to the scene from the audience.







In this film, there are so many close ups used which help to identify either objects used within a certain scene or to show characters emotions.

This shot magnifies what would be shown in a regular shot. It shows the certain object, in this case the cat.

This is a second close up shot which identifies the characters emotion as, in this case, being confused. This can be established through this close up shot unlike if it was shot from a high angle where this may be a little more difficult to see.






Here is the start of the film where close up shots are taken on the black market of objects and being able to identify them with this close up shot.













Lighting
In The Third Man, a lot of non-ambient lighting is used. One example of where the lighting is non-ambient is where a close up shot of Harry Lime is shown in the darkness. It shows the non-ambience as it looks as though a spotlight is being used to see the characters face whereas if that spotlight wasn't there, then we wouldn't have been able to see him. It means that this dark atmosphere is being made from ambient to Non-ambient as the area behind the camera has been set up with spotlights to hit that perfect position in order that his face can be seen.

Costume
In The Third Man, the costumes worn by many of the characters, especially males are your classic overcoat and trilby hat combo. This signifies what people back in these days would have worn during this period. The smart dress overcoat could easily be pulled off in thrillers made and potentially in our thriller although it may be ignored and dress and make the thriller modern.
Another costume part in this period would also be the Bow Tie which portrays the character as some what being untrustworthy.

Location
The Third Man is shot in the beautiful city of Vienna. It is also shot during a period where the second world war has just come to an end. This shot below shows Vienna as actually being quite a dangerous place due to the fact that there is a body in the water and also that body is being surrounded by a lot of broken glass. This would have been because it is around 1946-1949 and the war would have literally just come to it's conclusion so there would have been a lot of work to get Vienna back to the way it would have been.

1 comment:

  1. Well done for posting this research onto your blog. You have satisfactorily identified and discussed some elements of lighting and analysed camera shots and movement.

    Do note Dean that the lighting used in the establishing shosts of Harry Lime as he stands in the doorway is chiaroscuro lighting which splendidly adds the notion of illusion to the mise-en-scene.

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