Joker. Directed by Todd Phillips 2019.
I have chosen this image because of the creative usage of colour grading. This scene is timestamped at one of the most important points of the film, this is after the joker kills 3 Wall Street traders and takes off to hide. In this scene there is a significance to the colours reflecting against the wall. The two main colours are yellow and blue. Most commonly the references that come with yellow are either “happiness and sunshine” or deceit and cowardice. We commonly see yellow in the film when Arthur is by himself or feels comfortable with himself. Whereas blue represents the society around him. In this scene we see Arthur transforming in and out of these two perspectives, shown through interpretive dance.
I have decided to use this scene to represent the use of makeup in this scene. In This film we don’t see a spectacle of special effects. There are small moments in the film that use makeup and special effects to its advantage, doing this pulls the audience in with small but extremely violent and realistic makeup looks and effects.
I have decided to use this scene to represent the usage of composition. In this scene there are two characters (Arthur Fleck and Hoyt Vaughn) the placement of both characters is very strategical as to keep the audience’s eye on all aspects of the scene. There is a triangle created with Arthur, Hoyt, and the small clown figurine at the bottom of the desk. Hoyt is placed at a lower angle compared to Arthur which gives the audience the impression that Arthur is a looming figure, a personification of the criminality in Gotham.
I have chosen to use this clip to represent verisimilitude in this film. In this scene we see Arthur shoot Murray point-blank in the head. This is a favourable example of verisimilitude, as we see the bullet penetrate Murray’s head on screen. If this were an off-screen death the audience would have a harder time believing Arthur’s insanity. An on-screen death will always shock the audience.
I have picked this scene to represent Lowkey Lighting. In this clip we can see Arthur in his “alter ego” The Joker. Arthur is just after killing a man in his apartment and has succumb to his illness. The use of Lowkey lighting in this scene foreshadows oncoming terror, (which does come in the next few minutes) The use of lowkey lighting gives the audience a sense of fear.
This scene is used to represent location filming. This specific scene was filmed at the West 167th Street Step Stairs in the Bronx. Many viewers from New York City or anyone that has knowledge on NYC will recognise these stairs. Location filming is important as using notable locations such as NYC (which Gotham was based on) gives a more authentic feel to the film
This scene is used to represent sound-stages. Todd Philips was creative in his use of sound in this film. For a sequence in which Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is beaten up by three Wall Street suits on a subway car, the sound gets more sinister as the scene progresses. It was building the scene, starting at a normal atmosphere and then amping it up as the torment increased on Arthur. In a way the usage of sound in this film is a separate character itself, almost representing the chaos that is in Arthurs’s head.