Title of Extract: 24 Gavin Orefice Period 5
This extract of the TV show, 24, revolves around the interrogation of the criminal, Nina. Considering she is a female and her interrogator is a male, an ironic, but intense mood is created within the audience. As the man tries to get the woman to reveal information, he grows angry as she continues to try and manipulate him. Knowing that there is a time bomb in play, he acts unprofessionally out of emotion and attacks the criminal. Thus, the director was trying to show the audience that patience and professionalism can be hard to maintain in tight and stressful situations. He uses several different editing techniques, non-diegetic sounds, and a variety of different shots to do this.
In the beginning of the extract, the director mainly focuses on establishing the situation of the scene. As the male interrogator opens the door, close ups of both characters are used to not only reveal them but to establish the situation's intensity. While the male looks angry and serious, the female criminal looks rather comfortable and relaxed. This helps to create a noticeable contrast between both characters as well as evoke uncertainty within the audience (as it is unusual that there is a female criminal). Before any words are spoken, a zoom in is used to capture a shot of a camera in the back of the interrogation room. Not only does this also help to establish the situation of the scene, it lets the audience know that the interrogation is being supervised. A jump cut that reveals an office scene and the interrogators fellow crew members (who look rather worried) lets the audience know that the investigation is quite serious. After the characters were done giving one another mean stares, words were finally spoken. The sound of the female criminal's voice helped to create a shift in the audience's view of the scene because it confirms that the mastermind is a girl; her words reveal that she has planted a bomb somewhere which adds to the intensity of the situation and the suspense in the audience. An eye-line match between the female criminal and a ticking clock (the sound is non-diegetic) helps build the suspense and intensity by showing the audience that the interrogators are pressed for time and that their patience is running out.
As the extract moves along, dialogue, followed by over the shoulder shots are used to reveal the character's conversation as well as their moods. The female criminal does not want to give the interrogator anything she knows. Instead, she tries to take control of the situation by telling the interrogator that she will help stop the timebomb if the investigation team can fly her to Vecilia. The interrogator doesn't buy into it, so she tries to convince him by implying that it is of her best interest to stop the bomb. This seems to make the interrogator even more angry, and a close up of his angry face followed by a series of jump cuts of the interrogator flipping the desk in the room are used to intensify the situation. The interrogator gets up in the female criminal's face and as soon as this happens, the extract turns to the office, where close ups of two characters in professional/formal attire reveal that they are worried that the interrogation may grow out of hand. An eerie, rather uncertain score is also made present when the scene shifts to the office, contributing to the suspense of this part of the extract as well as the undergoing idea that time is running out.
After the extract shifts back to the interrogation room, the score begins to grow deeper and louder, intensifying the situation as the two characters continue to stare at one another and exchange small words. As the score begins to create more suspense, a close up of the male interrogator reveals that he is far from happy and a close up of the female criminal reveals her lack of seriousness. The female says: "I guess you'll just have to follow my lead." This set of words/dialogue helped to create a major shift in the extract. The suspense that was building finally broke through. The male interrogator had had enough and started choking the female criminal. The chains she is wearing helps to show that she is helpless in the situation. As soon as this happens, a split screen is used by the director to show the audience the office and the interrogation room at the same time. The investigation team is running down the halls of the office, revealing that they are going to separate the two characters and terminate the tension. Once the team appears, the split screen fades and the interrogator, Jack lets the criminal go. A deep, rather defeated score followed by a long shot of the female criminal (the first in the whole extract, the rest were close ups and mid shots) are used to suggest that the tables have flipped/turned. The interrogators' unprofessionalism and lack of patience with the criminal help to close out the extract by peaking its suspense and by consolidating the idea that the investigation is serious.
To recapitulate, the director of this extract was trying to convey that professionalism and patience can be hard to maintain during stressful and tight situations. Considering that this episode revolves around getting the answer to the location of a timebomb, patience is a major theme. The intensity and suspense of this extract are made clear through the actions and expressions of the characters. The dark lighting and setting of the extract help build upon these themes by evoking emotions such as uncertainty into the audience.
