Deconstruction of the shot sequence-3.2.2 Van Helsing

Shot types and Framing
The film begins with the logo of Universal bursting into flames, which is a production of CGI. This leads to the audience being shown a historic viewing of what happened in the past in Transylvania. This begins with a close up on the leader of the huge groups face which shows emotion of anger. There is specific use of stedicam in this shot and there is used of a crane where it shows the view of hundreds of people walking towards the large gate. Various cuts follow this extract where we are taken through to when the people try to break into the large gate. These cuts are put together really well and go along with the music very well. There is then an image of a piece of text where it shows the word Transylvania, in a small font that seems to be in a olden style font. The camera is then seen tilting upwards where it begins to rise higher and higher. This seems to be done using a computer because the building does not seem real, neither does the actual lightning. We are then shown an extreme close up of Frankensteins eyes, which show emotion of distress. This is shown to the right. Stedicam seems to be used quite extensively in the shots and the camera seems to be held at an angle, which improves the fact that the viewer i shown more of what the character is looking at. The film also uses various establishing shots to tell the audience where the characters are. The framing of the picture to the right is very central which means that the audience are shown what the character is feeling. Many long shots are used in the opening sequence which creates an aspect of loneliness and how far away some aspects are. The shots that follow this scene are of Dracula first appearing and scaring the character on screen. There are scenes where Dracula is shown one place, and then instantly another place, which is a good camera trick, which surprises the audience viewing the film. There are various exchanges of dialogue in this scene and the characters seem to become more agitated. An example of a super natural aspect of the film would be when Dracula is about to devour the man who created Frankenstein. There is a computer generated image on Dracula's face of a beast and then the camera is shown a shadow image of when the character is being killed. This is shown to the right. This image is rather scary and is used to retain the audiences attention. This Dracula character seems to be of significant importance to the film and so does the use of black and white images, to create the effect of a historic period film. The shots that follow these scenes are that of Frankenstein escaping from the building and being given chase by a mass of people and also by Dracula himself whom has transformed in to a beast. Frankenstein is then chased by the crowd of people to a windmill which is shown through and establishing shot. Frankenstein is then shown close up running up the stairs to the top of the windmill. This provokes the crowd to throw their torches onto the windmill which begins to blaze. All of these scenes are still in the black and white and there is still very dramatic music. We are then shown a close up of Dracula, who shows little if not any emotion towards the audience. Another sample of text appears on the screen this time showing 'on year later', which suggest that we were just watching past events. We are walking though a tunnel with Van Helsing, with an over the shoulder shot and are greeted by Mr Hyde, who makes the audience jump due to him just popping out of nowhere. This is shown to the right. This over the shoulder shot gives the audience a better view of what is happening. The two characters seem to be the main view points in this frame. Overall the camera movements are very neat and flow together very well with each other.

Mise en scene
The items used in this film are of period, historic times and are very hard to actually see. This is probably dues to the fact that most of the film is in black and white and there seems to be little light in any of the areas of the film. Dracula's clothes seem to be very gothic and old, although being pristine at the same time. Where Frankensteins creators clothes seem to be very rugged and torn, maybe to suggest that he may be a slave to Dracula. However in closer detail the audience are able to see a V necked shirt which is quite strange for this historic period. There is no colour in the beginning of the film which means that the film retains some of the surprising elements in it. The use of torches that are used as natural light is very historic and exactly how the audience would probably picture it. The building itself seems very crooked when seen through the camera and the inside is very old with spider webs and dust everywhere. The use of natural elements such as wood and fire seem to be realistic and are eye catching to the audience. The most important aspect of mise en scene would have to be Van Helsing himself. Dressed in dark clothes and armed with blade sharp weapons, he is the main character in this film of super natural happ-enings. He uses his own hat to conceal his face and uses a scarf to also conceal his mouth. This is shown in the part where he is looking for Mr Hyde. There is no emotion on his face, even when Mr Hyde comes out from nowhere and tries to scare him. This is shown in the picture to the right. The film is set in very dark locations and in locations that do not seem to be real. The leather jacket of Van Helsing symbolises him of being rather in disguise a maybe trying to conceal his identity from the evil that he has to face.

Lighting The lighting in Van Helsing is very mysterious and very dark which coincides with the black and white scenes in the film. There is very little use of natural light and most of the scenes seem to have lighting in which that all of it is either done by computer or by actually using fire. The reason for probably doing these scene in the night is because of the fact that the film is a horror film and that this is used to thrill the audience. The use of flashing lights in the film is very dramatic and this creates and aspect of excitement towards the audience. I believe that the flashing lights are used to symbolise lightning. Whereas the black and white scenes are concerned, they bring a more historic feel towards the film and give off emotions such as loneliness, distress and anger. Backlights are used in the film to expand the shadows of the characters which creates a more intense theme of horror and enlarges the more powerful characters. The special effects add to the lighting in the film. When lighting does finally resume into the film we are only greeted by a small portion of colour which is mainly pearl white and a tinge of blue. This suggests that the producers were still trying to retain the aspect of identity and to also give such characters such as Mr Hyde a better figure.

Sound The sound in Van Helsing is very dramatic and vocal along with the fact that it could have been produced by an orchestra. The use of bass and high pitched voices, it creates an unnerving feel towards the audience. Dracula has an accent that reflects where he is actually from whilst Van Helsing has an almost British/American accent. The fight between Van Helsing and Mr Hyde is a very high production fight with a lot of very fast moving scenes. These scenes are accompanied by music that is very dramatic along with having an aspect of action to them. The music and sounds seem to quicken as more actions take place which draws the audience to the film. The use of diegetic and non diegetic sound in the film is well represented with some scenes using normal character speech whilst others use sound effects such as thunder and sparks. An example of the fast tempo music would be when Frankenstein is being chased by the crowd of people. This scene is very dramatic because there is good use of fast tempo music which excites the audience. Frankensteins footsteps seem to be very heavy and are extremely loud. This suggests that he is a character of power and that he is strong. The footsteps were probably done using sound effects because there is a bass that accompanies them.

Editing
The use of editing in Van Helsing is very controlled and recognizable because the audience are able to see that the scenes are very professionally put together. The many main examples of editing in Van Helsing would be when Dracula's face is distorted and the audience are able to see a beast with rather large teeth. This has mostly been done using CGI and is very neatly put together. There are other examples of shot reverse shot when characters are in conversation and examples of continuity editing. There are various cuts between the scenes and various editing techniques used. The editing used on Mr Hyde looks very realistic and in some scenes look just like how it would in real life. Editing has been used in many areas of Van Helsing and this has contributed to how the film looks and how the film has been assembled.