1. OPENING TITLES ANALYSIS
MARGIN CALL
THE DRAMA/THRILLER 2011 FILM “MARGIN CALL” IS BASED AROUND
FOUR PEOPLE WHO WORK AT A BANK DURING THE BEGINNING OF A
FINANCIAL CRISIS.
THE FILM WAS WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY J.C. CHANDOR.

2. The sped up
images of the city
gives the
impression of a
fast moving world
that is ever
changing. Or
possibly could be
suggesting that
that events have
been set in
motion and is
now on going.
The music
has now
begun, and is
somewhat
solemn
sounding,
possibly
foreshadowin
g the solemn
events that
are about to
occur.
There is a fade in to reveal this high shot of what appears to be New York City in a time lapse. Here
there is a use of a fish-eye style lens, which is most noticeable on the right, as a building appears to
curve. I feel that this was done intentionally to present the idea of there being some distortion, perhaps
to something we all are familiar with (possibly why the director and writers chose New York).
In the background, we can hear people talking, which makes the whole time lapse sequence slightly
chaotic sounding, but with a bizarrely calm looking scene, perhaps another hint at the story of the film,
and people‟s blindness and ignorance to whatever is about to happen.

3. There s a cut to black and the title “MARGIN CALL”, quite suddenly, especially seeing as the sequence opened
with a fade. The title appeared just after the sound of a bell, which could be a signal for something, maybe the end
or the beginning of an event.
The shot is very simplistic, and clear, which may be a reflection of the film itself, or may have a deeper meaning

4. The chatting in
the
background
continues,
much more
obvious now,
creating a
feeling of
imminence.
Something is
about to
happen, but
what?
We stay for a few seconds on this hallway of workers who seem to have just
arrived into work seeing as the woman at the front still has her bag with her.
The chaos in the background sounds slightly ominous and gives a daunting
effect, it causes the audience to not want to enter the office, for fear of something
bad happening.
This shot conforms
to the rule of thirds
when put vertically.
This is something
quite common in a
drama film – To
follow the typical
shot types, rather
than challenge
them as dramas
must have a
natural flow and
progression, and
often challenging
conventions can
distort this and ruin
the alternate reality
of the drama.
Therefore the
following of the
rules relays to the
audience that this
film is a drama.

5. This is the first character whom the camera
lingers on causes the audience to make the
assumption that he is a main character, or at least
someone of importance to the story. Although the
camera has been placed at his eye line, which
could indicate that he is not in any state of
superiority for long if at all. So the representation
of this character is that they are probably
confident and experienced, but that isn‟t what‟s
important to this story.
These two then appear, seeming nervous about
something.
One of them says “Jesus Christ! Are they going to
do it right here?”
This immediately piques the interest of the
audience. What are they going to do, and why not
here?
The thing that they are discussing is clearly what
is making them nervous, but not the character
above. He appears quite relaxed or possibly
bored. This suggests that he is experienced, and
has been through whatever is going on today
before. It also implies that the other two are
inexperienced and probably quite new to the job.

6. His positive
attitude toward his
two less
experienced
colleagues
conveys the
audience that he
cares about their
welfare as they are
nervous about
potentially losing
their jobs, and he
is consoling them
and reassuring
them.
This also tells us
that he isn‟t
worried about
“You guys ever been through this before?” this reinforces the idea of him being experienced.
status as he is
clearly superior, This shot has been framed to have a large empty space next to Paul Bettany‟s character. This
but this isn‟t shownmakes the shot slightly unbalanced, as there is very little filling the space as you would
expect. The effect is very subtle and the audience may not actually notice it, which gives the
in the way he
impression that it is supposed to simply invoke a slight sense of distortion rather than obvious
communicates
disorder.
with his

7. Several clocks
on the wall, that
seem to be set
to different
times. Implies
that this place
is a bank, as
banks work
with different
currencies and
in different time
zones.
The “Afraid” again implies negativity, and also his reluctance to follow her.
At this point, the audience may have guessed what is happening in this office, redundancies. This
creates a strong relation to the audience, as many people who this film is aimed at will have
experienced one, whether it was to them, by them or witnessed by them. This is why I think that
the shot was done from behind a computer, as it makes it seem like we are looking through the
eyes of a colleague, and probably a situation most of the target audience will have been in.

8. What looks
like some
packed up
things –
further
evidence of
redundancies
As we pan across the back of computers, it creates the feeling that anyone could be next,
which is accompanied by the woman walking around looking carefully at everyone, as if
she has the power to pick people at random to fire. This puts the audience in a state of
empathy for those in this place who are afraid of losing their job, possibly again helping to
establish a connection with the audience.
This shot also makes it seem as if quite a few computers are empty, and rather a lot of
people have been let go already.

9. Props:
Props:
Empty
computer in the
background
which zis still
on, suggesting
the person has
only just left.
Quite a few
pieces of
paper in her
folder – that
could fit a lot
of names in.
Also she
seems quite
relaxed about
it all, so may
tell us that
she done this
many times.
We are reintroduced to Zachary Quinto‟s character. The woman asks if he is Eric Dale, but he
isn‟t. The fact that she has gotten this wrong, brings us back to the idea that there is a
distortion as we assume that this woman is very organised. This could also mean the implied
distruption is imminent, as it is now suggested in a more direct way, rather than a subtle way
as before with the time lapse video over the city.
He tells her that the man she is looking for is his boss. This immediately tells us that the
redundancies are simply cases of slacking or similar reasons, but something far more
serious, as a seemingly senior member of staff is to be let go.

