Macro essay

        The time frame I will be looking at is 3.10-14.10. At the exposition of the film the audience can see a view in long shot of Los Angeles in 2019 as a dystopia. We draw in from a panoramic long shot to Deckard, who is in the dark city with the black sky and rain, which builds up atmosphere of the horrible place. Also in the scene the audience can see lots of tower blocks with fire, which we can assume gives an innuendo of hell. During the long shot there are three shots of a close up eye. These shots emphasize the importance of the eye during the film. The eye is used as a way of telling humans if a person is a replicant or a human being as the replicants cannot feel emotion. The film continues development. The generic convention of a sci-fi featured in the film is the spacecraft and the buildings which could be mistaken for motherboards on the inside of a computer. The generic convention of a film in the film noir genre is the characters faces partially obscured by darkness and in the shot where it flicks which is a disorientation device as well as wide lenses shots and low angle shots these conventions are fulfilled with the coinciding image of a man in a room. The man is smoking a cigar which is another convention as the atmosphere is smokey and eerie. Another man walks in to the room and there is a shot of all the technology including computers and machines. The man claims that he wishes to test the other mans emotions. Whilst the tests are carried out a selection of LS’s and MS’s are used. However when the man being tested suddenly picks up a gun and shoots the tester the camera zooms in. The shot once again cuts rapidly to the exterior and the setting appears to look like Japan and has an oriental theme. A CU shows Harrison Ford’s character, Rick Deckard reading a paper amidst bright light. A low angle shot, popular in the film noir genre shows the futuristic technology ridden buildings. The rain and smoke adds to the mysterious effect. When the police appear and remove Deckard in a helicopter-like machine the audience can see a view of the city. When the men arrive at an office it is typical of film noir with 1940’s style décor and both men wear long detective style coats. CU’s of the characters talking are shown as the characters smoke cigars. A blue gel is used in the viewing room when Deckard and the detective are watching a clip of information about replicants on the projector. Once again the atmosphere is smokey and itillustrates that the interior of the buildings such as the detective’s office has generic conventions of film noir whereas meanwhile the exterior like the outside world of the buildings, streets and the café were Deckard was sitting before he was “arrested”  are stereotypical of a sci-fi film.

        The film is a hybrid genre as it is not only a sci-fi and film noir but also part of the crime sub genre. Typical generic conventions of a sci-fi film often include a futuristic setting or perhaps space-like, as well as dark lighting and harsh shadows. Although this film does not include space in the setting other generic themes are in place which shows that the film is a typical sci-fi film. Other generic conventions within the mise-en-scene elements include the futuristic props and setting, such as the retro-futuristic clothes and also the advanced technology used. As part of the audience I would expect aspects such as these to appear in the film and I would believe it to be a conventional sci-fi and film noir film.