The first sequence of “In the Heat of the Night” film is significant in its use of cinematic resources. The composition, music, sound, mise-en-scene and editing aspects have been used well to develop its story and make its thematic points.
The sound stands to be a more powerful aspect of the film in the selected sequence, and this has analyzed the dialogue and sound effects as guided by Stilwell (2019). The film has used sound effects and dialogue so that the two go together well to help us perceive and understand the world of this film itself. The sound in the film mainly relates to the main characters as it has translated into their behaviour. The sound effects and the involved dialogues make the audience hear what is being said by the involved characters and are thus crucial in developing the story. The sound of silence has been used in the film and thus has enabled us to understand the character, Virgil being calm and one who listens before talking.
Based on the mise en scene aspect, the film’s set design, lighting, and the actors have come together to bring what is impressive to the audience, as guided by Sabol (2018). Nevertheless, this sequence appears the events took place at night; thus, some things are not seen due to darkness. The costuming and makeup of everything that appeared in front of a camera in this scene are perfect, thus enabling the film to be considered to have used the cinematic resources to tell its defined story. The director worked tirelessly to put and incorporate the real-life events in this film by using things commonly used in real life.
In the beginning sequence of this film, great use of cinematic resources has enabled the film to tell its story so that the viewer will understand the message passed in the film. The film opens with a great air of mystery of the outsiderness trying to wind its way into one of the small towns in Mississippi known as Sparta. Images of the railroad crossing that is tinged with blue and red lights fill the screen as Ray Charles sings the title song of this film. The train appears to have arrived, and the entire composition of the film has been developed well to tell a story of one man carrying a briefcase, and his face is not shown at first. The excellent composition of the film has enabled this man to be marked as slightly different from others, and the use of art direction shows that this man has just stepped off the train.
The images that appear to follow immediately are represented in a way that reflects their emphatic sense of texture and temperature that prompt the audience to make implications about where the film was developed, as guided by Fullerton (2018). Its sense of texture implies that the film was developed in a small, shaggy town. In this film, camera angles are not more significant because the camera movements seem modern to the viewer and, in a way, presented just like any other ordinary standard full-length feature film. Nevertheless, in taking some images, such as making steps while stepping out of the train, the camera angles appear vastly different from the standard frames. The whole sequence of shots makes this scene dramatic, and the audience is an increased urge to know what will happen next. The camera choices have helped in a way to attain this. It is through the excellent composition of how things unfold without repeating some movements and situations that make the film draws attention to this sequence. The proper matching with each character helps the film stand out in telling its story, as guided by Stilwell (2019).
The film uses music in this sequence to tell its story and make its thematic points. The music in this movie’s beginning, when Virgil is at the train station, can be perceived as a sense of suspense and mystery. The musicality of this film at this point gives the audience what to anticipate next by playing this particular music at the beginning of the film. Based on its composition, the way Virgil is presented, wearing a suit and carrying his briefcase, gives the audience a certain feeling of how some people dressed during that time. This is along with the police officers who are seen wearing their uniforms and badges. All this has been set up to help the audience give the most appropriate persona of the modern Western during the decade when this film was made (1967).
Cinematic resources based on the film’s composition have been utilized well based on how the film has been edited. This film’s editor has put the entire film together from all the scenes. Proper flow of the events without repetition, contradiction, sense of unnecessary acts, laughs, and reactions is the work of proper editing done in this film. Proper editing and use of real-life situations have been set up well in this film to make the audience believe that what they see is real is what happens in real life. The composition of the film is designed in a way that helps the audience realize that Virgil, an African American man, faces discrimination in this sequence.
References
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