The interrogation scene is all about power.
Who has it and who doesn't?
"- Now. Where were we?"
- In this video, we break down three types of interrogation scenes
that operate with different dynamics.
"- Now tell me where are the others? - Eat me."
- From the powerful
to the powerless.
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"- Just tell her where they is!
- Jesus christ! Don't shoot me in the d*ck!"
- Interrogation scenes can vary greatly.
"- You like playing games, don't you?"
- But they all boil down to a simple exchange of questions and answers
between two sides.
"- Don't you know this?
- I just wanted to know if you know."
- One side seemingly with power
and the other is assumed to have none.
So what are some filmmaking techniques
that can visualize these dynamics?
"- Just please don't move."
- We'll begin with an interrogation scene
that is all about transferring power
between characters.
"- How do you expect me to walk the red carpet?"
- In Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds",
we have an interrogation scene
that begins with one side dominating
only to have the power transferred by the end.
He does this with shot sizes,
camera angles,
and blocking.
But first a little bit of context.
"- Hello, my lovelies.
Take a seat."
- When some of the basterds
meet undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark
in a room full of nazis
things turn deadly.
"- Stiglitz. - Say auf wiedersehen to your nazi balls."
lieutenant Aldo Raine wants to know
if the tavern massacre was a tragic coincidence
or did Brigitte lure his men into a trap?
So, how does Tarantino use actor blocking
and shot choice to show us who holds power?
While Bridget lays wounded and helpless on the table
Aldo and Donny loom over her.
"- And before we yank that slug out
you need to answer a few questions.
- Questions about what?"
- In the reverse angle, Judovic and the doctor help surround her.
She's trapped.
"- About I got three men dead back there.
Why don't you try telling us what the f*ck happened?"
- From these dominant and submissive positions alone,
we understand who is in control.
The shot choices in camera angles
help confirm this dynamic.
Aldo is shot from mostly low powerful angles.
While Bridget is shot with less pronounced high angles.
Her upward eye line adds to her vulnerability.
Aldo steps forward and adds a little
pressure to the situation.
This dramatic dutch angle enhances two things at once.
Bridget's pain and Aldo's aggressive interrogation tactics.
It's also a visual way to literally tip the scales in Aldo's favor.
"- Everybody needs to calm down.
You're letting your imagination get the better of you."
- This is followed by an intense close-up on Bridget's face down
and looking up at Aldo.
This is her most vulnerable and powerless framing yet.
"- The Germans being there was either a trap set by me or a tragic coincidence.
It could be both."
- But then
Bridgette began to regain some footing in the situation
and the shot choices reflect this.
When she reveals new developments in the plan
she sits up and the camera slowly pushes in.
"- There've been two recent developments regarding Operation Kino.
One, the venue has been changed from The Ritz to a much smaller venue."
- This simple camera movement signals the importance of this information
but it also reframes Bridget's position of power.
"- Enormous change at the last minute? That's not very Germatic.
Why the hell is Goebbels doing stuff so damn peculiar?
- It probably has something to do with the second development.
- Which is?"
- She leans forward into an extreme close-up.
The strongest framing she's had yet.
"- Der Fuhrer is attending the premiere."
- Bridget now becomes their only hope for a successful mission a
and power is transferred to her
as she leads them into the next phase of the operation.
"- That sounds good.
If you don't blow it, with that, I can get you in the building.
- The "Inglorious Basterds" interrogation scene
is a textbook example
of how to show who holds power
and how to transfer power elsewhere.
"- F*ck a duck!"
- Our next director makes us decide for ourselves who is in control?
In David Fincher's "Zodiac",
we have an example of balancing power
within an interrogation scene
where neither side dominates the other.
"- Mr. Allen.
I'm inspector Bill Armstrong.
This is Inspector Dave Toschi and Sergeant Jack Mulanax."
- This makes sense because Arthur
is merely a suspect
not under police custody."
"- Please sit down."
- So how does Fincher direct the scene
to walk the line between generating suspicion
while keeping the power balanced.
First, instead of a typically dark room with high contrast lighting
the room is bright and evenly lit
to create a neutral mood.
For blocking, Arthur and the detectives remain seated
which gives neither side an advantage.
But even when both sides are seated
to make them truly balanced
comes down to camera angle.
When complementary high and low angles are used
a clear power dynamic is created.
So without tipping the scales in either direction
nearly every shot is taken from a neutral flat angle.
Fincher keeps this pattern until this moment.
"- I told him that I'd gone to Salt Point that weekend to skin dive."
- We switch from neutral eye-level shots
to a low angle that frames Mulanax and the boot.
The dramatic change in perspective helps us register our first clue.
Another pattern Fincher creates
involves camera framing.
Almost every shot in this scene is shot over the shoulder
showing at least two characters.
Fincher only breaks this pattern at key moments.
Like here when Arthur makes a startling statement.
"- What?
- I had knives in my car that weekend.
Maybe Bill saw them and called the other officer on me."
- Now we get our first single shots.
Center-framed close-ups on the three detectives
to amplify their suspicion.
