I chose to look at this scene because it is a key scene in the film. This is the first time that the children meet Olaf and where the main storyline develops from. This scene introduces Olaf and his motives and just his character in general and so it is key to us getting to know him. It is also an interesting scene in terms of visuals with a distinct, almost surreal style/mood being created.
In this scene there are 5 characters. The main characters in this scene and in the film are Count Olaf and the three baudelaire children, Violet, Klaus and Sunny. Another character that features in this scene is Mr. Poe, the banker in charge of the children's estate.
Count Olaf:
Olaf appears for the first time in this scene and instantly appears to be a strange person. Even from the beginning of the scene when he says "intrude" instead of "enter" we perceive him to be a strange character. This is echoed for the rest of the scene as he acts his way through it. He doesn't even know the children's names without looking at a sheet and it even takes him two times to acknowledge the death of the parents. He also accidentally lets slip that he is only after the baudelaire fortune. This immediately puts us and the children off of him and we know he is not to be trusted.
The Baudelaire children:
Violet, Klaus and Sunny are three unique children with their own unique skills. In this scene they first meet the person with whom they may spend the rest of their lives with so they are understandably offish with their new carer. Violet refuses to properly shake Olaf's hand and throughout the scene we can see on their face's that they are uneasy and unsure as to whats happening. Although we don't understand her we can tell by the pitch of her voice that Sunny is also unhappy with Olaf.
Setting:
This scene is set in Count Olaf's mansion. The mansion itself is very run down with bare walls and torn wall paper and lots of dirt throughout the main entrance hall in which this is set. This house is very different to the large, clean mansion in which the children grew up in so it is understandable that they are wary of this new environment.
This room is also very crowded and packed full of columns and windows. There are also lots of decorations such as candles, tables, photos etc. These create and uneasy feeling as there is so much for us to look at.
The large amount of windows provide the main lighting for the scene although there are two or three lights that aren't very bright in the room.
In terms of the story, this scene takes place towards the beginning of the film and this is where the main storyline begins to develop from.
Mis-en-scene:
In this scene the dominant feature throughout its entirety is Count Olaf. He occupies the frame most out of any object or character being in direct centre most of the time.
The objects in the room that draw our attention mainly focus around eyes. From windows, to steps, to columns and pretty much everywhere in between there is a distinct focus on the imagery of eyes which doesn't stop throughout the entirety of the scene. These object and images fill the screen when Olaf or the children are in focus with them being in the centre of the frame on many occasions. Even the eye tattoo on Olaf's ankle gets its own shot. Also, the first thing we see in this scene is the large eye on the door. These eyes immediately get us thinking and we find out why at the end.
Another thing that comes in to focus is the childish drawings on Olaf's hand which point out which child is which. This really shows he doesn't care for the children as he doesn't even bother to learn who is who.
There is also so hints to the idea of acting apart from the obvious actions and dialogue from Olaf such as the curtains draped behind his head when he does a second take at acting out his sadness of the parents dying.
The lighting of the scene comes mainly from the numerous windows in the room and the whole house is quite brightly lit. The shafts of light could be seen as a spot light, again leading back to the idea of 'acting'
Camera Work:
The camera work in this scene works well to create quite a slow pace to the scene. The shots are made up of a lot of slow zooms and pans and just quite long shots in general. The camera are set up on tracks or just stay in one point so there is no handheld footage.
The camera also helps to establish dominance in the scene with Olaf beginning shot from beneath for a lot of scenes.
