When Banquo and his son Fleance are talking just before they retire for the night, Banquo says to his son “How goes the night, boy?” and Fleance replies “The moon is down; I have not heard the clock”. At this point in my film I will have them both standing in the courtyard of the castle looking up at in the night sky. I will use a long shot angle so I get the castle in the shot as well. The weather at this point shall be drizzly and cold, cold enough to see their breath on the air. When Banquo shouts “Who’s there” and Macbeth replies “A friend” I will have a loud clap of thunder take place. I will do this to show the dramatic irony which takes place because Macbeth is no real friend to Banquo because of what he has planned for Duncan. When Macbeth accidentally meets Banquo and Fleance in the castle, I think Banquo has a feeling that something horrific is going to take place, when he say’s proven “Give me my sword”. Normally I don’t think that Banquo would be so jumpy in the home of his best friend. To show Banquo’s feeling’s at this time I will use a high angle shot which will show Banquo as being seen as one of the victims of Macbeth’s master plan. When Macbeth and Banquo are together on set I will use an eye level shot on both of them. This will show that once they were both friends.
I will now set about casting the characters in my film. For Macbeth I will want a man who looks as if he is a good man on the surface but deep down is evil. He needs to be able to show his dark side as well as his innocent and victim side at different times. For example his darkest words in the scene are “I go, and it is done; the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven, or to hell.” This passage is what Macbeth says to Duncan before he murders him. A case of Macbeth’s guiltless side is “Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?” This quotation shows that Macbeth can be easily spooked by things and is not always evil. The person who will play Macbeth needs to be able to blend both of the above to make the characterization a success.
The character of Banquo I want to be seen as an innocent, kind human being who always has other people’s feelings at heart. I wish for the audience to see Banquo getting more and more from when he and Fleance are talking at the start of the scene. Towards the end of the scene I want Banquo and Fleance to still seem innocent but we can tell they are starting to suspect Macbeth of getting up to something. In the script Fleance’s age is not stated so I wish him to be a teenager. This is because he will not be as easy for Macbeth to manipulate him as if he was younger. The physical features of Fleance shall be tall and looking like a born warrior, being very much like his fathers son.
The music and clothes of my film shall both be old fashioned and traditional. Music will be used in places such as at the start of the scene where Banquo says to his son “And she goes down at twelve” Fleance replies “I take ’t, ‘tis later, sir.” The kind of music which I would want to be played in the background is classical. I want music at this particular part because this scene takes place shortly after the feast which Macbeth had especially put on for Duncan. This is another example of dramatic irony because Macbeth goes to all lengths to put on a feast for Duncan when he knows full well that it will be his last meal of his life. Macbeth’s feast is like Jesus’ last supper. The clothing I have chosen to remain traditional not modern because I think the clothing of the characters will compliment the language used. I think if I had the clothing of the characters changed to modern style, the language and other ideas would seem out of place.
As I stated in my introduction I will allow modern special effects to contribute in my film. A part where special effects could help would be where Macbeth starts to hallucinate and sees a dagger floating before him. The quote is “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come let me clutch thee” When this happens on my film I will have Macbeth constantly trying to grab the dagger but as he tries and tries the dagger moves away from him into the direction of Duncan’s chamber. When Macbeth sees the dagger floating before him I will have the camera at a first person view so the audience will see it through Macbeth’s eyes. I think this will be more effective than the audience watching Macbeth trying to grab a floating dagger.
Lighting is another major part of any film, for example whether to have a room light or dark. When Macbeth is about to murder King Duncan I will have a shadow over half of his face. This will symbolise Macbeth being half good and half evil and will remind the audience of “Fair is foul and foul is fair” which is what the witches told Macbeth at the start of the play. Another way I could use shadows at the same time would be do put a shadow moving up Duncan’s body-as more words are said the more shadow covers him. This will enhance the evil feeling within the script. When the shadow reaches Duncan’s face I will move to a close of his eyes, so it will seem as if Duncan is starring at the audience.
All the points which I have raised will come together to portray Macbeth on film in the way I perceive it. My version of Macbeth Act 2 Scene 1 may not be everyone’s favourite choice but I’m sure the audience would enjoy the way in which modern techniques and an old fashioned setting are blended together to give them an insight them into how people may have lived in those days, and help them to appreciate the work of William Shakespeare in an interesting and entertaining way.
By Mark Woodcock
