Catch Me If You Can Film Analysis

The film that I’m analysing is Catch Me if You Can which is about Frank Abagnale Jr who successfully conned millions of dollars’ worth of checks before his 19^th birthday. This scene is near the beginning of the narrative and is where Frank becomes a pilot and forges checks from Panam. The elements I’ll be focusing on are: cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and editing.

The scene begins with a crane shot down the side of the Panam building followed by a tracking shot to the right hand side where it meets the main character Frank standing at a phone box talking to a Panam operator. These two continuous camera movements establish the location for the opening for the scene; it informs the viewer that the film is set in 1960’s New York and the scene is currently outside as the high key natural lighting suggests its daytime and there is a lot of people/traffic on the streets, typical for city life, as well as a lot of ambient sound in the background of cars and people, the atmosphere is generally quite busy. By doing this it makes the audience feel as if they are immersed into this chaotic city.

The costume and props show us that it is set in the 60’s as there is old taxi’s and cars, obviously not like the ones we have today, all the men are dressed in smart suits with hats and briefcases, woman are in dresses accessorised with pearls and have got hair and make up done. When the camera Reveals Frank in the phone box, medium long shot, he is positioned slightly to the right of the screen, framed using the rule of thirds, everything around him is shallow depth of field so that the audience is concentrating on his dialogue. From this opening we know that Frank (Leonardo DeCaprio) is the main character as he stands out from the extras surrounding him, they are all wearing dark colours whilst he is in light clothing showing that he doesn’t fit into the rich social class. Also the lighter clothes represent that Frank is just a boy as light colours can be associated with innocence to the audience. 

There is then an elliptical edit into a high angle shot with a panning movement of the Panam uniform warehouse. The high angle looking down on the warehouse establishes the location, as this is indoor there is high key artificial lighting. There is high key lighting as it creates an upbeat mood for the comedy genre the movie is. The panning shows the rows and rows of dark clothes with a red carpet in the centre with the main character standing on it this is so the audience is drawn to this point. There is then a cut to a medium crane shot of the camera moving upwards showing Frank standing looking in the mirror. It then cuts to a pan following the tailor back and forth, the tailor is wearing a bow tie and sweater vest this infers that he is a professional, looks the part and knows what he is doing in contrast to the main character who is pretending to be a pilot. This makes the audience tense because they are wondering how long it will be until Frank gets caught. This is followed by a cut to a medium shot panning towards Frank looking in the mirror. All these camera movements are showing the synchronous dialogue between the tailor and Frank talking about how the cost of his pilot suit will be charge to his next pay check. Due to the positioning of the three mirrors on the medium shot you get three angles of Frank’s face, this is to magnify the actors facial expressions when he finds out the money for the uniform will come out of someone else’s pay check. At this moment incidental music comes into the background. This shows to the audience that the character is very lucky but also suggests that stealing isn’t a crime for him.

The incidental sound continues into the next shot, a bird’s eye view tracking tilted shot which zooms in to the main character. As well as ambient sound in the background of this shot there is also a voice over of the main character writing a letter to his father about his new occupation and all the benefits of being a pilot, all these techniques are non-diegetic sound. They have used this as it informs the audience of what’s going on and makes the shot more interesting than him just walking. On the bird’s eye view Frank is wearing a white pilot’s hat compared to the wet dark street and peoples dark clothes, this draws the audience’s attention to him, he stands out from the rest, and the audience may feel now that Frank is influential. The next shot is a low angle tracking shot from the front this implies that he is now considered important and higher up on the social class ranking compared to before when he was standing at the phone box. The tracking shot from the front is followed by a tracking shot from the side with a cut to a tracking shot from behind as well as a pan to the right to show a woman looking at him, she is smiling admiring him. An eye line match is used as a transition to the next tracking shot from the front. Then a cut to a side tracking shot of a girl walking towards Frank followed by a match on action to a medium tracking shot from behind the main character with a crab shot to the right to show the little girl shaking his hand and speaking, this signifies that children trust people even strangers. There is then another cut to a tracking shot from the front. Whilst walking along the street the actor is very confident, quite full of himself,  he knows he looks good and generally likes the attention he is getting. The audience looks up to him, they want to be him as he looks and acts confident. 

At the end of these shots the incidental music quietens so that you can hear the sound effect of a car horn, used as a transition into the next crabbing shot. The silence also adds tension to the scene. This scene is set in an old fashioned bank typical for that period of time with high ceilings and a lot of furniture, this is considered an intimidating setting for a con artist. After the crab shot it cuts to a medium long shot of Frank sitting at a desk whilst a bank worker is counting money. The next shot is a crane shot used when Frank gets out of his chair to shake the bank owners hand. When the bank owner arrives the incidental music stops abruptly, to build anticipation on the audience that Frank may get caught on the act there is a slight hesitation before the bank owner’s dialogue. After the bank owner shakes Franks hand the light hearted incidental music appears again to show that he has gotten away with it making the audience feel relieved for him and glad he hasn’t got caught.  They have chosen this piece of music because even though what the main character is doing is illegal we are rooting for him and hope that he succeeds. The audience feels this way as Frank is considered an underdog and represents the everyman so they enjoy him getting away with it because they wish it was themselves.

 It then cuts to a medium close up shows a man in a concierge outfit behind a desk talking towards the camera, from the costume we already know that this scene is located in a hotel without even seeing an establishing shot. The next cut is an over the shoulder medium shot of Frank replying to the concierge, in this shot you can see more of the setting and what is happening in the background by the use of ambient sound. For the conversation between Frank and the hotel worker over the shoulder shot reverse shot is used and the characters are framed in the rule of thirds. This makes the audience feel as if they are a part of the conversation instead of observing.  There is then a close up of Franks face when he finds out about pay role cheques, this close up is used to signify that this piece of information is important for the narrative but also to show Frank’s looking mischievous about earning more money.

