In this extract, I believe that the author's vision was for Lord Stannis and Sir Davos to be the underdogs and have a 'Never-say-never' spirit. The one boat filled with ragged men entering the city looks little compared to the big city that is shown. Throughout the extract, many, obvious, aspects lay out the idea that Lord Stannis needs the help of the Iron Bank and is in a not so lovely position. It is the not so obvious aspects of the extract that makes this into an underdog like theme.
When they are first introduced into the scene there are many aerial shots happening. These aerial shots made them and their ship look inferior in comparison to the city they were going into. That scene was full of ambient sounds and everyone seemed so busy and hectic, it seemed to have no structure. The massive Spartan statue and seemingly calm, beautiful city that is seen when the aerial shot happens further enforces that idea of them being two completely different environments. They have no power when compared to the city they are entering. After that, the setting changes to an empty hall with very dim lighting. This scene is also where the dialogue starts.
Dialogue is a way that the director can get their point of the scene across. This is one of the obvious aspects that I mentioned before. While the dialogue helps give the audience more context on what is happening it does not show the 'Never say never' attitude that the characters have explicitly. The first thing that is obvious about this new scene is dim lighting. I noticed that the places in which the lighting was especially dim, that character seemed to lack confidence or power in the situation. Sir Davos is barely seen when he is first introduced while Lord Stannis' face is seen clearly even though he is right next to him. This shows the importance of each character at the moment to the audience.
After a little bit of dialogue, three men walk into the scene. Unlike Lord Stannis and Sir Davos, their movements were followed, their footsteps were heard. This shows that they have some level of importance which requires them to receive that much attention in comparison to Stannis and Davos. Before those men walked into the scene there were many wide shots which made them seem smaller than they are, somewhat similar to the aerial shots from before. When they arrived suddenly the wide shots turned into mid shots and close-ups. These are the subtle details that show the power structure in the room. When they arrived suddenly both Stannis and Davos were nearly impossible to see because of the dim lighting while the three men of the Iron Bank were clearly seen.
As the scene continued with more dialogue you begin to notice the constant changes in camera position. You notice that there is a slight difference in the height of the people. The three men sitting in the throne-like chairs are, ever so slightly, looking down on Stannis and Davos, while it may not be drastic you can tell that this plays a major role in them maintaining their power. They seem more condescending to Sir Davos when he is sitting down under their gaze in comparison to when Davos approached them confidently while standing. At first, I thought that I was only looking into it too hard until I noticed something. When placed at a higher angle, that actor specifically was clearer to see. It could simply "just be the lighting from the windows" but it seemed more deliberate.
This theory was finally confirmed in the last part of the extract when Sir Davos started fighting back. When he stood up he suddenly was clear as day. He is in relatively the same place as when the scene started but the sudden confidence and 'shift in power' caused the director to have more light shined on him. The Iron Bank men who did not move at all since the extract started seemed to get darker, meaning that they were losing the power that they had before in this situation. If that was not proof enough for me, when the action match happened at the end, the first time it has happened for Sir Davos since the three Iron Bank men walked in, Lord Stannis, who was in front of a window, still did not have the same light on him as Sir Davos did.
The director's vision for these scenes was done in a way that was almost unnoticeable. They used subtle techniques to establish the power structure that was happening in that empty hall. It was not only the dialogue or the use of the throne-like chairs that established who had the most power. It was the use of the subtle high angles and the very precise lighting that would also let the audience know the constant changing of power that was happening within that scene. If I only looked at the dialogue and props used in this scene, I would not have been able to see the very present theme of 'Never say never.' Even when under the condescending eyes of the Iron Bank, who kept denying them, Sir Davos never succumbed to their power, he never gave up.
No comments:
Post a Comment