10. Has a little number 1 on his desk, could be a subtle message to the audience, letting us know that he is
Props:
good at his job, and there must be an important reason, not to do with his work ethic, for his job loss.
As well as this, he is in his own office and has many personal photos, which tend to only be found in the
offices of the higher members of staff and those who have been there a particularly long time.
He is a new character who seems hard at work, and makes a point to save what he was working on before he
leaves, which the camera tilts down to see him do. This again brings us back to the idea that people are not
being fired for work ethic, but probably a problem at the company. This shot was unusual, as normally we
wouldn‟t need to see him clicking to guess that he may be saving his work, but the fact that the director chose
to make this glaringly obvious conveys that this is something very important that he must finish, but we know
this is unlikely as he is about to be made redundant. Resulting in the audience being particularly interested in
this unknown document and why it is so important and its fate if this character is about to be fired.

11. Stanley Tucci‟s character follows at a
clear distance, showing his reluctance to
leave his job, denoting that he likes his
job, and doesn‟t want to leave.
This shot shows a huge number of people
at work, and a seemingly equal number of
people missing from computers –
presumably also fired, further hinted at
from the piles of boxes everywhere. They
aren‟t necessarily for people leaving, but
they have strong connotations with the
idea of people packing up things that they
have on their desks.
Empty computers
The idea that the room that the redundancies are
being carried out in is transparent, makes the
audience feel as if everyone knows that people are
being let go and that there is no way to keep the
event private. So in this case, the transparent room
reflects a quite literal meaning, that everything
going on is plain to see as everyone on the floor
can see into this room.

12. The below shot conforms to the rule of
thirds. The most important parts of the
shot are where the lines of the thirds
meet, and in this shot the lines meet at
Stanley Tucci‟s character. He is also the
only person in this shot whose face we
can see and so tells us that this may be
a significant point possibly in his life, or
maybe just indicating that he is an
important character, or may be showing
that him losing his job has significance.
Here we have another view from behind a
computer as if it is a point of view shot
again trying to relate to the audience.

13. There is a fairly level shot of Tucci‟s character, but the
woman looking back is seen from a higher angle. The
angle is not much higher, but just enough to hint at the
way the director wants us to view her – as if she is to
be seen as the „bad guy‟ whereas Tucci‟s character is
on the same level as the audience and so is more
relatable, and we are more likely to sympathise with
him.
“I am obviously sorry that we are here today, but these
are extraordinary times as you very well must know”
Telling him that he understands the situation quite well
does again suggest that this is a bank and she is
referring to low employment and financial problems.
“I don‟t understand why that‟s a natural place to
start cutting jobs”
He doesn‟t seem to want to accept that he is about
to lose his job and almost tries to evade the firing,
like he is trying to change the subject, and shift the
job loss onto someone else – tell us he is
determined and cares a lot about his job, not
something that is overly common, and again
causes the audience to sympathise as people are
finding it hard to get a job at all, let alone one that
they like as much as this character is showing.
These shots follow the 180 degree rule

14. LIGHTING AND SOUND
• The lighting in this sequence has been made to look as if it is mostly artificial, but partly natural as
we do see a large window on one side of the office, where some light does appear to originate
from.
• The lighting is at a higher level than an actual office, but it is not too obvious, as to give the illusion
of a real life event. Almost to make the audience feel as if they are looking through the eyes of an
employee.
• The sound does seem to vary slightly. There is solemn and simple music playing throughout and is
accompanied by common office noises, people talking, phones ringing. And this has been used to
sound as if it is diegetic, which it is in some scenes, but in others, the sound has simply been taken
from another shot, such as the scene where people are walking down the corridor.
• This overlapping of sound helps make the whole sequence feel quite natural. Almost as if the time
lapse is showing someone looking out of a window and wasting the day but can still hear the
background noise of the office they are supposed to be working in.

15. COSTUME
• The characters are all dressed in typical office work attire to help set the scene and enforce this
version of reality.
• The first person we meet, played by Paul Bettany, is dressed well and clearly in a nicer and
probably more expensive suit than the next two characters we meet. This immediately tells us that
this first character is likely to be better paid and of a higher position in the company.
• Paul Bettany and Stanley Tucci‟s characters are wearing very similar suits, which are almost
identical, possibly hinting at the idea that Stanley Tucci‟s character getting fired could suggest that
Bettany‟s does as well.
• Having Penn Badgley and Zachary Quinto‟s character without blazers could tell the audience that
they are getting hot and flusters about the day‟s events, and Bettany‟s character is still wearing his,
again implying that he is at a higher position.

16. SHOT TYPES
•
There are a wide range of shot types in this sequence. There is the use of a shot that
could be considered a point of view shot of someone working in the office, although we
are never actually shown who they are and so it could be argued that these shots are
just a series of medium shots that are placed at someone's desk. I feel that these shots
are POV shots as the audience has been placed into the perspective of a worker, and as
the worker is anonymous, it allows the audience to feel included and a part of the events
at this bank. The POV‟s puts the audience into a workers shoes making them feel
empathy towards those who are about to lose their jobs.
•
The variety of shot types keeps things interesting and also succeeds in placing the
audience all over the office which may have been done to show the scale of a single
floor of this office building and the scale of the redundancies.

17. SETTING
• The setting is clearly a modern day bank building.
• The huge number of computer monitors, some desks having two, tells us that this is
a place that makes a large amount of money and is keen to invest in heightening
profit this further by enhancing the tools available to workers. Also the use of this
technology immediately tells the audience that this is the present day.
• The whiteness of the building could have been done almost ironically, as white tends
to have positive connotations, such as purity and safety, but in here, no one‟s job
appears to be safe and the whole sequence has negative feelings attached.
• The depiction of the city at the very start and all of the technology used in the
sequence shows the audience that the events are taking place in modern day New
York.