Detailed treatment of The Guitarist’s way
The Guitarist’s way (2010) is a film about how one man can change if given the opportunity. The plot focuses on a guitarist called Steven and his eventual success in the music industry. The film begins with a mid shot of a man with his head in his hands. This instantly shows the audience that the character on the screen is either upset about something or is concerned, this sets a tone for the audience that something is wrong in this scene.
The next shot is a mid shot of another man apparently trying to console the first character; he then asks if the other character is ready. This shows the audience that he is either the other mans friend or simply that they know each other.
The camera then quick cuts back to the original character who lowers his hand from his head, sighs and says that he “has to be”, implying that there is an upcoming event that this character is stressed about and that regardless of whether his is ready or not the event will happen.
The camera then cuts to an overhead shot that tracks this character as he moves across the room towards a guitar case that is propped against a wall, this shows the audience that this is the main character of the film as it is now revealed that he is the guitarist of the film. This scene also allows the audience to sympathize with the main character as he is clearly stressed about whatever the upcoming event is and the audience could bring their own experiences from life to make their own interpretations of his character.
The camera then zooms in on the guitarist’s hand as he grabs the guitar case, this is done to reinforce the idea that this is the main character of the film and also to bridge the gap between this scene and the next.
The scene fades out and then fades in to the next scene with the sound of an electric guitar and a mid shot of Steven playing his guitar on a stage. This completes the bridge to this scene showing the audience that the events in the scene before were only shortly before the events in this scene, as it is presumed that from picking up his guitar case in the last scene he was transported to his location in this scene. This idea is further confirmed when the audience realize that playing on stage is the event that he was stressed about earlier providing an easier link between the two scenes.
The next shot is a quick cut from the last shot moving to an establishing shot of where the guitarist is, this confirms to the audience that he is performing on a stage and further establishes that this was the event that he was stressed out over earlier in the film. The lighting used over the course of the guitar playing scene should connote to the audience the sense of achievement the guitarist feels as he is playing on the stage as the light is very bright and gives everything within the scene a warm coloured glow.
The next shot is a mid shot/close up of the guitarist as he plays; this was another quick cut from the last scene. This was done intentionally as we felt watching other performances that quick cuts were necessary in order to connote to the audience the high rate of speed at which the movie is progressing at.
From this the camera returns to its establishing shot view in order to again show the audience the whole stage as he plays. The sound heard should connote to the guitar players of the audience that playing this solo on the stage is something that gives the main character a sense of relief, as though this is something he has wanted to do for some time. They should pick up on this connotation through the style and the speed which the guitarist is playing, as to another guitarist it would appear that he is putting all of his skill and practice into playing this solo in the best way he possibly can.
The camera then moves to another establishing shot from a higher vantage point and at another angle as if looking down on the guitarist from above. Although not fully expressed in the film there are hidden Christian connotations here as though god or someone he knows who has passed away is looking down upon him. Also the sound now heard within the scene is the guitarist’s voice in narration speaking over the now quieter guitar playing. From his voice it sounds as though the guitarist is either accepting an award for the movie or is watching it in a cinema and bragging about it, saying how he “loves this movie” and that he is “in it by the way.” The guitarist then quickly realizes that what the audience is seeing is actually the end of the movie and quickly tells the audience that “they didn’t see that part” and that they have to go back.
There is then a quick cut from the stage scene altogether and the audience can only see a black screen. The audience then hears “Let there be light!” shouted in a way that will connote to them that this is god talking at the beginning of time further developing the earlier connotation of the stage performance of god or someone he once knew watching over him. The screen then turns white as light is created, the audience then hears the guitarist quickly say “oops too far” as the scene quickly changes.
The quick cut to the next scene shows a mid shot of the guitarist sat in his room playing an acoustic guitar. It is quickly revealed by both the narration and the horrible guitar playing as the guitarist struggles to play happy birthday that this scene was indeed a long time before the stage or opening scene of the movie. The narration goes on to talk about how this is his “youth” playing his “first guitar”. This should connote to the audience that he is very young at this time and that he wasn’t a natural at playing like every guitarist would like his audience to think. The lighting used in this scene is opposite to the light in the stage scene, so where the stage scene’s lighting connotes his sense of achievement in finally reaching his goals at the end of the movie, the lighting here is darker and connotes his lack of achievement and at the time lack of skill and therefore ambition to be a guitarist.
Steven then comments in narration on the state of the guitar playing by saying in an annoyed way that he was “born with talent”, he then talks to the audience directly, breaking the fourth wall by asking them “what they were expecting” going on to say “A movie about a guitarist?” the scene then quick cuts to an unspecified time with Steven stood against a white wall looking directly at the audience he then asks finishing his earlier question “Who’d pay to see that?” he then points towards the audience and walks away. This shows him criticizing the audience for buying the ticket but also joking about it by pointing at the audience. This brings the film back to its comedy genre by joking with the audience rather than moving straight into the film in a dramatic way.
The film then fades out and moves onto its title sequence showing an over the shoulder shot of the guitarist in his youth looking through one of his music books. The pages have been edited digitally to show the credits of the movie instead of musical notes. As he then turns the page over, the next page is filled with the logo for the film. The sound that is heard as this last scene unfolds is a metal guitar riff played by the guitarist upon his success as if it was an echo through time to the young Steven of what he would one day become. The film then cuts to black.
