Scene Analysis-To Sir With Love

Scene Analysis Paper

Sometimes directors have more than one emotion in mind when they create a scene. This occurs in To Sir With Love, where the director attempts to create a sense of mixed emotions among the students over the end of the year, as well as show the soft side of Sir under his strict exterior. Through the close ups, music of varying tempos, and low contrast lighting, the director creates a mixed tone for the end of the year scene. Through the camera angle in the shot of Sir looking at the students, the reaction shots, and the zoom out on Sir at the end, the director emphasizes Sir's soft heart and his care for the school.
The director highlights that although the students celebrate the end of the year, they do not feel that they can rejoice completely, because they have to say goodbye to Sir. The scene emphasizes this through the close ups of every individual student's face. The shots focus on each face in a way that attempts to capture their emotions. In shot 17, after the girl finishes singing her song, the camera zooms in on her face. It lingers while she wipes away tears. The close up shots spend time to focus on the faces of the students as they deal with saying goodbye. This, as opposed to group shots, gives the scene a feeling of seriousness and a focus on the way the students feel about Sir.
The scene also plays up the sadness of the scene with the song, “To Sir With Love”. The scene opens with upbeat music and dancing. This shows the students' happiness for the end of the school year and their newfound freedom. However, when the girl begins to sing “To Sir With Love”, the tone of the scene completely changes. The music is slower and melancholy. The students immediately become serious and quiet in response to the serious song. The change in the style and tempo of music signifies mixed emotions about the end of the year-happiness at their freedom, but sadness at having to leave Sir.
Throughout the scene, the director uses low contrast lighting. In the opening shot, a dimly lit stage and students dressed in dark clothes appear. These low contrast shots of the band and students emphasize the fact that they do not feel completely joyful and carefree about the end of the year.
The director uses certain film techniques to develop the character of Sir as well. In shot 6, Sir's back faces the camera, and the students face the camera. Sir looks at the students as the girl sings. The shot of Sir in the foreground looking at the students gives the impression of him being a large figure watching over some smaller ones. This gives the impression of Sir feeling protective of his students. This develops his character of a kind person under a tough exterior.
The reaction shots of Sir to the song also add to the development of his character. Shots 21 to 27 focus on Sir struggling to control his emotions after the students give him the song and the gift. The portrayal of Sir as a man struggling to contain his emotion sheds light on Sir's soft heart and the affection he has developed for the students.
The final shot of Sir walking out of the room exemplifies the relationship Sir has with the students. The camera shoots a close up of Sir, who begins to lose composure. He then turns to leave. As he walks out, the camera zooms out on him, focusing on him over the heads of the students and zooming out until he exits the room. The camera lingers on Sir for as long as it can. Once Sir leaves the room, however, the camera does not follow him. This zoom-out shot symbolizes Sir's relationship with the students. When Sir loses composure, he reveals his true emotions for the students-he has come to love them like they are his own children. The camera zooms out on Sir, keeping him in focus as he leaves the room. This symbolizes how Sir and the students hang on to each others' presence for as long as they can. However, when Sir leaves, he does not look back and the camera does not follow him. This shows that Sir understands that while he loves the students, he has to let them go and that he cannot be in their lives forever.
The camera angles and editing techniques add important aspects of the plot to movies. To Sir With Love uses different camera angles, varying music styles and tempos, and low contrast lighting to emphasize the students' mixed feelings and to develop Sir's character as a sensitive, softhearted one. These techniques create a tone of happiness clouded by some disappointment over having to leave a person one cares about.