Cadillac Records (Part 01)
In this tale of sex, violence, race, and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, "Cadillac Records" follows the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry. (Written by Sony Pictures)
Look at the 'earthy', comforting colours of his recording studio, it's a comfortable place to be. When somebody walks through a door, our attention immediately focuses onto the new 'intruder' in the space.
When he walks further, the camera follows him, keeping him on thirds. Also notice the clothes rack behind him pointing towards his head.
Reveal shot of what he is looking at. Main figure is placed on thirds. Notice the lines of the white board behind her pointing towards her and the pianist is also looking at her. The board also frames the pianist and the singer. The frame is balanced out by the black boards on the left; if they weren’t there, the frame would be too heavy on the right.
The man walks towards her, coming in from the right in front of the camera. She was singing, and we were focusing on her, so it’s as if he is intruding her/our space - she stops singing. Look how she stands out against the pattern of the board behind her. She is placed on thirds. Also notice the colour of her dress; a complementary colour of the curtain and of the overal colour palette of the frame; she stands out!
The pianist walks behind her out of frame. He walks out of frame to the left, not the right, because they want us to focus on her, not the man in the black costume; the pianist is literally guiding our eyes to her head. He is not in focus so we don’t get distracted by him. Notice that even when the characters are moving, a triangular placement of characters is used.
Closer cut of her expression. Look at the lines pointing to their heads. She says to him 'I know what you are doing, you are going to sell the company’; this reflects into the placement of the characters, as if she is pushing him in the corner of the frame. There is less space behind him than behind her; she is dominant (in their conversation).
Reveal shot of his expression.
Back to her, but now closer; we feel the passion between them. There is an important thing you must know to understand the following frames; the man is the owner of the record company, but he has to sell it - his heart doesn't want to, but his mind tells another story. She, Etta James, is a sort of embodiment of the record company - he loves her, but he can't (he has a wife already).
She is taking place to sing for him for the last time, she turns around and walks out of frame on the right (she also walks away from the conversation; her song will do the talking). This is also a beautiful shot that shows us both their expressions at the same time!
She takes place behind the microphone, notice all the lines pointing towards her, she is also on thirds. Also notice that she is standing right in front of him, we need to focus on her, not him. She is going to sing with her back to him, this tells us a lot about their struggling relationship.
Wider shot to show the placement of characters. She is on thirds, also notice that she is the only one lit, and her head forms the highest contrast in the frame. Contrast attracts our eyes!
Because we cut from the previous wider shot to this intimate close-up, we feel even more involved. Contrast can also be created by contrasting types of shots, in this instance wide vs close.
Rack focus to the man, but she is moving in front of him; he is thinking about her, no matter how he tries to cut her off, she will always be in the picture.
POV (point-of-view) of what the man sees, she looks over her shoulder, a classic teasing posture.
Now we see him clearly, he is on thirds and many lines are pointing towards him - they are starting to drift apart (her and him, the record company and him).
Notice the microphone stand in the foreground, it forms a barrier between the 2; the image is split in 2 parts.
The camera pans to the left, leaving the man out of screen on the right; the drifting apart is even more apparent. Notice the many lines pointing towards her, and she is placed on thirds again.
Back to him, the viewer is getting 'teased'; what will he do next?
But still no reaction of the man. Rack focus back to her, we clearly see that she is emotional, tears are beginning to show. Because they shifted our attention from the man to her, it's clear that she is crying over him.
Notice the contrast on her head, she is lit, no one else. The man is now a very big silhouette, in black; he is the 'villain', she is the 'victim'. Notice the lines pointing to her head. Both are placed on thirds.
We are zooming in on her, to draw us into what she is feeling. The camera is moving more when she is in the picture, because she is very emotional. When he is in the picture, the camera is static; this reflects his personality.
Cut to the backing vocals we are hearing.
Closer shot of her face, we really get to feel her emotions.
Now we see a closer shot of him, without her in the picture. He has made up his mind (he is going to leave).
Cut to what he is seeing, she turns her head away from him, their connection is cut of completely.
He walks in front of her away (and thus also away from the record company). Our attention is on her, as she is in focus and he is not.
We zoom in on her, it's her we are worried for.
Cut to show us he is walking out the door, he is literally walking away from her. Both are on thirds.
Tears are rolling over her cheeks, very emotional close-up shot.
Contrasted with the close-up before, we feel the static personality of this shot and him. This shot also shows us where he was walking to; his office (notice how dark it is). He is placed on thirds, many lines are pointing towards him, and the place where he stands is lit.
Back to her, just as before; the camera is moving more when she is in the picture, and is more static when he is in the picture (contrast in camera use!).
Closer shot of him, he is still on thirds. We don't hear any sounds coming from in the office, we just hear her singing; she (the woman and the record company) is still on his mind.
This shot confirms it, as he is looking at a picture of her. Only the picture is lit, so it's clear that all our attention goes to the photograph.
Cut back to her, big contrast between her on the photo (static) and her singing (moving, emotional); she has changed.
He starts to smash up his office, we still don't hear any sound effects - she is still singing.
Cut to the outside of the record company, this shot has also been established in the beginning of the film. The company was brand new, and this logo/sign was put up on the wall.
Cut to him looking in the rear-view mirror, but where is he driving to?
He turns the mirror to the sign; 'ah, he is driving away from the record company'. We still just only hear her singing, we hear no other sound. She is singing 'don't walk away from me baby', and remember that I said she was the embodiment of the record company => he is driving away from her AND the record company.
We see him getting a heart-attack behind the wheel, the car is slowing down. Also notice the cool colour palette in contrast with the warm colour palette from inside the record company.
The car 'strands' on the pavement, but not only the car has stopped. Also his life, his love, his record company. The car in the back drives behind his car, to lead our eyes to his car. The music starts to diminish. His car is on thirds.
He dies with his eyes fixed on his love/ the record company. The record company couldn't leave him, nor could he leave her. A voice-over even confirms this. Notice he is on thirds.
This is the video I've used to analyse the frames above: link
