A Clockwork Orange
"The Music Shop"
I choose to do the music store scene from A Clockwork Orange. This scene has alway stood out to me because of the way the future is interpreted between the decor, lighting, and even music. Even though this scene uses long continuous shots, the information that they include and tell about the movie makes more of an impact than is seen on the surface.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cinematographer: John Alcott
This is a setup shot for the scene. It’s a medium shot of a character that comes into play later in the scene. We establish that the characters are in a shinny and colorful interpretation of a futuristic music shop.
Protagonist enters centered in a wide shot with
a fixed camera position. There is a bright light near Alex in the center of the
frame that draws our eye to him. He is also wearing an outfit and walking in
manner far more proper than anyone else in the scene.
Alex is now framed in a medium long shot as the
camera tracks his walk around the store. We see the music store in the same time
as Alex. We also see the continued use of the shinny, chrome atmosphere to give
us a futuristic feel.
We see the introduction of more shoppers in the
store showing the multiple vendors as well. This shows that the store Alex is
in is a busy place, full of strangers.
Alex looks off camera at a vendor and slows down.
The continuous track shot begins to move faster than Alex. On the opposite side
of the vendor there are colorful blank wall panels, it doesn’t distract us with
another busy vendor desk but it adds to the décor.
Alex slows and the shot changes to a medium long
shot. He keeps looking at the camera and keeps his strong walking pose while he
reaches to steal a magazine from the vendor. This makes him come off as
confident along with the slight halo effect created by the harsh lighting on
the back wall.
Alex casually flips through the magazine and
keeps walking around the store. He keeps pace with the camera holding the
medium long shot.
Alex’s pace lags again when he sees someone has
noticed he’s stolen something. His lag puts him in a long shot even though he
doesn’t stop moving.
This is the last part of the scene where the
shot of Alex is a long shot. This is also where the camera track comes to an
end and pans with Alex as he walks to the counter. The continued use of lens
flares gives the entire scene a slightly softer and cleaner feel.
Alex completes his full circle walk-around of
the store, and comes to the counter where he encounters the girl from the
opening shot and her friend. Again the
use of light to draw our attention to the main focus, the girl Alex is about to
meet, is used. Bold patterns are also used in this way, such as the decoration
on the ceiling. Alex also begins to move out of the center of the frame, which
he has solely been in since the start of the scene.
Alex notices the two girls standing at the music
counter for the first time. Alex and the girls are lined up based on the
rule-of-thirds. The store clerk exits frame so our entire focus is on the other
characters.
We do a 180 flip on the action, and now view the
scene from behind the counter. Alex continues to look at the two girls very
intently. We see the linking between the three characters in their clothing
colors. Alex is wearing a purple and white coat, while one girl is wearing a
completely purple dress and the other is wearing a completely white dress.
One of the two girls notices Alex looking at
them. The Top Ten music sign frames one side of the shot, and the two lines on
the store counter point to the two main areas of focus in this shot, Alex and
the girls. We also see the continued use of bright lights and lens flares to
create the feeling of a future society.
The camera moves closer in, giving a true medium
shot. Alex stands behind the girls, still intently looking, as he is about to
move in between them and to center frame as the main focus in this scene.
Alex steps in between the two girls to the dead
center of the frame. The conversation in this scene is between Alex and the
girl in purple so the bright light is placed between them.
Alex leans in closer to the girl in purple and
gives the scene and conversation a more intimate feel. The girl in white
doesn’t pay attention to the conversation yet which lets us know that there is
still more to come in the conversation.
The static shot holding on the conversation puts
all of the focus on what is being said. Rightfully so because the language used
in this movie is a strange variation of English. Alex leans in even closer to
make a joke about the popsicle.
In this shot of the scene the girl in purple
leans in towards Alex for the first time showing that she is warming up to his
advances. All throughout this scene the three keep riffing through the music
selection to keep them tied into the setting.
Alex leans in and licks one of the popsicles,
which breaks a stranger barrier. This is a slightly sexual motion that foreshadows
the next scene where Alex brings the two girls home.
The second girl finally looks up at Alex and
takes interest in the conversation. When she looks up she leans in further
drawing our attention to the physical closeness of the three characters in the
shot.
This is the last shot in the scene. Alex pulls
the girls in close to the center of the frame with him, leaving a good bit of
space on the outside edges of the frame on the opposite sides of the girls.
