Analysis on 'Sherlock'

We analysed the first 15 minutes of 'Sherlock' Season 1, Episode 1. Again looking at; cinematography, sound, editing and mise-en-scene.

Cinematography
The rule of third is used in the first scene; the character is on one side of the screen, conveying the idea that although he is the first character we meet, he is not the most important character. If he was in the middle of the screen, this would suggest he was the main focus and therefore had power, with him being off to one side, it suggests someone else is more dominant than him. Establishing shots were used to show where the programme was set, this gives an insight to the audience of whereabouts the characters live and what kind of neighborhood they are involved in.

Sound
The soundtrack used, foreshadowed that something bad was going to happen each time a victim was on screen. The music build tension and added suspense to each scene, making the audience engage more to the programme. Ambient sound was used in some scenes to make the scene more realistic. If the ambient sound wasn't there we would know that it was filmed in a studio and it would make it seem quite dull.

Editing
At the beginning of the episode, there was a montage of the characters memory. The flashback contained images from war, this gave us a bit of background information on the character without the character actually speaking. Parallel editing was used a lot in the episode, as when the victims were taking the pill, there family members were on a panel, discussing the suicide issue. This is a good way to show a story in a more fast paced way and keeps the audience engaged and fully focused. Fade in and fade out was used in the scenes were the victims were taking the pill. It would fade in and out of three shots; their face, the pill and then the body after they had taken the drug. By using fade in/out, it made the situation more mysterious as half of the story was being showed; this makes the audience want to keep watching!

Mise-en-scene
The lighting used in the first scene was low key. This added some mystery and in comparison to the montage we had just watched, the scene seemed a lot more dull in comparison to the Army scene. Conveying the idea that the characters life is boring now he is no longer in the forces. The characters room was extremely tidy and everything had its own place, this indicates that the character misses his past way of living and is still in a routine.