Scenic Route: Scene Analysis
The film Scenic Route is about two friends who go on a road trip. Mitchell and Carter have been friends for a long time and Carter decides that he needs some alone time with his best friend. Carter purposely sabotages the truck so they can get stuck in the middle of the desert so they can have time to talk. The following scene is when they get out the car after they realize the truck has broken down.
The scene is a transition point where they realize their circumstance. Mitchell is trying to look for a cell phone signal. They first shot is a closeup of Mitchell's face then a wide shot with deep focus to show the area they are in. The next shot goes to a medium closeup with the background having the most presence. You see an endless desert road with nothing but mountains in the surrounding areas. The next shot goes back to a wide shot of them in front of the truck. The entire scene transitions between medium closeups, super wide, and wide shots. All of these shots are meant to emphasize their isolation. Furthermore, the sound, though subtle, plays a key role in the film. In this particular scene the sound consists of the wind blowing and nothing but their voices. Another key factor is the use of lighting and color. Lighting is very bright, this is interesting in use because this is a dire situation. Usually we see a bright scene with little contrast in comedies but this was not really that kind of movie. The use of color is also consistent to imitate a hot day. All the shots have a yellowish to orange tone to emphasize the conditions the characters are in. The clothing that Mitchell and Carer wear also play a key role as a way of showing that they are out of their element.
All the shots are tied together nicely and provides smooth transitions. The cuts also use the 180 degree rule very effectively. The color and tones play nicely together to provide a consistent message of being very far away from the characters normal environment.
