24 Extract Component II Question 1

The extract, “24”, commenced with a woman and a man having a one on one conversation. In the extract, the man, who comes off as an interrogator, wants answers out of the woman without her manipulating him. In the extract, the male character comes off as though he is interrogating the woman through his tone. He appears scary and more powerful than the woman, which the directed depicts through the usage of close-ups. By using close-up shots, the director is able to emphasize the man’s dominance as he attempts to drag information out of the woman. The incidental music in the first scene acts as a way to build suspense and intensity, setting a tone which is furthered though dialogue. When the man realizes that the woman will not give into his demands, he switches up his methods. The director’s usage of a dim lighted room further emphasize the intensity and suspense of the scene.

The first camera angle shown is an over the shoulder shot. The director uses props such as a table, a chair, handcuffs, and papers to add onto the interrogating feel of the scene. This specific vision or perhaps, set design is prominent in shows and films related to an authority figure interrogating another character. For instance, police interrogation scenes in movies. The over the shoulder shot is commonly used to film dialogue taking place during the interrogation. The use of over the shoulder shot throughout the extract is to make the viewers feel as though they are physically in the interrogation room, eavesdropping on the characters’ conversations; as a result, enhancing the interrogation. 

In the third scene, the dialogue reveals that the purpose of the discussion was to prevent a bomb from going off. The dialogue’s purpose is to help the audience realize the severity of the situation. A dutch angle and diegetic sound was used when the interrogator flipped the table over in front of the woman. The Dutch angle mimics the movement of the table, stimulating the audience to feel as though they were in the room, watching the table tilt in the air. Moreover, the diegetic sound dramatizes the scene, giving the viewers an authentic perspective of the scary, crashing noise the table made. In the sixth scene, a shot-reverse-shot is used when the man finally calmed down from his sudden burst of anger after flipping the table. Shot reverse shots are also used when filming conversations. It was used to enhance the interrogation. Immediately after this build-up the interrogator attacks the woman.