Homework analysis of oceans thirteen (Crime caper with an ensemble cast)

ANALYSIS OF OCEANS THIRTEEN

A brief description of the film is about a bunch of men who put together a bank robbery, as the film is a crime caper with an ensemble cast pretty much all the characters within the film are all protagonists, Some characters play a bit more of a role than others but everyone within the team works together and plays a main role. The film is also a bit comic as some of the tasks the team do to set up the robbery go a bit wrong and this makes the film a bit funny as they say some sly funny comments to engage the audience.

I found it quite hard to find the intro of the film so I had to use the trailer; this still has a few micro and macro elements within to support the conventions of a crime caper. The five micro elements,

• Camera
• Grphics and Special effects
• Mise en scene
• Sound
• Editing

All these make Oceans 13 trailer maintain the conventions but also cause a bit of humor and enjoyment to the audience.

 

The first micro element I am going to mention is camera; there is a variety of different camera shots used within Oceans 13. In the trailer it is hard to detect different camera shots but some are obvious. The first obvious camera shot is when you see the top of all the high rising hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, this camera shot is a pan shot from high above, the panning of the camera around the city where its set helps to distinguish the location in which the elaborate crime will inevitably take place.this also sets the scene and tells the audience where the film is being set. There are mixes of close, mid and long shots used in the Oceans 13 trailer and here are a few examples. Near the end of the trailer there is a great close up of a man face, this is to establish he anger going through this man and makes the audience concentrate on noting but him and his facial expressions. A great example of a mid shot is when three men are on the roof and when someone is talking it goes onto each different actor and when it does this it is a mid shot, this is to establish who the people are and where they are as in a mid shot it also shows a bit of the back ground so it’s to show the audience where they are and in this case they are on a roof. “What you guna do, throw me off the roof”. A good example of a long shot is when the little man has jumped over an elevator and the elevator is shooting upwards towards the camera. This is also a clever effect making the elevator seem like its going straight towards the camera and shooting out of the screen.

 

There were a few of the camera shots mentioned but when watching the whole film there is a mix of other shots such as: track shot, crane shot the hand held ECT. My next micro element i am going to mention is the sound trough out the trailer.

 

The sound involved in the trailer is a bit different to any music any person would listen too. This music could only work with this kind of film (Crime caper with an ensemble cast). The sound throughout the whole trailer is a bit jazzy and fun. The sound is all done by musical instruments such as: bongo drums are to be very effective and also the saxophone ECT, together these make a great sound track for the trailer. The sound works with the film and when someone is talking the sound goes quite and sometimes the sound even goes off if the speech is funny or just to establish the characters within the film. Then when something exciting shows the music goes a bit loud. The sound has to be right in this case and it really makes the trailer seem fun and also makes the characters within the film seem clever. Another clever effect with the sound is the narrator who is planning the mission is talking when the camera is capturing many people play poker all around the casino, quick shots on and off different tables whilst talking shows that you know they are planning to do something to that casino.

 

The sound within the film can really create the atmosphere of a fun and cool film. The next micro element I am going to analyze is mese en scene.

 

Mise en scene plays an important part in revealing the genre of the trailer. As this film is set in Las Vegas you know that in Las Vegas everything is bright and rarely any moment in this trailer there is a dark dull spot. The lighting is always bright and this sets the films mood of being a fun film and something the audience can enjoy. There are a few moments in the trailer when the lighting is a bit dull and one example is when a load of men are standing around a hospital bed with the room lit up by one bright light. This makes the room seem private and lonely. The costumes involved are all which are expected of con men. They are all smart, but they put on the right outfit for the right occasion. E.G when showing the men sitting down doing things it shows them with shirts hanging out and not that smart, but when in the casino there is a quick close up of a smart watch and then zooms out and along with that smart watch the man is also wearing a smart suit. To play the part of a wealthy man, wearing a smart suit or tuxedo really makes you seem like one. Within a trailer it is hard to find out what props are used because it doesn’t really show many props, but the part when they have a card machine and all the cards pop out shows a bit of humor and in a crime caper with an ensemble cast there is always a bit of humor. This attracts the audience and makes them get more connected with the film.

 

Another micro element of the trailer is editing, and within this trailer there are a few great examples of it.

One of the first things the audience will see when watching this are the parallel editing, this is a very effective of way of showing two/three things at once and is very effective. A great way of using the parallel editing is when showing two things at once and having a voice over to tell what’s going on. Another editing element is 180 degree rule. This happens a couple of times in the trailer and I’m sure a lot of times in the actual movie, this is a very effective shot and it shows the audience who’s talking to whom. The 180 degree rule can be done as an over shoulder shot so you can see the back of someone and the front of another or you can do it out of the eye sight of someone. Either way they are both effective and work as well as each other.

 

The special effects used within the trailer where hard to distinguish but when seen are quite effective within the trailer. One special effect used is having a stund double. There is one part in the trailer where a man jumps over an elvator when it shoots upwards. This was a stunt man doing this as it was a dangerous tunt for any famos actor/actress to do. The graphics in this trailer are very effective as they wrok alongside the music and the plot of the film. The graphics are when the words pop up on the screen with a different colored background. This works well with the sound as when they pop up a laod bit of music comes up and a sentence comes up on the screen and all the words when put together come up with a sentence and in this case is: If you cross-one ocean-you face- them all. Revenge-is a funny thing-but what are the odds-of getting even. These allw ork with the plt and the sound aswell. This is very effective in a trailer because it attracts the audience and gets their attention.

 

To conclude I have analysed each micro area of this trailer. I found it quite hard to analyse the trailer as it wasn’t a  film intro, but in some ways it s easier as there is a lot of special effects and graphics used in most trailers. By looking at this trailer you can clearly see that this trailer/film is a crime caper with an ensamble cast.