Annotate the images from the video: how does the director use composition to create meaning in the scenes from Drive?

Due to the director’s choice of filming and the use of the “quadrate technique” almost every shot has a composition of balance. Top with bottom, left and right. Due to this the director can create conventional ordinary scenes into an unconventional and mind triggering scenes.

1. In the first scene the director used a technique which shows two different perspectives of two different characters, and in stead of using two different shots or having to different scenes or splitting the screen he uses one camera which captures both points of view on each side of the screen (Left – Right). By doing so the image comes alive and keeps our eyes busy and entertained even though we might not realize it.

2. The next scene uses the same technique but instead of using left and right it uses top and bottom. The top shows the triangle of characters which are having a conversation and is giving us a sense of their character and their relationship between one another through the shoulder movement and context of the conversation . Whereas the bottom part of the screen also has a story of its own and is giving a bigger insight on the characters through the body movements and specifically through the hands.

3. In this scene the character is on the top left of the screen and the audience will assume that the next character will appear next to him in top left , however the director makes the character appear bottom left , which creates a sense of disturbance and confusion of the moment.

 4. The next scenes show a sense of balance of “power” between the two characters and shows that they both have the same ambitions. The director does this by having the two characters in the same quarter of the quadrate which emphasizes their balance and both of them are looking at the same corner of the quadrate which shows their aim. 

How does the sewer scene from The Third Man use framing and composition techniques mise en scene and cinematography to create meaning and metaphors

Figure 1

Figure 1 has been taken at a slightly tilted angle which gives a sense of confusion and perhaps nervousness as the adrenaline is rushing through his blood. Also because of the tilted shot it makes our main character seem as though hes struggling to escape and slowly falling out of his way and therefore has to hold onto the rail in order to keep calm and focused. Furthermore the director uses the quadrant technique which creates a balanced frame between good and evil and despite them being close to each other , neither of them know where each of them are which also shows confusion and desperation. Top left of the frame we can see that next to him is a ladder going upwards, with light coming through which may emphasize hope or 'heaven'. On the top right of the frame , next to 'hope' there are stairs which are leading to complete darkness , almost as if it is leading to 'hell', with the bold dark rail shadow emphasizing evil within the way and acting as an arrow pointing towards despair by his own desperation and temptation.

Figure 2

In figure 2 the director uses German expressionism composition ,through a lot of sharp and angular shapes with very random chiaroscuro lighting surrounding the scene which creates a angry and uncomfortable atmosphere almost as though hes trapped behind bars in a prison, Also due to the frame being covered by approximately 1/6 of the frame with a pole , it creates a very claustrophobic amount of space which creates a sense of anxiety and paranoia while he is slowly crawling up not knowing what to expect. With the high angle which the director has chosen it makes the character look powerless and full of despair with the help of dark shadows in the background.

Figure 3

In figure 3 the use of quadrant between the upper frame and lower frame creates a sense of balance between good and evil , good being on top having the superiority of looking down on evil and evil trying to escape from "Gods" judgment. By doing this is creates a sense of morality between the two parties. The fact that evil is being careless of not being observant means that he is in desperation and has no time for being careful. Also because of the two parts of the frame upper and lower it gives more details to the audience as our eyes are looking at both scenes and instead of having two different scenes the director fused them into one which creates a much more interesting shot and furthermore creates a sense of confusion. Also , because of the cameras framework and it being a mid shot with walls taking up most of the framework it creates a claustrophobic moment and emphasizes our characters desperation to get out while paranoid and anxious. Chiaroscuro lighting with dark shadows adds to the disorientation to the shot and not giving us clues to the sewers massive maze.

Figure 4

In figure 4. Intense chiaroscuro lighting plays a massive role in this particular shot. Due to our character blocking the light, it instantly connotes the loss of hope. He has nowhere to run and is facing the 'good' straight on and perhaps being 'purified' by the good. Unique lighting on the walls of the tunnel has created a German expressionism like composition which gives a tense and aggressive atmosphere which is surrounding the character. This shot has a different vanishing point in comparison to the rest of the sewer scene as now it is leading to the middle of the frame and may emphasize clarity and an end to confusion and distortion, where as in the other scenes the director used vanishing points in an odd angle and position in order to create a confused scene. Also the dark shadow besides the character symbolizes the clear view of the evil inside him. The dark shadow that is cast upon the water beneath our characters feet can also be interpreted  as though there is an even greater evil which is flowing underneath the city.