Introduction
Work
1. A family stands at the entrance of a Grocery Store (0:00-0:03)
Analysis
The opening sequence begins with a slight upwards tilt
revealing a family who had just entered a grocery store, with curious
expressions on their faces. This scene is filled with conventional bright
colors seen in stores, often used to catch the attention and gaze of customers.
The broad range of bright colors from soft baby blues to neon turquoise, and
red as a pop of color, add to the hook of this film using Mise-en Scene
elements such as color to catch the eyes of the audience. To add, the creators
intentionally used filters and low-key lighting to further depict the film
taking place in the past, while emphasizing the lighting reminiscent to ones
used by stores today. Next, the director subtly pushes-in near to the family as
they walk past the camera and into the store. Not only does this produce a
natural effect to the peculiar and curious tone of the film and its genre, but
it adds a sense of mystery as to why the family is infatuated with the store,
that has captured their gaze. Finally, the camera shows a blurred, but shallow
depth of field of the automatic shutting doors closing after the family proceeded
into the store. Faint noises of static and ambient sounds are also heard
throughout this sequence and the one following.
· Camerawork
Medium Full Shot, Hip Level, Crowd shot, Upwards Tilt
movement
· Editing
-Continuous editing
-Spatial Relationship
-Cutaway
2. Song “New Body Rhumba” by LCD Soundsystem cues as the family enters (0:05-0:09)
Analysis
The song “New Body Rhumba,” by LCD Soundsystem was produced
in 2022, and it breaks the silence of the previous silence and faint static
from the previous sequence. This song was specifically made as a soundtrack
song for this film, and it is about the worries of the fear of death in a
face-paced culture and ever-changing world, causing weary to those in society,
and this premise is congruent to the film as it is centered around a family who
recently faced a catastrophe of environmental disaster near their previously
secure suburban home. To further explain, according to “LCD Soundsystem: New
Body Rhumba (From the Film White Noise), Like LCD hits
of yore, ‘New Body Rhumba’ is a geometric, cowbell-friendly dance-punk track
that looks warily at modern society. Over a jagged guitar loop, clapping
percussion, and wiry synths, James Murphy bellows about the capitalist desire for more, more, more (‘I
need a new body…/To represent my needs’), mocking a world of fast-casual salads
and temp gigs.” The
composition of this shot is of glass mirror, to emphasize the bright, sunny
rays from outside, which adds to the upbeat and odd atmosphere of this
sequence. This initial buoyant tone of the film, through an upbeat song and
bright colors, contrasts with both the lyrics of the song being played and its
message. As soon as the screen doors shut, the camera immediately cuts to the
next scene, showing an aisle of shoppers.
· Camerawork
Establishing shot, Medium Long Shot, Shallow Depth of Focus,
Static movement, Eye Level
· Editing
-Continuous
editing
-Cut
3. Customers in an aisle shakes bottles and bread
loaves, while spinning around (0:14-0:17)
Analysis
The camera pushes in to the crowd of people who are
strangely dancing with bread loaves and bottles in hand. Diverse groups of
people who do not know each other gaze intensely to each other's eyes as they
dance together in slow motion, which is not consistent with the fast-paced song
playing over this sequence. The characters, then, switch sides to opposite
lanes from which they were standing and replace the items that they previously
gathered. The camera follows a man in a green, long-sleeved shirt walking by in
a tracking shot, who appears unfazed by the sudden phenomenon within the
supermarket. The song lyrics read “up, up, up to the frigid bardo,” in which a
frigid bardo is a Tibetan philosophy discussing the state between death and rebirth,
and consciousness is still able to comprehend and interpret words and prayers,
even after death. This concept is fitting the message of the film as it relates
to questioning the overbearing changes in society and a sudden death to happen
upon just going through the motion and carrying out daily life activities. As
this shot occurs, the motions get slower as the lyrics sing, “rise,” in a
ringing vibrato. The tone of this scene is consistent to the peculiarity and
irony of the film thus far. The screen then transitions to the next scene
through a match on visual/graphic match cuts, in which the shopping cart is
pushed, and the shape of the next aisle is intentionally equivalent to the
previous shot.
· Camerawork
Master shot, Long/ Wide shot, Full Shot, Crowd shot, Dolly
Push-in movement, Tracking/Trucking movement
· Editing
-Continuous
editing
-Graphic/
Visual Match Cut
4. A woman pushes a cart full of groceries as she leaves the aisle, and is met with dancing shoppers ahead of her (0:25-0:30)
Analysis
The setting, composition, color, and lighting thus far is consistent throughout this sequence in relation to the following scenes. This repetition and sense of familiarity could signify the monotony of life at times, and the basic, dullness of everyday activities, which correlates to the message of the song and film. To add, a dolly pushes with camera towards a woman pushing a cart, in which the camera tracks to movement of the woman as a transition to the following scene. As shown above, the song lyrics read “fives, tens, twenties, fifties, hundreds, hundreds, hundreds,” which refer to money, contribute to the store setting, and adds to the plot by reminding viewers that through the rapid motions of life, it is largely centered around financial gain, which proverbially adds to the pessimism of the song’s message.