The shot then cuts to an extreme close up of a plant with the sound effect of a typewriter with quiet upbeat incidental music in the background. The next shot is a low angle medium close up shot of Frank, the camera zooms in and tilts slightly upwards and crabs round to a medium shot of him looking at typewriter, this implies that we as the viewer should look up to the character, in a way Frank is the hero of the movie. Over the top of these shots is another voice over of Frank writing a letter to his father, the letter says that he is now a pilot working for Panam and he is now earning a lot of money. In this scene Frank has changed costume to a plain blue t-shirt this shows that he is still just a boy, pretending to be a man, it gives him a sense of innocence as if he doesn’t think what he’s doing is wrong. The next shot is an extreme close up of the check on the typewriter this is from the point of view of the actor. It then cuts to a low angle (making Frank look superior and show he is succeeding) medium close up of him typing with the camera moving diagonal then tilting upwards to a close up of the actors face from the side. There is then an eyeline match to an extreme close up of the cheque on the typewriter. Followed by a cut to a medium long shot of the actor, incorporating the rule of thirds by placing him to the right line of the frame, on his typewriter at a table. They have used this shot type to establish exactly what the hotel room looks like, gives the audience a clear vision of where he is. From the medium long shot the camera tilts upwards where it is at a low angle to show Frank lifting the check out of the typewriter and looking at it this gives the sense that the character is superior and powerful. This low angle shows that he has gained power by completing this pay role cheque. An eyeline match is used again to show a close up of the check from Frank’s point of view. On this shot the non-diegetic incidental music has got louder to represent his achievement also the check is positioned in front of a window so there is a natural source of light behind the cheque showing its significance, making the audience feel content and happy that he is succeeding.

There is then a cut to another point of view shot tracking Frank in the bathroom and tilting downwards when he picks up the toy plane from the bath. When he lifts the plane out of the water you can hear the diegetic sound effect of water being poured. The camera then tilts upwards along with a crane shot up staying in the point of view of Frank, this makes the audience almost feel as if they are involved in this movie by seeing from Frank’s perspective, this is important as it makes the audience engage with the character and the narrative. All these shots are in one continuous motion finishing on a close up shot of the toy plane in Frank’s hands, the toy plane kind of represents that Frank is still a boy as well as gives an insight to the audience oh how he made his cheques. There is then a cut to him sitting at a table with the toy plane; the camera zooms in to show him removing the Panam sticker on the toy plane. Followed by a tracking shot of him placing the sticker onto his cheque he made earlier. There is sound effects used of him peeling the sticker off and placing it on the cheque, this is used to make the scene believable and realistic. There is then a cut to a crane tilted shot of Frank opening a draw and retrieving a book, from there the camera zooms in to a close up shot of the check being placed inside the book and frank pressing down on the book. All of the shots used in the making of the cheque where all quick cuts this is to speed up the narrative, keeping it interesting and engages the audience as they are curious as to what he is doing.

The next cut is to an establishing crab shot of another old-fashioned bank (different to the one before but still fitting with the period of time), there is high key natural lighting through the big windows in the bank. As the location has changed so has Frank’s outfit, he is now back to his pilot’s uniform kind of insinuating that he is officially working. In the background there is non-diegetic ambient sound of footsteps and people talking. The crab shot continues into a tracking shot (no edit) that follows Frank up to the desk, the camera is situated at a low angle medium shot looking up at Frank and the woman behind the counter. There is then a cut to an over the shoulder shot of the woman holding up the check, this is a close up shot, and the depth of field has a shallow focus as everything around the check is blurry this is so the audience’s attention is directed at the check. The camera then goes back into focus when the main character speaks to the woman. Shot reverse shot is used when the camera moves over the shoulder of Frank to show the reaction of the bank worker after Frank’s dialogue.  The more Frank gets away with his cons the more confident he grows within the scene, there is less tension and anxiety when he works on his next person.

There is then a cut to another point of view tracking shot in the bathroom, this is the same as before but this time when the camera tilts down at a high angle over the bathtub instead of one plane in the water there are loads. This signifies that Frank is making a lot of money. After this there is a cut to a medium shot of the main character lying on the bed, in the background (as well as the incidental music) you can see the empty boxes of the toy planes all over the room, showing the audience just how many planes he is using. The camera pans with the main character moving towards the end of the bed, the camera then tilts downwards as he places the cheque on the floor with the other cheque. The camera is at a high angle tracking over all the checks on the floor, showing the audience the extent of his con but also making them feel jealous of Frank as he has the courage to do this.

 The final shot of the scene is located in the lobby of the hotel and it is a long take two shot. The camera tracks the two actors, Frank and hotel manager, walking through the lobby. It starts as a long shot and then zooms into a medium close up, keeping both actors in the frame. This shot is a long take as Franks moves round so that there is an over the shoulder shot of the hotel manager. It is shot like this so that the pace of the movie slows down so that the audience can focus on the dialogue which is important to the narrative. The hotel manager is explaining to Frank how he can cash his cheques at the airport. As well as dialogue between these two characters, there is also ambient sound of people moving, using ambient sound immerses the audience into the scene. The incidental music used throughout this scene stays the same. It is happy, uplifting music and sets the mood for the movie (a comedy) and makes some moments that should be really serious quite comedic. The high key lighting used throughout also keeps in with the theme of music as it keeps the audience’s spirits uplifted which in turn matches Frank’s mood in this particular scene.

New York 2014