A Touch of Evil

Watch the opening of A Touch Of Evil (1958), directed by Orson Welles.

Discuss how the cinematography contributes to the telling of the story and the build up of suspense.

The opening sequence is one continuous shot on a crane (crane shot). However the cinematography changes throughout the shot.

A close up shot is used to focus on the activation of a bomb. This creates enigma straight away for the audience and creates expectations for the narrative. A tracking shot is then used to follow the character to the car which also creates enigma. The audience are almost forced to identify with this character as we join him on his journey, though we see he is the villain.

After the bomb is put in the car, the camera zooms out to an establishing shot to show the setting. It also uses a high angle shot which creates a CCTV effect- the audience are almost spying on the characters in the car, which could make us identify with the character who planted the bomb. This might disorientate the audience because we are seeing every thing as if we are joining the villain.

Throughout we lose the subject matter of the mise-en-scene (the car). The camera zooms out of the car or it goes out of view. This creates enigma and almost teases the audience because they know what is inside the car and they have expectations for what might happen, such as the car exploding.

Consider how the cinematography and the music and sound work together.

The use of sound bridge helpes move the plot forward. From the close up shot of the bomb, a female character laughing is herd from the distance, and the camera pans to the couple. This introduces the audience to important characters of the opening sequence.

When the bomb is being planted the non diegetic music is parallel because it fast paced with ticking and clicking sounds. This signifies the rush and excitement of the character planting the bomb and the sound of the bomb itself.

When the car starts the music is interrupted by a more relaxed style of music. This could signify that the couple in the car have no idea what is about to happen. It could also signify an interruption that might happen for the audience…an exploding bomb!

As the crane shot zooms out from the car diegetic sounds of the hustle and bustle of the town overpower the music in the car. This sound is parallel to the camera movement. It could signify that they want to draw attention away from the focus point, again to tease the audience, enigma codes.