· Camerawork
Master shot, Long Shot, Crowd shot, Tracking/ Trucking movement, Dolly Push-in
· Editing
-Continuity editing
-Graphic Editing
-Graphic/ Object Match Cut
5. Shoppers Skating On Carts in Unison (0:35-0:38)
Analysis
First, the camera follows the woman from the previous scene pushing her cart, which pans the camera in the right direction to show a man fascinated with the can of Pringle's. He then gazes out into the grocery store's distance. Next, in a tracking movement, the camera comes closer to the man, to reveal a set of shoppers from multiple aisles of the store gliding past from the edge of their carts, Skating around the lanes of the market. Then, as the man proceeds with the can of Pringle's in hand, he follows the giddy shoppers who twirl past him on the edge of their carts to another aisle, and the camera pans to show the shoppers Skating off. Last, the camera cuts to the next scene, which pans the screen from the man holding the can of Pringle's walking towards an aisle, in which a man is wearing the same shirt as him.
Camerawork
Medium Full Shot, Master Shot, Crowd Shot, Tracking Shot followed by pan movement
Editing
-Continuous Editing
-Graphic Editing
-Cut
-Graphic Match Cut
-Action Match
6. Family Dances in Aisle 6, while gathering toiletries (0:43-0:47)
Analysis
The camera does a pan movement to reveal the family (the main cast of the film) in aisle six and does a tracking movement to closer display the family, in which they are shown capturing toilet paper and other toiletries in their shopping cart. This scene's lighting is slightly brighter than before, to highlight these main characters and emphasize the faster speed and upbeat rhythm of the song. The artist of the song continues to repeat, “I need a new body,” as he has previously sung throughout the song which is to perpetually remind the audience of the continuous anxious state of the fast pace of life. Next, the camera immediately cuts to a front view of the family to capture their facial expressions and movements, as they shop for items, while dancing. The mother raises bread in her hand, and passionately looks into her husband’s eyes, and when their eyes meet, the husband raises his hand to grab the bread, and they begin to slowly dance. Simultaneously, the children walk around them joyously, while shopping for items to put into their cart. These sudden movements, change in lighting, tone, and atmosphere signify suspense for an upcoming event which will later occur in the film.
· Camerawork
Medium shot, Full shot, pan movement, Master shot, Crowd shot, Tracking/ Trucking movement, Point of View Shot, Cut-away shot
· Editing
-Continuous editing
-Standard cut
-Match on Action
7. The Family and other shoppers all twirl at once (0:55-0:57)
Analysis
First, the camera dollies out away from the previous proximity to the family, to establish a wide view of the family surrounded by other shoppers dancing similarly to them. The camera tracks the young boy who is engrossed in a bottle of mustard, and then shows the family and fellow shoppers spinning in unison (matching with the beat of the song) while dancing. These motions line up and correspond with the following scene, which is when the family is ready to cash out items.
· Camerawork
Medium Full Shot, Full Shot, Dolly Push Out, Master shot, Crowd shot, Wide Shot
· Editing
-Continuous editing
-Graphic Match
-Match on Action
8. Cashing-out Groceries (0:59-1:04)
Analysis
The older girl (the eldest sister) runs midway during the spin to swap out the green hat she wore for a red one, in which she discreetly stole that item, before the youngest girl greeted the cashier. First, the camera pushes out to reveal the cashier and the box of donuts in the youngest girl’s hand. Before the young girl hands the donuts to the cashier, the family all simultaneously stretches their arms out, and then spins them in a circular motion, as the other surrounding shoppers from the previous scene skip, hop, and dance in the background. Then, as the cashier checks out their items, the father spins around and throws her the amount owed for their purchase in cash towards her direction. More surrounding shoppers are fascinated at the items in the store, for example, an elderly woman in the cash-out line next to the family holds up a book with a puzzled looks on her fazed face, and then puts it back down. The entire store continues in their trance-like state, as the lyrics repeat, “I need a new body, I can’t shake sleeping alone.” The message of this lyric is meant to point out the mental state of the singer, as he navigates though the world in the fast-paced culture, in which he “needs a new body,” because he feels he cannot keep up with the pace. To add, the transition used to correspond with the scene following this one is a standard cut, matching the repeating theme of the film’s usage of pushing carts to link each scene to the next (match on action and graphic match cut). The pushing of carts from each shopper may symbolize that each of the customers are searching and looking for items amidst their busy lives, which is an analogy the film uses to illustrate the frustrations of a fast-paced life. The spontaneous dancing and movement, in addition to their distraction (fascination) with random objects, may resonate with many people's views on what daily life is like.