Shot list:
Shot 1: Close up of eye on door - slow zoom
Shot 2: Close up of eye on other door - slow zoom
Shot 3: Long shot of children
Shot 4: Medium shot of Poe
Shot 5: Long shot of them entering
Shot 6: Long upwards shot of Olaf - zooms to mid shot
Shot 7: Close up of Sunny
Shot 8: Mid panning shot of Olaf
Shot 9: Mid shot of children
Shot 10: Long shot of Olaf on stairs
Shot 11: Close up of sunny
Shot 12: Close up of ankle tattoo
Shot 13: Close up of Sunny
Shot 14: Long shot of Olaf
Shot 15: Mid shot of Olaf
Shot 16: Close up of hands
Shot 17: Back to mid shot of Olaf
Shot 18: Mid shot of children
Shot 19: Close up of Violet
Shot 20: Back to mid shot of Olaf
Shot 21: Close up of Klaus
Shot 22: Medium shot of Olaf
Shot 23: Close up of Sunny
Shot 24: Medium shot of Olaf
Shot 25: Close up of Sunny
Shot 26: Close up of Violet
Shot 27: Medium shot of Olaf
Shot 28: Close up of Klaus
Shot 29: Back to medium shot of Olaf
Shot 30: Close up of Klaus and Violet
Shot 31: Mid shot of Olaf
Shot 32: Back to Close up of Klaus and Violet
Shot 33: Close up of Sunny
Shot 34: Mid shot of Olaf
Shot 35: Medium shot of Violet and Klaus
Shot 36: Close up of Olaf
Shot 37: Back to medium shot of Kids
Shot 38: Back to close up of Olaf
Shot 39: Mid shot of Olaf and kids
Shot 40: Medium shot of Mr. Poe
Shot 41: Back to mid shot of Olaf and kids
Shot 42: Medium shot of Mr. Poe
Shot 43: Back to mid shot of Olaf and kids
Shot 44: Medium shot of Mr. Poe
Shot 45: Back to mid shot of Olaf and kids
Shot 46: Medium shot of Mr. Poe
Shot 47: Back to mid shot of Olaf and kids, pans to close up of Olaf and Poe
Shot 48: Medium shot of Olaf and Poe
Shot 49: Mid shot of Violet and Klaus
Shot 50: Mid shot of Olaf, Zoom to close up
Sound:
There is both Dialogue and music in this scene. The majority of dialogue is taken by Count Olaf. He rambles through the scene not really making a lot of sense. In some ways it sounds like he is rehearsing ( or putting on) a play. What he says in this scene plays a pivotal role in the scenes narrative as he lets slip that his true intentions of taking the money. The amount of Dialogue he gets shows that he is the dominant character.
The music helps to keep the pace of the scene. It is very upbeat and almost cartoon like and aids the idea of something unrealistic taking place i.e the fact that Olaf is not what he says he is.
Camera Work:
The camera work in this scene works well to create quite a slow pace to the scene. The shots are made up of a lot of slow zooms and pans and just quite long shots in general. The camera are set up on tracks or just stay in one point so there is no handheld footage.
The camera also helps to establish dominance in the scene with Olaf beginning shot from beneath for a lot of scenes.
Shot list:
Shot 1: Close up of eye on door - slow zoom
Shot 2: Close up of eye on other door - slow zoom
Shot 3: Long shot of children
Shot 4: Medium shot of Poe
Shot 5: Long shot of them entering
Shot 6: Long upwards shot of Olaf - zooms to mid shot
Shot 7: Close up of Sunny
Shot 8: Mid panning shot of Olaf
Shot 9: Mid shot of children
Shot 10: Long shot of Olaf on stairs
Shot 11: Close up of sunny
Shot 12: Close up of ankle tattoo
Shot 13: Close up of Sunny
Shot 14: Long shot of Olaf
Shot 15: Mid shot of Olaf
Shot 16: Close up of hands
Shot 17: Back to mid shot of Olaf
Shot 18: Mid shot of children
Shot 19: Close up of Violet
Shot 20: Back to mid shot of Olaf
Shot 21: Close up of Klaus
Shot 22: Medium shot of Olaf
Shot 23: Close up of Sunny
Shot 24: Medium shot of Olaf
Shot 25: Close up of Sunny
Shot 26: Close up of Violet
Shot 27: Medium shot of Olaf
Shot 28: Close up of Klaus
Shot 29: Back to medium shot of Olaf
Shot 30: Close up of Klaus and Violet
Shot 31: Mid shot of Olaf
Shot 32: Back to Close up of Klaus and Violet
Shot 33: Close up of Sunny
Shot 34: Mid shot of Olaf
Shot 35: Medium shot of Violet and Klaus
Shot 36: Close up of Olaf
Shot 37: Back to medium shot of Kids
Shot 38: Back to close up of Olaf
Shot 39: Mid shot of Olaf and kids
Shot 40: Medium shot of Mr. Poe
Shot 41: Back to mid shot of Olaf and kids
Shot 42: Medium shot of Mr. Poe
Shot 43: Back to mid shot of Olaf and kids
Shot 44: Medium shot of Mr. Poe
Shot 45: Back to mid shot of Olaf and kids
Shot 46: Medium shot of Mr. Poe
Shot 47: Back to mid shot of Olaf and kids, pans to close up of Olaf and Poe
Shot 48: Medium shot of Olaf and Poe
Shot 49: Mid shot of Violet and Klaus
Shot 50: Mid shot of Olaf, Zoom to close up
Sound:
There is both Dialogue and music in this scene. The majority of dialogue is taken by Count Olaf. He rambles through the scene not really making a lot of sense. In some ways it sounds like he is rehearsing ( or putting on) a play. What he says in this scene plays a pivotal role in the scenes narrative as he lets slip that his true intentions of taking the money. The amount of Dialogue he gets shows that he is the dominant character.
The music helps to keep the pace of the scene. It is very upbeat and almost cartoon like and aids the idea of something unrealistic taking place i.e the fact that Olaf is not what he says he is.
