scene analysis

The video opposite is a scene from a BBC series called Sherlock.

The scene involves Sherlock ( a clever, arrogant yet strangely likable man) meeting his partner Ben Watson (a soldier recently returned from Afghanistan) for the first time.  Sherlock seems to know everything about Ben Watson although he has never met him in his life.

• how many shots/frames are there in the scene?- there are 52 shot/frame changes throughout the scene
• What kind of shots/frames are there?- OSS- over-the-shoulder, CU- close-up, MCU- medium close-up, MS- Mid-shot and a two-shot. movement shots- Zooming/zoom out, Tracking, follow and arc. see link- http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/
• How do the actors "cheat" the shoots?- they moderate their gestures to keep them in frame, they don't over act close-ups and they stand closer together when talking.
• What are the actors vocal skills like?- The vocal skills are brilliant in this scene, the intonation, volume, pronunciation and pitch all suit their characters and can be picked up by the microphone.
• How detailed are the actors performances?- They are very detailed as it is the first glimpse of the characters personalitys when they are placed together, you get a real sense of the personalitys and emotions of the characters through their perfromances e,g, Ben Watson is obviously emotionally damaged from being in Afganistan, and he is quite patient and leniant as he keeps calm in the presence of Sherlock. The actors show this through detailed facial expression, movement and vocal tone.

• Why do you think the actors’ performances are appropriate for film/TV acting?- they act fully in character, they don't over-act (so it looks natural and believable), they use vocal skills appropriate for the microphone and their use of facial expression is great.
• Can you explain what you think is good about the actors performances, and why you think this? - I believe their performances to be good as they have interpreted their characters brilliantly, they manage to portray this through facial expression and vocal tone e.g when Sherlock is unknowingly being rude to Molly about her lipstick, his voice becomes slightly patronising and his facial expression shows that he doesn't realise how offencive he has just been. They never come out of character and they are always completely focused.
• Can you explain how you would have performed the scene differently, and why?- I found it incredibly difficult to come up with an answer to this question as they performed it so well. I think I would have performed Ben Watson slightly more uncomfortably especially when Afganistan was mentioned (as this would bring back emotional memories for him). But all of the actors captured their characters brilliantly so I wouldn't have changed much.