Ashley Allison
ENG: 225 Introduction to Film
Alene Morrison
Thursday, November 15, 2012
I choose to analyze the clip “I Know What You Can Do”, from the movie “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”. It takes many different people to create a movie. This action packed film was directed by Timur Bekmambetov in 2012. The cast: such as the art director and production designer, use a variety of different methods to set the mood, introduce the characters and create the mise-en-scene of this movie.
The setting of the clip is during the civil war, leading into the rein of our sixteenth president Abraham Lincoln. He finds out that vampires are planning to take over the United States, and makes it his personal mission to eliminate them all. The culture of this time-period is full of racism. The northern part of the country wants equality for everyone, while the South still wants slavery to be in effect. The clip takes place in an old mansion, owned by a group of vampires who want to kill Abraham, the vampire slayer.
The production designer Francois Audouy is the person in charge of the overall look of the movie, while the art director does most of the lighting and electric. The clip starts off showing Abraham Lincoln as he swings an axe around in circles. The room is glowing only by the dim light of candles (I Know, 2012). It intensifies the spookiness and mystery of what is to happen in this huge plantation house. Abraham is always shown in the light during this clip, as a way of exemplifying his goodness against the horrific creatures he is about to destroy. A drop of blood comes down from the ceiling and lands right on the tip of his axe, and then the vampires start to attack. The filmmaker uses a dark atmosphere lighted only by candles as a way of showing the setting as dangerous and putting the audience on the edge of their seats as the main character fights off twenty vampires at one time.
The cinematographer, Caleb Deschanel,
References: I Know What You Can Do. (2012). In Movie Clips. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from http://movieclips.com/795un-abraham-lincoln-vampire-hunter-movie-i-know-what-you-can-do/ Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter . (2012). In IMDb. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1611224/fullcredits#cast