For my extract I got to dissect a few scenes from the series Game of Thrones. After viewing the extract I concluded that the theme the director was trying to convey is that what you seek is not simply given. You must earn it and justify your right to it. You cannot expect something to be given to you just because you feel entitled to it.
The theme of the overall extract was slightly introduced in scene one. Scene one starts off by using an aerial shot to introduce that the actors location and scenery was on a boat in the middle of the ocean. During this scene the lighting is very low key, as if they were traveling for a long time and they arrived when the sun was starting to go up. The boat is the first prop we see, it creates the idea that they were transporting to somewhere. It is paired with the diegetic sound of the boat traveling through the water and the sound of the crew members doing their jobs. It then switches to an eye level two shot, with a zoom into a medium close up, with an eyeline match edit; we can see that the actors are male and they’re wearing draped medieval style clothing. Those camera movements and shots showed that all their focus was on what was in front of them because that was where they were going to get the resources they needed. The costumes asserted their title, it showed that the two men were in leadership. This relates to the overall concept of him being the captain and thinking he is capable of leading a whole kingdom and getting the title of king, because he leads his crew members, despite barely being able to provide for them. The eyeline match edit helped to create the idea that the two men were looking at something that made them kind of anxious, it showed that they were awaiting the moment that they’d get to pitch, why they deserve the resources they seek. The eyeline match then went on to show that the characters were looking at the island in front of them, this was shown through an establishing shot. During the establishing shot we can also see a few more props like a statue and boats, these were added to create the idea that they were approaching a rich kingdom. From the two shot, with a zoom into a medium close up, to the establishing shot we hear a non diegetic sound, background music, which then goes into a sound bridge that creates a smooth and suspenseful transition to what’s about to happen in the next scene.
The theme of the overall extract was mainly introduced in scene two. Scene two starts off with a sound bridge and a jumpcut from the previous scene. The jumpcut showed that the time passed from when they were on the boat to them being in a different location with a brighter, but still low key, lighting, while the sound bridge connected the end of the previous scene and the beginning of this one. The wide two shot and medium shot of the two men who were on the boat was paired with dialogue to create the idea that the men were waiting for someone. The dialogue between the two men established the idea that the more superior man was impatient and upset that the other people were late, it also showed that he felt as if he was too superior to wait on others. The establishing shot of the set design showed that the new location was a medieval style meeting room. A low angle shot paired with a diegetic sound of both men turning to face the door and a cutaway edit of when it began to open, showed that the person they were waiting for had finally arrived. The three shot of the three men walking through the door and to their seats made them seem dominant to the guy who was waiting for them; it also showed that the guy in the middle was important because he had people on each side of him, and he was going all the talking. The medium close up on both men and the close up on his leader “Stannis,” showed that he was unsure about whether he should sit or not. The main prop in this scene is the table and the chair, the table separates the two groups of men by who has more authority, while the chair suggests that they are about to have a serious conversation. You could also see that them telling him to sit, made him seem as if he is less than them. The wide shot of the “Stannis” sitting showed that he was kind of defeated, it showed that he obeyed them because he wanted something. The point of view shot during the dialogue of the man introducing his leader, placed focus on what the man was saying, it established why Stannis felt like he was so entitled. The medium close up on the more superior man speaking shows that he disagreed with the titles that Stannis was given because the titles were already taken. It then goes from a two shot of Stannis and his right hand man discrediting the current king to a close up and reaction shot of the more superior man’s face as he feels like he is being fed lies and Stannis isn’t worthy of his time.
Scene two consists of a lot of dialogue between the actors. The dialogue of this scene is mainly executed through a shot/reaction shot of Stannis, his right hand man, and the man with the gold to give. The dialogue is very important because it establishes the overall theme the director is conveying. The dialogue establishes the idea that the man by the name of Stannis feels entitled to the other men's gold because of his blood right, but he hasn’t proven why he as a person deserves the support of those men, because they want more than titles, they want numbers. He hasn’t proven why he should be trusted with the gold or why he’s worthy of it, he just thought that by him saying he was the rightful leader and discrediting others then he would be rewarded. The shot then switches from a medium shot of the man discussing Stannis current issue with not being able to provide for the men who remain loyal to him, to a two shot of Stannis and his right hand man trying to defend themselves to a close up and shot/reverse shot between Stannis’s and his right hand man’s face to show that they realized his quest failed and the. The scene then proceeds with a wide two shot of both men, this shows that they are out of ideas and are frustrated that they aren’t being granted what they asked for. The close up of Stannis' face shows that he feels disrespected that he's being called a thief. A wide two shot of Stannis’s right hand man shows that he supports his leader. He also demonstrates that Stannis is an honest man by showing his hand with missing fingers, this was executed through the use of special effects makeup, which was his punishment from “King” Stannis. The ending of the extract consist of dialogue between the man who vowed for Stannis and the guy with the gold, close ups of Stannis and his right hand man , medium shots of the guy who owns the gold iron bank, and shot reverse shots between Stannis’s right hand man and the guy who owns the gold bank. All these shots were used as a way to enhance the theme through the dialogue. They showed the expressions of the actors and how they felt about what was being said.
To sum it up, the extract establishes my theme about how you cannot expect something to be given to you just because you feel entitled to it. I chose this theme because in the second scene the dialogue is mainly about how he feels he should be loaned gold so he can use it to become king but he doesn’t give them a valid reason on why he should be trusted, he just feels entitled because he was born with royal blood, and due to him not having the best track record they deny him what he seeked . The xextract used a great amount of dialogue, props, set designs, two shots, medium shots, close ups, wide shots, cutaways, shot/reverse shots, reaction shots, and many more to properly execute the overall theme. If the film didn’t have any of the camera angles, shots, lights, sounds, editing, and mise en scene mentioned, then it would not have made sense. Without these terms the film wouldn’t be as good, it would be missing it’s spark.
