Hunt Tempest
09/16/12
Lit and Film 7
John Anderton in a Freezing Cold Bath Tub
Imagine, holding your breath under
freezing cold water to avoid being caught for a murder you haven’t even
committed yet. In Minority Report, John Anderton, the main
character, is in that situation. In this frame, he is the subject. Notice how he is hiding off to the right and how that heat
seeking spider is off to the left.
Even though John is not in the middle of the frame, we are drawn to him because he is in a suspenseful situation.
John, in the bathtub, and the robotic spider
are in the foreground because they are the subjects of the shot. Yet the background is not blurry. In the image, the director wants us to see both John and the spider because we
want to see if John can hold his breath until the spider finds him and walks away. The scene is dark and cold. John is in a freezing cold ice-filled bathtub, while
the robot is in a dark area.
In this frame, there is a bright blue
light highlighting the tub, a strip of light on the floor, and a dark corner. The tub is lit because it is the main focus.
The directors want us to feel what John feels. Since the light is blue, the frame
conveys that he is ice cold. He
is wearing a dark blue muscle shirt and the light makes his body pale so that
he looks cold. The spider, which is off to the side of the room, shines a small spotlight in front of it. Both lights, in the bathtub and with the spider, grabs our attention.
The high angle shot shows us the
entire bathtub and most of the floor.
With this shot, we can see John, with his eyes blindfolded, holding his breath under the ice water. We can also see the spider scanning the room, sensing that someone or something is there. The lighting makes the
scene scary and makes the viewer feel the tension. When the spider is walking up to the tub, the viewers are silently yelling: “Don’t go there!” The shot makes the viewers' hearts beat faster and they get that energy of suspense running through them.
The clothes, lighting, and
background make us understand the situation. The color blue throughout the shot, such as the water and his dark blue shirt, makes us
feel cold. The room is bland,
cold, dark, and hard. There are no
towels, rugs, or anything soft or comfortable in the shot. Overall the scene is meant to be dark, cold and very suspenseful. Will John be
caught or will he be safe?
