How Does Cinematography Create Meaning in an Extract from ‘Source Code’? (Directed by Duncan Jones – 2011)
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How does cinematography create meaning in an extract from ‘Source Code’? (Directed by Duncan Jones – 2011)
In the first scene of Source Code, we are shown the main character, Captain Colter Stevens played by Jake Gyllenhaal. The shot shown is an extreme close up of his face as he is waking up (see fig.1). The view from the window is blurred so all focus is on him. The shot then changes suddenly as a close up shot as he quickly sits upright (see fig.2). The quick shots reflect what is happening as he wakes up as he’s trying to get a sense of where he is, this also helps the audience get a sense of what is happening around on the train, it also raises questions as to why he is so suddenly alert and why he is acting so strangely. As this shot changes, a train horn is heard throughout the change, which signifies that he is coming back into reality. Again in this second shot, everything else in the background is blurred so that your focus is on the main character. As he is trying to work out where he is, he looks around him. As he does this, the camera follows his movements, moving to the left when he looks to his left and moving to the right, when he looks to his right. This is called a tracking shot, this is used so that we can see from his point of view and get a better understanding of what he’s looking at and why he is looking at them.
The next shot is an over the shoulder shot. The camera in this shot is placed just behind him looking over his shoulder, so we can see things from his perspective. In this case, the shot has him staring at a woman sat directly opposite him staring back and smiling (see fig.3). We know this woman as Christina Warren, played by Michelle Monaghan. However we realize that Captain Colter Stevens does not know her personally as to everyone around him, he is seen as Sean Fentress, a schoolteacher. We can tell that he is confused as the camera repeatedly returns back to a medium shot of him looking around trying to work out where he is. During these shots, the camera wobbles slightly which signifies that they are on a moving train, this also helps the scene seem more realistic.
To show that Captain Colter Stevens and Christina Warren are having a conversation; the camera shots change between them, so when he is speaking to her, the camera is placed behind him as an over the shoulder shot, and vice versa (see fig.3 & 4). So we can see the conversation happening from their perspectives. The use of an over the shoulder shot is effective as it makes the audience feel as if they are there during the conversation. The quick alternating shots from shoulder to shoulder cause an intense atmosphere as they both have a conversation. This also helps the audience understand the confusion that is created between the two characters.
The next few shots show what is happening around him on the train. These shots happen very quickly and last a maximum of a second. First the shot changes to show a man sat behind Captain Colter Stevens opening a can of fizzy drink (see fig. 5). The shot then quickly changes to an over the shoulder shot, but with Captain Colter Stevens looking behind his shoulder and past the camera to look at the man opening the can (see fig.6). These shots are used so that the audience can understand a bit more with what is happening with the character and the situation that he is currently in. The quick shots are from Captain Colter Steven’s view; therefore the audience is seeing what he is seeing in order to get a better understanding of the situation.
After that shot, the camera alternates to follow a woman walking past and spilling some coffee on Captain Colter Stevens’ shoe. The shot used for this is down on the floor with his shoe directly in the centre of the shot, during this shot, we are able to see the coffee falling onto his shoe (see fig.7 & 8). The shot then changes to him quickly looking down at his shoe and then changes to show the woman walking away in a tracking shot. The close up shots used for this scene work well as they are used to show the audience how alert he is by focusing on all the small things that are happening around him.
The shots then change to a couple of over the shoulder shots whilst they carry on their conversation. Before changing to a wide shot, taken from the other side of the train to show them sat opposite each other (see fig. 9). The shot then goes back to swapping over the shoulder shots between the two characters as they carry on their conversation.
As Christina is speaking, Captain Colter Stevens carries on looking around. The shot used for this is a tracking shot but from his perspective as he starts looking up at the second floor of the train (see fig.10), this helps the audience get more of a perspective from his point of view. The shot then changes but staying as a tracking shot from his perspective, as he watches a man get up from his seat and move up the train (see fig.11).
The shots then go back to over the shoulder shots, swapping between Captain Colter Stevens and Christina as they carry on with their conversation; again this helps cause a tense atmosphere to reflect both the characters confusion.
During their conversation, in the background we hear the ticket man asking Captain Colter Stevens for his ticket. The next shot shows him looking up at the ticket man; the camera is placed behind the ticket man as an over the shoulder shot as the ticket man doesn’t have any relevance to this scene therefore does not need to be shown. The next shot shows Christina reaching over to retrieve his ticket from his shirt pocket. This is used as another over the shoulder shot. Again the shot changes to another over the shoulder shot from behind Christina to show Captain Colter Stevens jump back in panic.
Skipping ahead a couple of seconds after Captain Colter Stevens realizes he is on his way to Chicago, the shot used for when he first notices that his reflection is not of his own, is an extreme close up of his face staring right at the camera as if we are the reflection (see fig.13). The use of the extreme close up helps build up the suspension within the audience and also raises the question of what he has just seen. The next shot is an over the shoulder shot, where we can see him looking at his reflection and seeing that it is of a different person (Sean Fentress) (see fig.14).
The shots then change to over the shoulder shots facing each other as he asked if she saw that his reflection was different.
In a panic, Captain Colter Stevens suddenly jumps up and rushes to the toilet. The camera stays infront of him as a tracking shot as he briskly walks up the train towards the toilet, the quickness of the tracking shot helps keep the sense of panic within the film. As he walks into the toilet, the camera shot is set at a low angle to show him pressing the button to close the door and then the camera pans upwards to show his face. The camera then pans to the left to show the mirror where he sees his reflection as Sean Fentress (see fig.15, 16, 17 & 18). These quick shots are effective as it gets the audience excited.
The next few shots follow him coming out of the toilet and bumping into Christina, where she tries to calm him down. The camera wobbles more frequently during this shot because that’s what it would feel like being stood up on a moving train. During this the shot changes to a low angle shot showing the train moving along the tracks as another train is about to pass. The shot then goes back to an over the shoulder shot just as the train is passing. These shots help build up suspension and leaves the audience wondering what is about to happen.
The final few shots are more over the shoulder shots as the two characters carry on talking and wide shots taken from the other side showing them talking and showing another train passing. The shot then very quickly changes to a tracking shot as if we are another train passing, watching the explosion rip through the train through the windows. The shot then changes to a low angle shot with the two trains passing and the explosion happening in the middle. The final shot is used as a wide shot taken at a low angle, showing the carriage of the train which exploded falling off the bridge and into the street and landing onto the camera, where it blacks out (see fig.19, 20, 21, 22, & 23). The ending of this scene has a very big impact on the audience as it leaves them wanting to know more, such as what caused the explosion and who really was Captain Colter Stevens.
