Sherlock Rooftop Showdown

This clip starts off with Sherlock getting a text, and the message appears next to him so the audience know what the text says. This is a technique used a lot in this show and makes it original. As soon as the text appears dramatic, suspenseful music plays which tells us that something big is going to happen.

The next shot is Sherlocks feet up on the table and as he gets up and walks away the camera pans to show his upper body. The camera is behind test tubes so a depth of field technique is used to focus the audiences attention towards Sherlock, even though the main thing in view is the test tubes. 

The transition to the next scene is the old scene sliding across the screen to reveal Moriarty sitting on the roof. There is a pan across the roof showing London in the background. In this pan, Moriarty is still, almost lifeless, which is a juxtaposition to the upbeat song 'Staying Alive' which is playing in the meantime. The camera pans until the roof door can be seen on the right showing Sherlock entering, while Moriarty's leg is still in view.

An over the shoulder shot, along with tracking behind him, gives the audience Sherlocks point of view as he walks towards Moriarty, who still has not moved. He finally moves when the camera is on him, giving him all of the audiences attention. Shot reverse shot is used to show Sherlocks reaction to Moriarty. He turns of the music, and the only sound is diegetic sounds. 

Later on, we see Moriarty, still sitting on the edge of the roof, talking, and this shot comes from behind Sherlock so we can see his shaky hands move behind his back. This shows that he doesn't want to be seen as vulnerable and let Moriarty know that he is slightly nervous as to what he will do. 

After that, we see Sherlock standing but Moriarty's shoulder covers him as he covers his face, so the handheld camera moves to the side. The use of the handheld camera makes the shot uneven, which is reflected in the unpredictable and dangerous scene.

Moriarty stands up and the camera tilts upwards to keep his face in the scene. "Oh well" is what he says and for the first time on the roof non diegetic music plays. This tells us something will happen as he has been complaining for so long, but he brushes it off with "oh well".

A low angle shot has Sherlocks face in focus, with sunlight covering his face. The camera circles him, and Moriarty is seen in the background, walking around him. This technique makes it feel as if Sherlock is trapped, with Moriarty circling him, and even us, the audience, circling him on the other side.

There is then another shot of Sherlocks hands, and a handheld camera is used, still circling him, to show that it is Moriartys point of view.

Then we have a different scene, but with the voiceover of Sherlock talking to Moriarty. Everytime he taps his knee, the number one goes from right to left along the zeros. This technique shows the binary code and reminds us of just how smart Sherlock is. The cup of tea in his other hand, which is out of focus, tells us that he is relaxed, and that this is a habit that he has, not something he is made to do. He does it in his spare time, showed by the tea cup, and in tense situations, up on the roof.