The camera work and editing may not be the most obvious technique used to portray the representations listed, but perhaps unconsciously camera work and editing depicts the representations as much as the other aspects. For example throughout the scene a shaky camera is used, this is often paired with a canted angle on many of the shots, this expresses the fact that prison is life is perhaps twisted compared to reality. The shaky camera work could also be interpreted as depicting the raw, savage nature of prison and generally making the scene seem more real in the style almost of a documentary. The camera work also makes it evident that other aspects of prison life are twisted, such as the status of guards and inmates. As well as the dialogue between the two wardens when the older of the two tells his partner not to ‘see things’ and to ‘let the head inmate run things’, the camera reflects this as it is a high angle shot on both of the guards whereas when looking at the black thug it is a low angle shot, this backs up the representation of prison being unjust. Throughout the scene the camera tracks Ben, whilst doing this it uses shot reverse shot to look at other inmates reaction to him, this gives the sense of how alone Ben is and how prison is a lonely place. Another technique to show the isolation of his character is during the fight, when he gets thrown to the floor a close up shot on his face is used this not only shows us the distressed emotion on his face and relates back to the representations of prison being unpleasant but also shows only him in shot which to me shows how lonely he is in prison.
Another close up is used on the character ‘hooch’ just after it is revealed that he betrayed Ben, this is used again to show the emotion on his face this time however it is regret however he still looks distressed at this emotion which ties in with the representations created. After this a shot reverse shot is used to show Ben’s reaction to the news and again to show Hooch’s emotion both of which tie in with the representations listed earlier, particularly the perhaps the idea of prison being unjust and savage. The fact that the pace of editing speeds up during the fight not only reflects the actions that are occurring but create a hysterical feel about the situation by continuously building up speed, this I find expresses the representation of prison being obviously a violent place but also a savage one.
The sound and music is vital as much as any other aspects especially when trying to create atmosphere and a sense of verisimilitude, it is also important when creating representations of people and places. In the first shot you see a silhouette of Ben walking down a hallway about to enter the prison, his footsteps are amplified here which creates the idea of him being alone and isolated from everyone else as it sounds almost like an echo when he walks. The scene also begins with the score that runs through the whole scene, to begin with it is eerie and has a threatening feel about it, this backs up two representations listed, the threatening aspect relates to the violent representation and the eerie aspect links in with the lonesome representations. The score serves as incidental music in this scene as it portrays the atmosphere and the on screen actions, when the fight begins the score changes and a tribal drum beat is brought in by slowly increasing the volume until the height of the fight when the music is at the height of its volume. The use of a tribal drum beat ties in with the savage nature of prison, if you pair this with the jeering and whistling of the other inmates it really creates a savage and violent environment and relates to our representations. However the fight and music stops abruptly at the point when hooch punches the bald thug that is fighting with Ben, this relates to the violent, savage and unjust representations as it shows the only way violence can be stopped in prison is by using violence, the fact that the music stops as well backs this up. After it is revealed that Hooch betrayed Ben the score returns similar to one that opened the scene with the same threatening and eerie sense about it, this again serves as incidental music and creates the lonely and unjust feeling again as Ben has no one to trust and the eerie score reflects this.
Perhaps the most obvious of the techniques used to create representations is mise en scene and in this scene it is used as effectively as each of the other aspects of filming. The opening shot shows walking down a hallway into the prison, the prison is pitch black yet the prison is bright so it creates a silhouette from behind, this creates the feeling almost of a gladiator or boxer going into the fight and thus relates to the representations of prison as a violent place but also the silhouette creates the sense of Ben being alone. Once into the main prison area it is very bright and all the walls are white pair this with the grey clothes most of the inmates are dressed in you get this feeling of prison being a cold place, the dull colours create an unpleasant representation of prison. However some of the characters are dressed in slightly different costume, for instance the ‘black thug’ is dressed in slightly darker clothing than everyone else, this relates to Propp’s character theory and portrays him as the villain. Also Hooch is dressed in a cardigan, this makes him look like even more of an older person and perhaps the more paternal figure as he saves Ben from being beating up. The man that Ben ends up fighting is dressed in a tracksuit and has no hair on his head, this makes him look more ‘thuggish’, the way the wardens are made up reflects their characters the older one has a beard and seems to me more weathered this would tie in with the dialogue he is saying to the younger one as he is advising him on what to do. The younger warden is made to look younger, more innocent and naive by being clean shaving and having a well kept hair cut, both of the guards costume and make up relates to the representations of prison being unjust as they are made to look less threatening and not in control.