· Camerawork
Medium Shot, Dolly Push Out, pan movement, Master Shot, Crowd Shot
· Editing
-Action Match
-Continuity editing
-Spatial editing
9. Other Main Cast Introduction (1:46-1:50)
Analysis
This scene began with the main cast captivated by a bag of potato chips, cookies, and bleach. The Mise-en-scene of the objects they observed were intentionally made to be bland, impersonal, and colorless, which reflects the society that the movie takes place, in which there is seldom conflict, personality, and is relaxed/suburban accommodated. Then, after the camera was kept in a slight dolly push-in shot, to fully capture each character's expressions and body language, the camera captured a dolly push-out shot as the characters approach the camera, to give the audience a point of view perspective. The tone of this transitions from its initial state of suspense and serious to comical, and the characters movements corresponded with the beat at during its beat drop at the lyric, “just give us what we want, pana, sonic, pana sonic,” in which the cast pranced amusingly towards the camera, with shopping items in hand. To add, the term “Pana Sonic,” refers to the root words in which this term is derived from. According to, “Brand History, holdings.panasonic.html, It was first used for a speaker designed for the export market in 1955. ‘Panasonic’ comes from the root words ‘Pan,’ meaning universal, and ‘Sonic,’ referring to sound. It is a word that refers to our goal of ‘bringing our sound to customers around the world.’” Therefore, one could conclude the reasoning for the song to include those lyrics is to point out the Panasonic company, which is known for creating electronics used today, and relates to rapid changes such as technology and its demand by the public (“just give us what we want”) and ties into the songwriter’s point of the arbitrary things that society focuses on, while our mortalities quickly approach and end, and this life being filled with unpredictable challenges/events. In addition, the cast journeying through an aisle of uncolored and unbranded products, which are all the color white, and signifies simplicity and innocence, which is meant to be a representation of the environment the characters are in. The scene ends with the characters stopping in front of their cart, in which the producers used this object to connect to the following scene.
· Camerawork
Establishing shot, Full/ Medium Full shot, Dolly push-in movement, Dolly push-out movement, Master Shot, Crowd shot
· Editing
-Continuous editing
-Graphic Match Cut
We also listed the titles based on the order of appearance in the opening.
Production Companies: Netflix, NBGG Pictures, Heyday Films
Written By: Noah Baumbach
Director: Noah Baumbach
Produced by: Noah Baumbach and David Heyman, Uri Singer
Editor: Matthew Hannem
Main Cast: | Actor and the character name and title: |
Adam Driver | Adam Driver plays Professor Jack Gladney in this movie. |
Greta Gerwig | Greta Gerwig as Babbette |
Don Cheadle | Don Cheadle as Murray |
Reflection
Baumbach, N., Baumbach, N., DeLillo, D., Driver, A., Gerwig, G. and Cheadle, D. (2022). White Noise. [online] IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6160448/
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). White Noise | Official Clip | Netflix. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/nJblPY5hVHI?si=udeIPptJVvufR8tT [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].
www.artofthetitle.com. (n.d.). White Noise. [online] Available at: https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/white-noise/ [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].
Nast, C. (n.d.). LCD Soundsystem: ‘New Body Rhumba (From the Film White Noise)’. [online] Pitchfork. Available at: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/lcd-soundsystem-new-body-rhumba/ [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].
Onanian, N. (2022). Pick of the Week: LCD Soundsystem ‘New Body Rhumba’ | WERS. [online] WERS 88.9FM. Available at: https://wers.org/pick-of-the-week-lcd-soundsystem-new-body-rhumba/ [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].
Twitter, Instagram, Email and Facebook (2022). How ‘White Noise’ pulled off the year’s strangest, most surprising dance number. [online] Los Angeles Times. Available at: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-12-30/netflix-white-noise-end-credits-dance-scene-explained [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].
www.britannica.com. (n.d.). Bardo Thödol | Tibetan Book of the Dead, Afterlife Guide | Britannica. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bardo-Thodol#:~:text=While%20in%20the%20bardo%20between [Accessed 4 Apr. 2024].
holdings.panasonic. (n.d.). Brand History - Panasonic Holdings. [online] Available at: https://holdings.panasonic/global/corporate/brand/history.html.
www.adobe.com. (n.d.). The Color White | Adobe Express. [online] Available at: https://www.adobe.com/express/colors/white#:~:text=White%20is%20often%20associated%20with.
na.panasonic.com. (n.d.). What We Do | Panasonic North America - United States. [online] Available at: https://na.panasonic.com/us/what-we-do.
