Analysing a clip from Hanna

Hanna

     I’ve studied a short action clip from the film Hanna, concentrating on cinematography, starting with the shots and the angles.

The scene begins with a minor tracking shot following Hanna as she walks through a maze of washing lines and then is faced with Erik, her surrogate father. When Hanna looks up at her father (this is after she discovers he is not her genetic father) there is a high angle from Erik’s point of view. This suggests that even though he is not her biological father she still has this connection with him.

 

Figure 1- mise-en-scéne  

Hanna is placed in the shot slightly to the left with her head tilted in disbelief. The camera then zooms in to a close up on her face creating tension. When the shot cuts to Erik, a low angle is used looking up from Hanna’s point of view, which establishes the parallel editing.

 This section of the scene is then interrupted by the screech of tires, and Erik’s point of view is shown cutting to him watching the car pull up.  After, it cuts to Hanna and Erik tells her to run. As Hanna turns to run there is a direct use of mise en scéne; the washing lines and clothing on them. They form a direct route for Hanna to follow, implying that this is the only route left for her to travel in her fathers eyes. There is also a use of the rule of thirds in this part because you have the washing lines either side of Hanna and then Hanna is in the centre of them.                                           

   

 

This then leads into tracking shots; these are filmed with jerky movements, which indicate that a hand held camera was used.  

Whilst Erik runs away from the white 4x4 a tilt is used to reveal the car. The angle is cleverly used because it follows Erik as he turns the corner.  It also makes it look like the audiences are running with him, because of the jerky movements and the tilt whilst he runs.

Figure 2- Tilt

There are two point of view angles in the next section of the clip. One is Erik’s point of view, where he is looking at the white 4x4 that has now caught up with him on the road whilst running on the path (still a tracking shot). Then it cuts to the henchmen’s point of view looking at Erik running on the path.

 

The car crash in this scene is also filmed cleverly. There is an over the shoulder shot in the white 4x4 showing the henchmen’s point of view. A Dutch angle is used when two cars have collided and Erik has to jump over the two bonnets. Once the cars crashed a wide shot is used, which shows the audience Erik running away from the incident and the cars in the background.

Another Dutch angle is used when it cuts from Erik running into the park to one of the two henchmen sliding out of the car window. There is then a close up on the man’s foot, revealing one of his boots as he jumps over the car, which  you see denting the car, perhaps showing that the man is strong enough to cause large amounts of damage.

   

 

 

As Erik hides waiting for the henchmen, a shallow depth of focus is used (figure 2). 

                                                          

Figure 3-Shallow Focus    

The shallow focus is used to emphasise the fact that Erik is hiding from the henchmen and that we (as the audience) are the only ones who can see him. The objects out of focus are clearly not important in the context of what is about to happen.

 

The fight scene between Erik and the henchman is shot slower than the rest of the action making the fight seem longer. The way this part of the scene is shot makes the movements seem more exaggerated. Also, the non-diegetic sound also emphasizes the exaggerated movements because the music is slow and dramatic.

 Parallel editing is then used, which shows Hanna running.  A low angle is used to show her running in this scene which makes her seem like she is in power and the one to beat.

The camera cuts to Hanna running a few times from the fight scene between Erik and the Henchmen.

Erik is just about to kill the second henchman, who came after Erik killed the first, when the camera cuts to Marissa who watched Erik kill him. For this reunion an over the shoulder shot is used to show Erik’s reaction; the angle is used to create power and tension. Erik is also in focus in this shot which makes us concentrate on him and nothing else.

Once Erik has seen Marissa, it cuts back to her holding up a gun.

In this part of the clip, when you are shown Erik in one shot and Marissa in another, they’re the ones in focus which makes the audience concentrate on what is happening and what they are saying to each other. Also Marissa is shown at a low angle (making her powerful) and Erik at a high angle (making him inferior) which shows that Marissa is in total control and Erik is not going to escape her this time. This type of shot is useful because it lets you understand what is going on in the scene.  

 

Parallel editing is used again in this part of the clip just before Marissa shoots Erik it cuts to Hanna running into a clearing (we know this because a wide shot is used to show where Hanna is). It shows her slowing down. You then hear a single gunshot and you see Hanna fall to the floor because she knows what has happened even though she cannot see it. When Hanna falls to the floor the camera zooms into a close up of her face to see her reaction to the gunshot. The close up makes the audience feel more emotional towards Hanna because they know for certain what has just happened whereas Hanna knows but can’t be completely sure.

 At this part of the clip it’s all diegetic sound, this makes the audience feel more intimate with Hanna; perhaps suggesting that the silence is all that is left for Hanna because no-one she cares about is alive and because Marissa has made sure that she feels alone.   

 

Parallel editing is then used to show the roundabout. The camera zooms into the centre of the round-a-bout whilst it is spinning which confirms Erik’s defeat and Marissa’s victory, because Erik is dead and Marissa is alive. 

 The lighting in this part of the clip seems to change when Erik has been killed. Before, whilst they were fighting the lighting was darker giving the impression of an overcast day and to put emphasis on the location which is derelict and left to ruin. Then after Erik’s death the sun begins to shine down on the surroundings and it creates more shadows, which makes the spinning round-a-bout the main focus just like Erik was Marissa’s main focus, because if she killed him she could kill Hanna.