THE ANALYSIS OF A SEQUENCE

By Linglin Tu

Supervisor: Professor Lacasa Daz, M.

Pilar
The University Of Alcal
Faculty in Audiovisual Communication
Date: Dec. 10th, 2015

CONTENTS
I. Introduction.....................................................................................................3
1.1 Where to see the sequence...................................................................3
1.2 The plot of the film <The professional Leon>.......................................3
1.3 The summary of my sequence...............................................................3
1.4 Why I choose the sequence...................................................................3
II. Space..............................................................................................................4
2.1 FG,MG,BG & Perspective & Vanishing point...........................................4
2.2 The camera movement..........................................................................7
2.3 The movement of the object..................................................................8
III. Line & Shape.................................................................................................9
3.1 Linear Motif & Orientation & Direction...................................................9
IV. Shape...........................................................................................................11
V. Tone..............................................................................................................12
VI. Color............................................................................................................14
VII. Sound.........................................................................................................14
VIII. Rhythm......................................................................................................15
IX. Conclusion...................................................................................................16
X. Reference.....................................................................................................16

I. Introduction
1.1 Where to see the sequence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2xTcs3XuYc
<The professional Leon>
It is a 1994 English-language French crime thriller film written and
directed by Luc Besson.
1:59:28-2:00:47

1.2 The plot of the film <The professional Leon>

Leon is an Italian immigrant who fled Italy after having committed a
crime there. He now resides in New York City and is working for the mob boss
"Uncle" Tony. He lives with his favorite plant in a small apartment in the city
next door to a girl he occasionally speaks to whose father is a drug dealer
working with crooked DEA officers. One day when she's out getting groceries
the crooked agents murder her entire family in a botched drug deal and upon

discovering the massacre upon her return home she walks to the end of the
hall to Leon's apartment who let's her into not only his home, but into his life
as well. Soon enough he's teaching Mathilda, a young girl, how to be a
professional hitman in order for her to learn enough to get revenge on the
crooked cops who murdered her family.

1.3 The summary of my sequence

Leon finally made himself escape from all the enemies. However, at
the moment of touching the freedom, he was killed by a gun.

1.4 Why I choose the sequence

The moment when Pilar told us to select one fragment of movies, the
first sequence that comes to my mind is this one. I love the movie so so much.
I choose the ending part of the film because it's so different and
impressive.
To begin with, it is been presented from the first-person perspective
which makes the movie so appealing and moving.
Secondly, the sound is very unique, it's light and peaceful, so a big
contrast is made in comparisons to the story and the death of Leon.
Last but not least, the use of the space interests me. the frame is the
door which means the bright future, it is bigger and bigger along with the
time, then rocked, then leans to the ground. It leaves us much space to
ponder over.

II. Space
Space is a complex visual component. It forms an important part of
art productions. This film isn't an exception. The sequence I chose has applied
many uses of space to show the theme. I will emphasize on the analysis of
the deep space, and in detail, FG,MG,BG, the perspective, the
vanishing point, the object movement and the camera movement.

2.1 FG,MG,BG & Perspective & Vanishing point

Here, the main character, Leon, takes of his mask after a long time of
being chased and running for his life. As an introduction of the character, here
the space is very simple to show the importance of Leon: The foreground
and the background.

Heres another example: The center of the scene is the face of the
main character. Its a good way to show the wounds of him, his exhausted
expression. The space is very clear and neat, doesnt have anything
redundant else.

In my opinion, here comes the scene which adds the most depth of
the movie. Its a deep space, and is clearly divided into three parts: The
foreground, the mid-ground and the background. Its a two-point
perspective because that the character is still in the interior of the building.
The foreground actually belongs to the perspective of the character;
(in other words, the eyes of Leon) the mid-ground is the passage which leads
to the outside; and the background is the outside. There is a vanishing point
in the frame, in the middle of the scene, which, according to what we have
learned in class, adds the very importance of the scene. As is said in the
visual story, Page 37: The audiences attention will usually be drawn to any
on-screen vanishing point. Now our eye is drawn to the vanishing point
between the two walls along with Leon. It is the road to the future, to the
brand new life. As long as Leon can support himself to the exit, he will be free
and have a new beginning.
It is worth noting that there is a blue car and a green tree outside,
actually colors can be used as a depth cue by classifying them into warm
and cool group, so the cool colors here emphasize the length of only route,
also is an implication of the next drama. We will talk it later in the part of

color.
Along with the moving of camera and the steps of Leon, the exit goes
nearing and nearing. It seems that Leon will make it, however, things go
contrary to our wishes.

Here comes a feature of another character, Stansfield. Here the space

is also very simple, which only contains of two parts: The foreground and
the background. But the background is so simple that the frame looks like a
flat space. The men enters the frame from the left side, which represents a
higher significance. Its true, because he will end Leons life with his own
hands.

