An analysis of a scene from Miike's 'Audition' using annotated screenshots - designed for use with AS Film Studies and Level 3 Media Studies students.

1. Audition
A close analysis of a key scene

2. Shot 1
12 s
Scene – Aoyama in his office.
Narrative – Asami has disappeared. He has been thinking and dreaming about her. He is tempted to
try and call her again. His assistant (who he has clearly had an affair with at some time) has just left
him alone in his office.
Shot – Mid shot, plainly lit, laptop in foreground.
Performance - Aoyama’s eyes flick and then doubletake to his desk phone and he bites his lip as he
considers phoning again.

3. Shot 2
3s
Scene – Aoyama in his office
Narrative – He is thinking about telephoning Asami
Shot – Medium shot of telephone – Aoyama’s POV – part of shot/reverse to establish the narrative
point of what Aoyama is thinking about – it follows the previous shot focusing on Aoyama’s
double take of the phone.
Performance – n/a

4. Shot 3
3s
Scene – In Aoyama’s office
Narrative - Reinforcing contact with Asami
Shot – Low Angle m/s of Aoyama with phone foregrounded and blurred
Performance - How much is Aoyama acting out ‘I want to phone her’ and how much do we just read
this in from the framing and editing?

5. Shot 4
3s
Scene – Asami’s apartment (second look at it)
Narrative - Iconographic link with phone, hugely fore grounded, linked to previous shot.
Shot – Tatami shot. Foregrounded phone, deep focus to hold on mysterious bag in centre of shot.
Sound - echoing windy sparse soundscape – significant difference in ambient noise from Aoyama’s
workplace.

6. Shot 5
4s
Scene – Still in Asami’s apartment
Narrative - She is there – but not moving, not answering the phone. Narrative strangeness.
Shot – Low aeriel shot, Asami half out of frame, made strange.
Performance – Asami is still but curled into this strange shape with her almost reptillian spine
dominating centre screen.
Sound – still in the slightly otherworldly soundscape of Asami’s apartment

7. Scene 6
07s – the shot duration is increasing, giving us time to think about what we’re seeing
Scene – Still in Asami’s apartment
Narrative – The phone is ringing and Asami is ignoring it. More implied information about her from
the strangeness of her apartment
Shot – Apartment in m/s tatami shot. Phone/bag in middle of shot to give us bearings from shot 4
Performance – Asami’s stillness and strange body shape.
Sound – Still in strange soundscape of Asami’s apartment

8. Shot 7
0m 20s
Scene – Back in Aoyama’s office
Narrative - He decides to call her, picks up the phone, then changes his mind and starts to leave
Shot - Repeat of shot 3, leading to…
Camera Movement – follows Aoyama as he stands and starts to move away from the ‘phone
Performance – Aoyama’s pose is held from shot 3, his indecisiveness and rejection of the idea of
calling. He’s all eyes and mouth.

9. Shot 8
13s
Scene – Aoyama’s office and out into the corridor
Narrative He decides not to call her and starts to leave
Shot – M/s on Aoyama
Camera Movement - Tracking shot back from Aoyama as he walks forwards
Performance – Aoyama is demonstrating his conflict about calling/not calling

10. Shot 9
9s
Scene – Corridor outside Aoyama’s office
Narrative – Aoyama decides to go back and call Asami
Shot - Aoyama in midshot, still camera again after the tracking shot
Performance – Through his facial expressions and his movement back to the office Aoyama
demonstrates the decision he’s come to.

11. Shot 10a
10s
Scene – Cut back to Asami’s apartment
Narrative – The phone rings and slowly Asami smiles
Shot – C/U, dark, face framed by falling hair
Performance – Asami’s gradual smile is not very cheery
Sound- Strange soundscape of the flat plus the phone ringing

12. Shot 11
10s
Scene - Still in Asami’s apartment
Narrative – She is smiling at the ringing phone. And then…
Shot – mid shot, Asami in foreground (and again the strangeness of the foregrounded phone shot is
highlighted) and The Sack is mid shot, coming into clear view as she moves. And then…
Sound – strange soundscape of her apartment. Phone. And then…
Performance Asami’s gradual unbending and her unnerving smile

13. Shot 12
2s
Scene – Still in Asami’s apartment
Narrative – the sudden shock – we knew everything wasn’t right and the sound and vision combined
suggested that anything could happen. And then it did, out of nowhere.
Shot MCU tatami shot
Sound – strange soundscape of Asami’s apartment and the crash and moan of the sack.

14. Shot 13
01s
Scene – Still in Asami’s apartment
Narrative – Linking shot – parallel editing to make absolutely clear thatit is she and Aoyoma who re
talking on the phone in the next shot.
Shot CU Asami pov of the phone and her hand coming in to answer it
Sound – The phone. The strange soundscape of Asami’s apartment.