With black mirror it is important to bear in mind that each episode has a different director and director of photography so there is a need for consistency in style between episodes so some styles and quirks of the cinematography may carry across between different cinematographers (through the input of the series producer / show runner).
Shut Up And Dance
The cinematographer behind this episode was Tim Maurice-Jones.
The filming style
The episode begins with an establishing shot of a car (which is later featured in the plot) driving into a car park. Whilst many establishing shots are filmed in a fixed position on a tripod, Maurice-Jones establishes his handheld style early on by filming this establishing shot handheld. This also helps to establish the theme of anxiety which is prevalent in this episode as the shakiness of the camera of the camera reflects the anxiety and pressure felt by the characters.
This establishing shot is also filmed using a frame-in-frame technique by shooting through the railings of the car park. This creates vertical bars through the screen which mirrors that of prison bars which could foreshadow the end result of the main character Kenny.
Following this, POV shots are used to show what the character is seeing - this is performed as a swift sweeping motion to resemble her nervous behaviour. This is followed by the camera almost moving in a semi circle around the character, continuing this sweep of anxiety. This shows that handheld camera aids the emotions intended to be felt within the piece - this may be used in our piece for comedic effect rather than to convey anxiety as handheld can be used in a variety of ways.
The handheld camera has a more practical use for this scene. The camera begins on Kenny's mum looking in the mirror and follows Kenny walking down the stairs and appearing to her side - this sort of camera movement would not be as well performed using any other method. The handheld camera allows for fluid movement, keeping both Kenny and Kenny's mum in frame during their conversation. This supports the idea of going handheld with our production - as we are likely to be using animals, some of the movements may be slightly unpredictable. Therefore, going handheld would ensure that none of this action is missed.
With the exception of a couple of scenes, the colour grading of this episode has a persistent cool blue / green tone. This is used to reflect the bleak nature of the episode and the tasks the characters have to face. Some methods of colour grading choose to contrast colours in order to make a certain colour stand out e.g. using an orange highlight colour with blue shadow colour to make one of the colours more vibrant. However, the colour grading of this is completely blue / green from the shadows to the skin tones to the highlights. Where skin tone is usually given a warmer colouring (such as orange / peach), the grading of this causes the skin to appear a grey / blue - as stated, this overwhelming level of blue / green connotes the bleakness of the activities.
During the car scene on the way to the bank, an interesting technique is used. The camera stays on Kenny for extended lengths of time to suggest severity of situation and him contemplating the scenario. As Hector is talking to him about what the 'people' have on him, Kenny is shown to be in deep thought - with the camera staying in the same position focusing on Kenny, it almost has the effect of showing that Hector's words are running through and burrowing into Kenny's mind. It would be interesting to bring this technique over to Vet-Man as prolonged shots can be used as Vet-Man performs surgery to enhance the atmosphere of concentration.
Once the characters find out about robbery - the atmosphere becomes more tense and panicky rather than that of deep thought. This is reflected through the shots becoming a lot more quick in succession. These contrasting length shots make the difference in length much more apparent as it goes from staying on Kenny for lengthy periods to cutting between medium close ups of of both of the characters at a much faster pace.
Whilst the majority of the episode is filmed handheld, the handheld camera becomes more shaky following Kenny into bank. This is the same technique as beginning of episode, however, even more so. This helps to reflect the intense anxiety of the situation.
During the robbery itself a shallow depth of field is used in a medium close up shot to make Kenny's face the focus of the frame - this helps to show his emotions clearly and enhance this emotion to the audience. I could apply a similar technique in Vet-Man during surgery scenes to enhance the concentration of the vet's face.
After the robbery and the characters have split, a long shot is used as Kenny walks towards the woods which isolates him within frame (reinforcing the idea that he is now alone after splitting from Hector). Kenny is in the central third of the frame - this gives Kenny a sense of vulnerability as he is completely surrounded and engulfed by this countryside. This helps to suggest that the manipulation from the 'people' is not coming to an end like he thinks it is - he is vulnerable to further manipulation. This shows how shot lengths can be experimented with in order to convey different atmospheres - this is something I will test with Vet-Man and later storyboard.
Although the colour grading continues to have a cooler tone overall, warmer lighting / idyllic scenery cut through to suggest the ordeal is coming to a close. This is then contrasted with the next scene, which throws the episode back into being bleak. A similar technique can be used in Vet-Man to contrast the moods of different scenes by using slightly different colouring within the overall colour grade. (i.e. keep the overall colouring the same for consistency but adapt certain scenes to have a warmer look and certain scenes to have a cooler look depending on the atmosphere within the shot).
Once Kenny enters the woods, it returns to cooler colouring and shallow depth of field. This throws the severity of situation back in focus and helps to suggest to the viewer that the ordeal is not over.
After the scene in the woods is, Kenny is walking away (presumably home). This is one of the only times a static shot is used - reflecting Kenny potentially feeling numb after fighting the man in the woods. Once a phone call comes through, the filming style returns to handheld camera - which suggests the return of anxiety.
What I've learned through this research:
Although a different genre and subject matter to our production, it is interesting to explore the use of handheld camera and the different ways it can be used; to capture fast paced action and to enhance the mood of the scene etc.
Colour grading was also interesting to note. Very cool toned throughout with the exception of a few scenes. This shows how important colour grading is in setting the tone and atmosphere of a production. As we want to follow a natural / observational style, I will use a much more natural colour grade (ensuring skin colour remains a peach tone as opposed to this where skin almost appeared grey in tone) which will make the footage have a more authentic look. However, I will still adapt the colour grading to the appropriate environment e.g. during surgical scenes, the grade will be cooler in tone. Whereas, in home settings / natural outdoor settings the grade will be slightly warmer in tone to reflect how these settings appear naturally.
Depth of field can be used to draw attention to certain aspects. I will take this into consideration as I may want to use this method to draw the audience's eye to a specific area of the frame.
This research has shown the importance of varying the shot type as this has an impact on how the audience reads the frame. It is easy to become caught up in using solely medium shots and medium close up shots, however, long shots of characters can be very effective in isolating them in the shot. This is something to consider when I am storyboarding the production.
Occasionally a dolly shot and tripod shot were woven seamlessly into the episode. This shows how you need not stick to just one style of filming - the method of filming should be appropriate to what you're trying to capture i.e. as shown in this episode, if you are observing the characters watching TV but you want there to be slight movement, a medium dolly shot works best as opposed to a shaky handheld camera. However, if you're followed someone through a nerve-racking situation, going handheld is the preferred method.
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