For this Assignment, I have decided to analyse a scene from Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015), specifically the scene where Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) first meets Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron).
At the beginning, while I had decided on the film, I had so much trouble picking a scene to study, as there are so many great scenes. Director George Miller, and cinematographer John Seale did a brilliant job capturing the sheer enormity of the film. Hence I’m running a bit (more like very) late.
In its entirety, Fury Road is an interesting modern film to explore in regards to coverage, as co-writer Brendan McCarthy – an illustrator of graphic novels and comic books, drew elaborate storyboards before writing the screenplay with Miller and Nico Lathouris.
It starts with what, at first, appears to be a wide shot of a sand dune, though the dune slowly begins to move, revealing that it was a medium shot of Max, half buried in the sand, waking up. This was a nice, playful touch to the scene, subtly subverting the convention of starting scenes with an establishing shot.
Keeping the same shot and angle, Max jumps up quickly, creating a massive cloud of sand, which then cuts to a split second shot of an explosion. This flashback acts as a transition, as the shot now shows Max almost upright, sand still flying in the air. There are a number of similar short flashbacks in this part of the scene, as Max gradually gains composure. The camera zooms into Max as he removes the IV drip from his neck, with Max then stumbling backwards and wearily climbing the chain to get to Nux (Nicholas Hoult).
The camera is quickly walked in towards the car where Nux – presumably dead – is lying in. The camera also pans a small amount, emulating the camera operator’s eyesight, as if they’re trying to get to Nux before Max does. It quickly cuts to a point of view from the car window, with Max slowly making his way towards the car. The cutting during action is used throughout the scene, and it adds a layer of suspense, and makes the viewer think that the camera operator and actors are chasing each other on set.
When Max gets to the car, it cuts to a wide shot of Max pulling the door off the car, with the camera operator slowly walking closer to the action. The camera then captures Max pulling Nux from the car and attempting to remove the IV from his neck. A combination of a low camera position, and a high angle are used to show Max struggling to free himself from Nux. Max is then distracted by loud noises and the sight of something on the horizon. The scene cuts quickly from Max to an unseen person working on the truck – later revealed to be Furiosa.
From a distance, Max is shown walking towards the truck with Nux on his shoulders. It then cuts back and forth between different parts of his body as he arrives at the truck, and pulls out his gun. The movement of the camera, along with the cutting, making this shot work as an establishing shot for both the new background and characters.
As Max reaches the truck, the camera zooms into his face, and cuts to a wide, point of view shot of Furiosa and the five wives washing up and Furiosa working on the truck, with a rack focus at the beginning of the shot – adding to the effect that the point of view shot had created. It then cuts between medium shots between the different wives while they wash, though I’m not sure if it’s an act of fanservice, showing that Max is just another human like the rest of us, or something completely innocent.
He drops Nux and the car door, startling everyone. Furiosa getting ready to defend the group. One of the wives then cuts off her chastity belt, which could answer the question I had before, but I assume it’s probably more to signify that they’re free from their former captor, Immortan Joe, and that they believe that Max is there to help them flee.
Max holds the gun at Furiosa, who fears his presence, and point of view shots go between the two of them. It then cuts to the ground, which is flooding from the use used by the group. The wife who cut off the belt moves forward, using a mid shot as she walks towards Max, while some of the group remains within the periphery. The shot widens out when he snatches the hose from her, and shakes the gun around. This constant use of point of view is successful in making the viewer feel immersed in the scene.
Max stumbles around, keeping that layer of realistic delirium in his actions. A short shot of Nux on the ground is used while Max struggles with drinking from the hose with that muzzle on his face. This makes the viewer realise that he’s still alive, which is confirmed when he moves his head as a response to being splashed.
While Max has his gun pointed, the shots avoid showing him, instead showing the other wives fearful facial expressions and Furiosa getting her gun. As another wife walks towards him, a point of view from her perspective is used, though she seems more focused on objects in the distance. Max attempts to get her, and the viewer’s attention, by moving his chain into the centre of the shot, creating possibly one of the most natural and powerful attention grabs I’ve seen.
The camera remains on the wife struggling with the chain, while Furiosa enters from beyond the field of view and tackles him. The shot switches between angles, before focusing on the now awake Nux, who is probably in a lot of pain from his arm being tugged by Max via the chain. When Furiosa takes Max’s gun, it uses both a closeup of the barrel digging into his chin, as well as one of her attempting to pull the trigger. The shot stays the same as she sits up straight to beat him with the empty gun; cutting to a wider shot when she’s about to make the blow. The shots then show closeups of the fighting, cutting to show the wives pulling the chain back, like a game of tug-of-war, changing the dynamics of the fight. The scene keeps cutting between all of the characters during the fight, using low angles when looking at Max. A few short two-shots are also used to break up the constant point of views.
As Max finds a pistol on the side of the truck, he has another brief flashback, with Furiosa replaced with an unknown woman surrounded by a convoy of other trucks – as if he was about to get hit. More close up combat is shown, and as he is about to shoot Furiosa in the head, Nux distracts him and the off-centre two-shot is used to show Max removing Nux’s jacket.
This scene, with all the action, and the number of somewhat major characters looks complicated on paper; but, at least to me, is fairly easy to follow, and most of all, is engaging.
Mad Max: Fury Road 2015, DVD, Roadshow Films, Sydney NSW Australia, Directed by George Miller.