Then it is obviously that here is the perspective of Stansfield, because

for the first time we can see Leons back. Also its a metaphor that shows from
now on Leons life cant be controlled by himself. We can see that Leon is in
the center of the frame, which means he is also the center of the view of
Stansfield.

From the two scenes, we can get a clear mind. The focus changes. At
first, the focus is on the character, its normal. Then, the focus moves to the
gun, and gradually becomes the center of the frame. The background is
blurred. It implies that theres something going to happen with the gun. As is
said in the visual story, page 71: As a depth cue goes out of focus, it loses its
deep space characteristics and becomes flat or limited space (both are
discussed later in this chapter). A blurred BG may appear more distant from
an in-focus FG, but the result is not deep space. A depth cue can be effective
only if it is in focus.

Here the space is very interesting. It is obviously divided into three

parts. The foreground is the hand with a gun, the mid-ground is Leon and
the background is the exit, which refers to the life. The three things are
almost in one direction. The scene implies the next sad story.

2.2 The camera movement

Due to that most of the sequence is at the perspective of Leon and
Stansfield, the camera moves with theirs steps. There exits an up and down
position. The camera cranes down and dollies in as the foreground actor
walks perpendicular to the picture plane.

Here is a contrast between the furthest and the nearest position

from the exit. We can see the process of approaching.
Also, there is a fierce movement of camera along with the falling of
Leon. It is creative. Theoretically the camera shouldnt move so substantially,

but here is an exception, or better to say, is a show of shooting technique to

show the death of the character in a creative way. As is shown in the
following:

2.3 The movement of the object

The main movement of the object is the walking to the exit. It is so
slow, so deliberate to lengthen the sequence, to show the fatigue of Leon, to
add the heavy sense of the movie and to indicate the end. As Ive discussed
before, I will skip this part.
Then, there is another movement of object.

The character enters in the scene from the left side as Ive talked
about before, then move to the right. Here it is more like a flat space, so it is
related to the principle of contrast & affinity. The scene shows the
importance of the character straightly, and uses a different way (movement of

object, not the camera along with the steps). He is so firmed compared to the
weak Leon. Looks like that he has made his mind to kill Leon, which is the
truth.

III. Line & Shape

As is known to all, line and shape are the most essential elements in
our daily life. All the things around us are made of line and shape. According
to what we have learned in the class, lines can be divided into seven
perceptual types: edge, contour, closure, intersection of planes, imitation
through distance, axis, and track.
Relatively speaking, the skills of line&shape used by the director here
in this sequence arent so much. The scenes are very similar, aiming to add
more significance of the film. But we still can find the clue of the use of line
during watching the sequence. For example, the walking route to the outside
is a hidden line.

3.1 Linear Motif & Orientation & Direction

Any picture can be reduced to simple lines. A pictures linear motif
can be any combination of circular, straight, vertical, horizontal, or diagonal
lines. (The visual story, P. 109)
In the most of the circumstances of this sequence, the lines are
simple and very straight. Or better to say, there no exist curved lines. The
straight lines are associated with these characteristics: direct, aggressive,
bland, ordered, strong, adult and rigid. They indicate the fundamental key
of the sequence.
Speaking of direction, as we have discussed above, the direction of
the main characters are always straight. It is an affinity from shot to shot.

Here, I simply the shot into a point. Point is the simplest element to
make up the line and the shape. The structure is so simple but straight, which
emphasizes the importance directly, without any redundant things.

Here I simply the scene into linear motif to let it be seen more clearly.
The angle of line orientation is vertical, which can make a sharp contrast
between the character and the background.

Here, although the shots themselves are clear enough, I tried to make
them directer. The angle of line orientation is diagonal, which is the most
intense. The two shots mentioned above are successive. They illustrate
affinity of orientation from shot to shot because of the angle of the stationary
lines. The continuous shots use for indicate the fall of Leon from another view.

IV. Shape
Similar to what we have discussed above, limited to the building
itself, most of the shapes appeared in this sequence are straight shape, in
other words, are many kinds of rectangles, to suggest the idea of calm,
bland, ordered, strong and rigid. As is shown in the left. I would like to analyze
the right one in detail.

Here the shape of the exit is a rectangle. It looks so small compared

to the whole space. Adding the open doors makes the exit looks further. It is
situated in the middle of the picture to show the destination of our hero
but also to show that there is still a long way to go.

V. Tone
According to what we have learned in class, tone refers to the
brightness of objects. There are three ways to control the impact of tone,
which are reflective control (art direction), incident control (lighting), and
exposure (camera and lens adjustments).

The director uses some skills to control the tone in the sequence
which Ive chosen. From my perspective of view, tone can render the emotion
of the film. It can also add feelings in a direct way to the audience.
Lets see some examples:

The skills used here are reflective control (art direction) and
incident control (lighting). There no exist other colors except black and
white. The main character wears black clothes, the doors are black,too.
Whats more, because of being inside of the building, the environment is also
dark. However, the outside of the door, which means the new life, is so bright
and full of light. These are contrasty tones. The struggle of the character,
the dark behind the person and the hope in the forward which is waiting for
him, all the emotions are expressed so well by controlling the tone.

