V for Vendetta Cinematography Analysis

Analysis for the V for Vendetta clip above. The scene above in which chancellor Sutler first appears shows him talking to his various associates that are in high places regarding law and media. The various shot types, angles, movement and focus of the camera enable various interpretations to be made on the film.

The fact that chancellor Sutler is consistently viewed through medium long shots, medium close-ups, and close-ups, only a few long shots are used. This is to mainly set the scene and show the flag of England, the change from the St. Georges colours and the fact that the English flag background has been changed from white to black foreshadows a dark atmosphere within England at this time.

The fact that the chancellor is so often shown close-up shows his importance, in which the audience learn later that he is not only chancellor but also dictator of the country.
The camera shot used on Sutler is a low angle shot showing him being above all the others and highlighting his dominance that he has in the fact that when talking to them all he looks down.

Whereas for the others close-ups and a few high angle shots are used, this type of shot makes the characters look small and powerless compared to Sutler. The cameras focus at the start is of V blowing up the Old Bailey as the camera quickly shifts from V to the building showing the significance of the explosion being shown. V is positioned infront of Evey showing he is more important, but the consistent close-ups on Evey foreshadow that she will later have a role to play.

When Sutler addresses Mr Creedy he is the only character that comes out of black into the bright lighting for his face to be revealed all other characters are immediately shown with their faces in the bright light.

This is to show that Mr Creedy is more evil than the rest and the fact he is coming out of darkness shows evilness follows him, it also foreshadows the conflict he has with Sutler. Shallow focus is also used as a close-up on Sutler's face blurs the upper half of his face and a more clear quality is shown on his eyes and lower part of his face. This shows his quite devil-like blank stare at Sutler, this also foreshadows his lack of respect for Sutler and the fact he has no remorse.

When Mr Finch is addressed by Sutler there is a higher level of focus on his face which highlights a level of uncertainty in his facial expression, this foreshadows his lack of trust towards the chancellor.