Blog 3 - Scene Analysis

Scene analysis
Scene: Goodbye 10th, hello 11th
Series: Doctor Who
By: BBC

Set up:
In this scene The Doctor (played by David Tennent at the beginning and Matt Smith by the end) is an alien whose species (called Time Lord)at the time of death regenerates into a new version of him/her-self whit the ability of not only looking different, looking younger/older or changing gender during the regeneration process. However, after regenerating a time lord will have a new personality. In this scene The Doctor's 10th life cycle ends after having radiation poisoning while saving his friend's father.

Analysis:
The scene starts with special effects showing the earth and the Doctor's spaceship (TARDIS) as the Doctor is leaving earth to avoid hurting anyone during his regeneration process.
Dramatic non-diegetic music plays as we see the Doctor walking around the TARDIS for the last time as his 10th self. The framing keeps part of the central controls of the TARDIS covering parts of the screen as the TARDIS has been with the Doctor throughout his 10 lives. As the Doctor stops and takes deep breaths, the camera tracks in closer to show how reluctant he is to "go". He then says his last line "I don't wanna go" and as the special glowing effects start through his body, the music becomes louder and the camera cuts to a mid shot showing the Doctor with the TARDIS central controls again. The camera cut backs to a close-up for one last good look at his painful expression as the effects get more intense and the music becomes louder.
Shots of the explosions in the TARDIS and of the ship's exterior show the distraction being caused by him resisting his transformation process. The camera then pulls away from the Doctor to show how the TARDIS is getting destroyed by all this powerful explosions.
A close-up reveals the new Doctor's face as 10th's face mergers into 11th's. The music stops and the camera does a low angle full body shot to show the new disoriented Doctor as he inspects his new body. A series of close ups from the front and back of the character add to the confusion of the situation as well as the moving of the camera and the chaos on the TARDIS including shots where flames are on screen in front of the character.
The sound of an explosion as well as the shaking of the TARDIS reminds the new Doctor that his ship is crashing, he then proceeds to attempt to land the TARDIS. Special effects animation are once more used to show the TARDIS crashing into the planet earth. New music slowly returns as the 11th Doctor jumps around the TARDIS, the camera is very mobile on this part following the character and the mood of this scene. A final shot from the top shows the Doctor saying his new catch phrase "Geronimo" as the image spins in circles as the TARDIS is out of control.
This scene compresses the sadness of seeing the 10th Doctor dying and his reluctance to die, with the excitement of the 11th Doctor's birth. The change from the painful music to its climax, to the lack of music followed by the new upbeat tune helps set the mood for the scene. This is further developed by the range of camera movement starting from long smooth shoots where the camera moved delicately to fast cuts, strange angles (reverse of 180 rule on multiple cases) and jumpy movement, all to reflect the personalities and feelings of the characters.
Personally, this is the sadest moment in the entire series, as we see selfless character facing his own death alone knowing that he will just become someone else completely different.