Black Panther Analysis - Kelsey Gillman

 

Buscan Car Chase Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se6JM2-4mnw

 

The entire car chase scene stuck out to me, as there’s a very clear through line of motion that not only informs the audience of what’s happening implicitly through editing, but also seems to mirror the way T’challa’s suit works: a barrage of kinetic energy that is then pushed outwards in a climax of action. Below the table are my notes about the entire three minute segment.

 

However, I wanted to specifically highlight the above segment, since it’s a good micro example of how the scene operates. We see Okoye from just about every angle, Side → Overhead→ Low Angle Front→ High Angle Back, and the flow of these cuts illustrate the arch she makes in air as she catches the spear and then violently touches down, making it feel as though the audience was in air with her. This shot is very particularly lit as well; You can see every detail of Okoye’s form and expression, but her surroundings are still dark and muted. It maintains atmosphere while also making the action clear and visible. The lack of underscore is also particularly noteworthy as the rest of the scene is either accompanied by energetic hip hop or a triumphant instrumental.

 

Technique	Scene	Notes
Shot	Close on Car Parts as it shatters   Long Shot. Side. Camera pans sideways as Okoye flies through the air.   Overhead/ Bird’s Eye Shot as Okoye grabs her spear.   Low Angle Shot. Front. Okoye driving the spear downwards.   High Angle Shot. Back. Okoye touching down.   Low Angle. Front. Okoye slides to a halt. Pans backwards as Nakia slides into frame.	As mentioned above, these shots recreate the arch Okoye makes in the air as she tries to regain herself and sticks the landing.   In particular, the transition from the overhead shot to the low angle shot carries the motion of her spear as it pushes downwards, and the transition from Low Angle Front→ High Angle Back→ Low Angle Front mimic the motion of her going over the hill of the road.   The fact that the camera subtly pans alongside her as she moves adds to the kinetic energy of the scene.
Lighting	Overhead Lighting Front Light	Obvious care was taken to make sure Okoye herself was well-lit from most angles, so we can see her during the action, while also maintaining the dark atmosphere of the rest of the shot. The only obvious light sources I detected was the overhead light, evident in the first two shots, and the front light when she lands.
Photography	2:39: 1	Widescreen, Typical of modern movies, especially action movies.
Exposure	Correct Exposure	We are meant to see all the shadows and lights produced by the various neon signs in Korea, as well as the lights of the highway and the color of the costumes, like Okoye’s red dress.
Editing	Prior- Cross Cutting, Shot Reverse Shot, Eye-line Match   Classical Cutting, Match on Action (?)	The lead up to this moment was cross cut between Shuri and T’Challa, Klaue, and Nakia and Okoye. The moment directly preceding this segment had Klaue lining up his shot, reverse shot of Okoye going over the hill, and then back and forth until the shot connected in a clear example of an eye-line match.   This sequence itself is more classically cut, with shot composition doing more to help carry the through line of action than individualized editing techniques, though I’m not sure if the action of driving the spear down, and how that carries through each shot, counts as a match on action.
Sound	Instrumental Silence Diegetic/Synchronous Sound: The Car Breaking, The Metal Spear, Okoye’s Grunt.	In the beginning of the scene, the hip hop score is specifically cued up by Klaue and is playing on the radio, by this point we are left with the non diegetic instrumental that cuts out when Klaue’s shot connects. The lack of underscore is meant to emphasize the tension and coolness of the scene.