In the shot above, the director uses two ways of controlling the tone:
art direction and lighting.
Reflective control: The character wears bright clothes and uses a
silvery gun, which reflexes clearly the light.
Incident control: The scene is shot from the outside of the building,
so there is much natural light fulling on his face.
The two shots mentioned above are successive. From my point of
view, the two shots illustrate the contrast of tone. The darkness and the
brightness, the death and the life.

The sequence emphasizes on the changes of tone. Here is an

example. With the steps to the world outside, more light comes into the
frame, and the scene becomes much more brighter. In the right one is a
feature of Leons face. The perspective of the camera changes, so more light
falls on his face, also enters into his eyes, suggesting his strong desire of
keeping alive, of going for his dear little girl, Mathilda. Also, as Ive talked
before, its a contrast of tone from sequence to sequence.

The three shots are continuous. From my perspective, they are the
most creative and attractive sequence in the whole film, though, every
time I review the sequence, I feel the same heartache. The sequence aims to
show the death of Leon, following the feature shot of the gun. But it presents
the scene in a totally different way-- in the perspective of Leon-- which
makes us feel like we are Leon ourselves. We fall onto the floor with Leon, our
head knocks on the ground heavily, and gradually we cant feel anything,
everything in my horizon is disappearing, the colors are fading...That is the
emotion which the director wants to bring us by controlling the tone.
Here he uses mainly the third way: exposure. He adjusts the lens
and the camera. The brightness is added by changing the f-stop. We can
observe that in the last shot which is the brightest one the whole picture is
nearly all white.

VI. Color

Color, without a doubt, is the most misunderstood visual component.

Nevertheless, in the sequence I choose, theres not much place for color. The
reason is that the theme of the sequence is relatively heavy--the death, the
end. So the main color is gray, black and all kinds of darkness. Even
though, there
is a
shot that can
be
analyzed.

Its the one that has been talked by me many times before. Here we
can see a sharp contrast between the outside world and the inside world. As
a represent of life, the outside world has its own color: the blue car, the green
tree, which is always a symbol of life. Meanwhile, the colors are all cold colors
to show the distance of the corridor, also the distance between life and death.

VII. Sound
I remember very well that music is the highest expression of
emotion. Lots of the time we ignore the sound and only pay attention to the
frames. However, actually it is of great importance. In a film, the sound can
add emotion in a intangible way. We can hear it and we can feel it.
In fact, I love the sound so much because its so different. There is a
light music running through the whole sequence. From the beginning to end,
the background music is always so slow and sorrow.
At the first, when Leon took of his mask for the first time, the music
went into a small climax to show the hope. Gradually, along with his pace,
the sound went soft and calm. Then the bullet left the gun and shot into
Leon, but there wasnt any loud sound except a slight explosion sound.
Then came a series of tinkling of piano, exactly right accorded with the
movement of the camera. At the same time, the tone of the sound became
lower and lower.
The whole process looks so beautiful with the sound, which naturally
forms another contrast between the bloody scene and the beautiful but
poignant shooting of the sequence, just so we can feel much more sorrow
emotion.
Whats more, there is an absolute moment after the end of the music.

All the frame goes white and the world goes quiet. It leaves much space for
the audience to think over, which is the reason why I love it.

VIII. Rhythm
As is said in the visual story, rhythm is easy to experience but difficult
to describe. (P.211) Rhythm is perceived in three different ways: we hear it,
we see it, and we feel it. We leaned in class that every rhythm is made up of
three subcomponents: alternation, repetition, and tempo.
The director has used all the three subcomponents.
Alternation: As Ive discussed above, the background music with
the steps is the alternation in showing the rhythm. It can be distinctly
perceive.
Repetition: The repetition of the two main characters goes through
all the sequence. They appears alternately, in a slow but steady rhythm.
Even, I find a shot in which the two characters appears at the same time. Its
a very delicate detail, and can be regarded as a foreshadow of the plot. As is
shown in the red circle.
Tempo: The rhythm in the footsteps is a kind of tempo. Also, the fall
of Leon has its own tempo. Along with the falling, the conflict goes to its
climax.

IX. Conclusion
From the sequence, we can see the genius the director. The sequence
is simplified but not simple. All the elements mentioned above consist of the
success of the sequence. In my opinion, a sequence is a combination of all
kinds of skills to add emotions and to express the ideas of the film. From this
perspective, the director has achieved his goal. He created a conflict to catch
our eyes, then solves it with a climax.

X. Reference
The professional Leon (1994), 1:59:28-2:00:47
Block, Bruce A. (2008). The visual story : creating the visual structure of film,
TV and digital media (2nd ed.). Amsterdam.
Special thanks to my beloved teacher: Pilar.