Symbols In Breaking Bad: A Cinematography Masterpiece

Erik Role
CA 250
November 3, 2015
Paper 1
Breaking Bad: A Cinematography Masterpiece
Breaking Bad uses symbolic mise-en-scene, brilliant cinematography, concise editing, and powerful sound to convey Walter White’s nihilistic view of life. Colors in Breaking Bad play a huge role through symbolism, where each color represents a specific theme and its relationship to the scene. One of the most symbolic colors is green, which represents money and greed. In the very first scene, Walter wears nothing but a green apron and white underwear when he first begins to cook meth, reinforcing the notion, at this point in time, that is he only cooking for money. Walter and his wife Skylar wear green quite often, whereas their son, Walt Jr., is only shown

According to one of the show’s main editors, Kelley Dixon, they were encouraged to find ways to go against the script if it made sense or benefited the scene (SoundCloud). She added said that many shows she has worked on were told to stick strictly to the script, but Breaking Bad’s creator, Vince Gilligan, instilled trust into the editing team. Dixon used an example where Jesse was confronted and punched in the face, but after piecing everything together and realizing it didn’t fit the tone nor context, she sent in her version of the scene to the producer, who then agreed that it didn’t fit and they would reshoot it. One of the most undercooked facets of editing is color correction. Without any, there is a dull, flat feel to the image. However, when done right, it can really manipulate the emotion and mood of a scene. Breaking Bad does a tremendous job in color correcting. Saturation is bumped significantly and the blacks are really deep. Almost all of the scenes that take place in the desert have a very warm feel to them, placing the audience into the setting and making them feel like they’re actually there. When the characters travel to Mexico, the slate has a very noticeable orange tint that symbolizes where they are without actually showing or stating it. Another editing technique Breaking Bad utilizes is montages. During a handful of scenes where Walter and Jesse cook their ‘crystal blue,’ the editors make it fun and interesting by quickly cutting between shots and using certain transitions that amplifies the whole cooking