"- Well, we'll be checking in on that.
Let me ask you something else.
Were you ever in Southern California at any time in 1966?"
- Then detective Toschi notices Arthur's watch
and we get our first POV shot of the scene.
"- Is this about the Riverside killing? - Yes.
- Well I guess I was there around that time.
I used to go down there a lot."
- As the clues accumulate and suspicions rise
the lawmen assume the power is tipping in their favor.
When Armstrong presses the child abuse claims
we jump back into the same subjective close-ups.
"- So you aren't angry
about being fired from Valley Springs
for touching your students?"
- Arthur's eye line motivates cuts between himself and the detectives
when our suspicions have peaked.
"- I'm not the Zodiac.
And if I was, I certainly wouldn't tell you.
- That's a nice watch.
- Thank you.
- May I see it?"
- The final pattern Fincher breaks in a key moment
involves camera movement.
Other than Arthur's entrance and exit
the camera doesn't move until this moment.
As Armstrong shows Mulanax the watch,
we tilt up slightly to mark his reaction.
Despite all the red flags and detectives' assumption of power,
it's not enough to make an arrest.
The power dynamic ends just as it began.
Neutral and balanced.
By creating patterns of neutral techniques
and only breaking those patterns in key moments
Fincher activates suspicion giving the detectives a growing sense of power
but ultimately returns balance to the scene.
"- Or at least that's what I told, Phil.
- There you go."
- In our next scene, the power dynamic is completely imbalanced.
"- Action!"
- "The Dark Knight" interrogation scene
is an excellent example of subverting power dynamics.
The Joker has been caught and detained.
And as much as Gordon and Batman believe they are in control.
They have none.
So, how does Nolan challenge our expectations
by subverting traditional power dynamics?
"- Evening, Commissioner."
- The scene begins with commissioner Gordon
asking about Harvey Dent's location.
"- Harvey Dent never made it home.
- Of course not. - What have you done with him?
- Me?
I was right here.
Who did you leave him with?
Your people?"
- We get dramatically dark lighting.
The two characters are underlit.
This type of low-key lighting is typical
of interrogation scenes
which initiates our expectations for a typical scene.
"- Not exactly."
- When Gordon excuses himself
fluorescent light fills the room.
Batman immediately uses physical violence to assert control
which is reinforced with blocking and staging.
"- Never start with the head. The victim gets all fuzzy. He can't feel the next...
See?"
- First, Batman looms over the Joker in a low angle shot.
But then
a center-framed wide shot from behind
clearly puts Batman in a position of power.
"- He can't feel the next..."
- But then he sits.
Physically leveling the playing field.
"- You wanted me. Here I am."
- Now, here is where our expectations for a
typical interrogation scene
start to crumble.
Specifically, the 180-degree rule
which is used to maintain logic and order in a scene.
But since there is no logic or order in this moment
bending the rule makes total sense.
We start on Joker's left
but as the camera slowly dollies behind them
we jump the line over to his right.
"- Those mob fools want you gone so they can get back to the way things were."
- Soon after the move repeats to the other side again.
"- To them, you're just a freak.
Like me."
- Instead of the expected division of authority,
this simple repositioning of the camera
suggests a more ambiguous power dynamic.
In response to losing control,
Batman again resorts to physical power.
"- See, I'm not a monster.
I'm just ahead of the curve.
"- Where's Dent?
- You have all these rules, and you think they'll save you.
- He's in control."
- Despite Gordon's attempt to reassure himself and his colleagues,
Batman is not in control.
"- You know, for a while there, I thought you really were Dent.
The way you threw yourself after her."
What began with calm leisurely camera movement
switches to chaotic handheld
as batman tries to dominate.
"- Look at you go.
Does Harvey know about you and his little bunny?"
- Where are they!"
- With the Joker on the ground
the high and low camera angles
position Batman in control but it clearly isn't.
The Joker's line says it all.
"- You have nothing, nothing to threaten me.
Nothing to do with all your strength.
But don't worry I'm going gonna tell you where they are."
- Despite his physical dominance,
Batman is left completely powerless.
Nolan uses blocking and staging as if Batman were in control.
This juxtaposition subverts the typical interrogation scene
and presents an imbalance of power.
"- Which one you're going after? - Rachel!
We're getting Dent!"
- What are some of your favorite interrogation scenes in movies?
"- Nobody."
- Which presentation style do they show?
"- I don't... I don't want to talk about that."
- Transferring power,
balancing power or subverting power?
Give us your thoughts in the comments.
"- I am a spy."
- Whether you're planning your own interrogation scene
or any scene that visualizes these power dynamics
you need to plan ahead.
Write your script and storyboard your vision
with StudioBinder's pre-production software.
Remember to subscribe to our channel for more videos like this.
We'll see you next time
as we interrogate our favorite filmmakers
to unlock their secrets.
"- Is this your homework, Larry?"
"- What emotions do you feel?
Okay. Private Miller.
- Is this normal? - Okay. Private Miller.
Okay. Private Miller."