Technical Analysis, Layer Cake, Matthew Vaughn, 2004

My technical analysis was on the 2004 British gangster film ‘Layer Cake’, directed by Matthew Vaughn. The director chose to show the opening sequence as a condensed linear narrative, putting twenty years about the drug industry into just two minutes. To show this rapid passing of time, Vaughn used a lot of fade cuts, showing a gradual change. Only when the story reaches the present day does the director use straight cuts to show differing events. To help the audience realise that they are watching someone’s story throughout the beginning, Vaughn uses a bridge of a character, showing one character in one place, followed by a fade cut to a different place, with the same character there, e.g. a hippie in one room, smoking drugs, then a fade cut to a prison where the same long haired hippie is sitting, discussing how he ended up in prison. As the opening is very rapid and fast moving, showing history as quickly as possible, Vaughn uses panning shots continuously, as well as tilt up/ down movements and the strong use of dolly, tracking and crane camera movements. This continuous right/ left, steady movement of the camera brings pace and the audience connotes that things are moving quickly for the main character, Mr. X. differing camera sizes establish certain things, e.g. close-up shots of the drugs so the audience knows exactly what they are, as well as extreme long shots and long shots, establishing a location. Filters are used to show coldness within the prison, with a blue filter, and a sense of warmth and fun with a yellow filter for the hippie room. Overall, the film works very well in telling the story in detail but in the shortest possible time.