Sherlock Jr Essay

823 Words2 Pages

Sherlock Jr. is a black and white silent movie released in 1924. Bister Keaton is the protagonist, who projects movie in a theater and also longs to be a detective. The clip starts from 10:30 to 11:30, consisting of fifteen shots. It shows the moment when the young man volunteers to take charge of the stealing of the pocket watch without noticing the tricks of the local sheik, after he hears the news in the girl’s home. Even though the extra-diegetic music does not belong to the world of the movie, its different rhythms function as one of the primary devices for the viewers to understand the plots in the silent movie and its importance would be further elaborated in the essay. The first shot starts with a title card: “[s]ome one has stolen my watch”(Keaton, Sherlock Jr.), informing the viewers the silent dialogue happened among the figures. The off-screen music, which might be made by an orchestra, further helps the viewer to imagine the atmosphere in the room. The following shot shows the father from a slightly lower angle with a medium close-up, as well as two other people on the side, while the edges of the frame appear blurry due to the use of a soft focus lens or an iris shot. Following the instruction on the title card, the second shot …show more content…

Standing behind the sofa, the villain slips a piece of paper in the pocket of Sherlock, while Sherlock is still reading his tutorial book on the sofa without noticing the little trick. The music, to some extent, not only corresponds to the intense emotion of the villain but also indicates Sherlock’s upcoming troubles. The camera, then, pans slightly to the left with a long shot at the moment the villain walks to the curtain. In the living room, four members of the family are arguing on one side, while the villain observes the situation. Sherlock, on the contrary, still watches his

Open Document