Media research task

Tony Bryant

Due 15/01/16

Mission impossible 1

Starts with a scene involving what looks like an interrogation of a man with information that they need. The camera work in the scene is incredible with the director using out of focus background shots to tell the plot of the scene while still having a close up on someone's face and his expressions.This also give a sense of confusion and this also creates dramatic irony when one of the characters unknowing has a  drink that was spiked with what seemed to be poison. There is a large number of cuts within the first 3 minutes alone just to create a sense of pace. During the whole conversation between Tom and the lady the 180 degree rule is not broken and shot reverse shot is also been put in, to create an overall well directed scene.

The opening scene is a dolly shot of a man watching the interrogation through a screen and seeming to be making notes about the information that they are trying to gather. This could also be an establishing shot of the setting

Then there is a cut to the guy watching and it is at an extreme close up so we can see his whole facial reaction to the action. He also says “Come on she's been under to long” as he looks at his watch which is a great use of props as it is almost passively put in and doesn't seem like they have taken the time to think into that much detail.

The same shot is used for the next sequence as well because while Ethan is hitting the man they are interrogating for information there are cuts back to the man watching to show his reaction to the violence. This give a little bit of emphasis to the beating and makes the scene slightly more enjoyable.

After checking back at his watch again he then starts to make facial expressions that you would not realise without an extreme close up on his face. These facial expressions suggest they have some sort of time limit towards the amount of time she can be “under”. The use of the word “under” also suggests she has been  put into some sort of deep sleep to face a death by using drugs.

The sound plays a big part in telling the plot within this scene as when the assistant is spiking the man's drink it is not very clear at first so the sound for it had to be put there to help make it more obvious for the viewer. The music in the background is not dark and is not joyful but it is somewhere within them which creates an uneven atmosphere between the characters.

The setting for the opening sequence of  the film is set in Kiev which is the capital of Cairn although it was actually filmed in the US and England. This is a good example of the director making you believe what he wasted you to.

Just like in Kill Bill this is a truly refreshing take on a thriller opening sequence and for its risks on trying something very different and new it was rewarded with great feedback on the movie.

Fargo

The first 2 minutes are almost made up of 2 single shots of a car being towed to what looks like a bar. When .. walks into the bar and over to the two men the 180 degree rule is broken but it is broken he does it in one take where the camera moves in front of him and then stays to that side while he has the conversation with the two them.There is also the use of shot reverse shot during the scene with the conversation.

There is an establishing shot of the building as he pulls up to the bar.

There is very little non-diegetic sound during the whole opening sequence other than the background music which again starts off strong and loud but then dies off during the majority of the speaking part but there is lots of off screen sound and foley sound effects. There is diegetic music during the talking scene which is a switch from the non-diegetic music at the beginning.

During the taking scene between the three men the camera slowly pulls in towards the men as if it is on a dolly and it does this in sync with the tension of the scene. As it becomes more tense between the men the camera pulls in closer.     

Kill bill

First whole scene is shot in one take lasting 1 minute and 24 seconds.

The clothing she is wearing seems to be the same as what the bride would wear on the wedding day which implies that she was going to or just has gotten married to someone. It could be Bill as she says she's having his baby and Bill talks about her having affection for him.

There is a sudden cut in from dark to reveal what the heavy breathing is and it is a lady who looks like she had been in a fight of some sort due to the amount of blood on her and the pain she seems to be in. The diegetic sound of the foot steps in the background give a clue as to why she is in so much fear.

When the man goes to “help” her by wiping blood of her face there is a very unique label on the tissue as the words “Bill” indicating to the audience that the man could be Bill. This is then reinforced when she says his name “Bill” at the end of the sequence.

Between each part of dialog there are very large pauses which may be for dramatic effect and also because it means it fit with the speed of what's happening on screen and the slow pace of editing.  

As Bill's speech pace starts to pick up so does the shivering of the lady as she is frightened at what Bill is going to do. Then you hear the sound of Bill cocking the gun off screen and that's when she says “Bill it's your baby”. Then cut to black a couple of frames after the bullet is fired so the audience knows that she has been shot dead.

This sequence is extremely frightening is because there is a technique used at the start that first confuses the audience which is the desperate breathing of the woman. This is a sensory technique which is used to confuse the viewer and also draw in their attention and then explain what is happening. This is done in the movie when it cuts from black to show the woman caked in blood and still furiously breathing.

During the whole scene her face is only half lit and half in darkness which may be a metaphor for Bill being very dangerous and dark as he shoots her from the dark side. The blood also creates a contrast with the white which could also be a metaphor for her  marriage’s struggles.

This take on a thriller opening is extremely different which can be very risky as different does not always mean better but in this case as it has created a very intense and frightful opening scene.

Although there seems to be an extremely little amount of camera work as it is a 1:24 minute long take where nothing seems to change, there is actually a very large amount of camera techniques being used.

One of the camera techniques that is used in the opening scene is where the audience has very little information to go off as to what has just happened or what is happening due to the extremely tight camera angle on her face. This means the rest of the action is happening off screen therefore leaving the viewer in confusion and having to guess what's happening which also creates a sense of enigma.

Inception

Long takes at the beginning in slow motion which may be because he is not in real life but instead in a dream world which may explain the differences in pace as if you were in a dream. The setting is a beach which seems to be inhabited by a small army/organisation. By the look of their clothing they are security guards

It starts with a medium close up on the “sea” the main character was washed up by and then cuts to a extreme close up of his face when he wakes so you can see his expression on his face to his children (You are not aware that it's there his children) that he has not seen for years. The shot of the children is a made disorientating by using effects on sound, camera focus and the cameras stability. It is a point of view shot from the main character and there is a focus pull on one of his children that shows us how he can see at that point in time. The stability of the camera is slightly off as well because he has not yet regained complete consciousness. The music in the background has not got a certain tone to it and is very erratic but slow which suits the pace of the action on screen.

After this there is a medium close up of a guard searching him and the music in the background suddenly changes and the disorientating humming sound in the background that was emphasizing that he was not completely conscious is made extremely silent in comparison to how loud it was before. There is a prop gun in his trousers which is what seemed to cause the guard to alert the others.

As the guard shouts the scene changes to an establishing shot of the building that he is taken into.

Throughout the whole sequence the music starts of loud just like the scene with the loud crashing waves but then the sound starts to die off and become quieter and then at the end there music suddenly increases when the dramatic reveal is told to the audience.

In the next scene the setting completely changes from a barren beach to what seems to be a wooden dining area.

This is where what seems to be there emperor is at and then he is also brought into this room after asking for their “emperor” by his name. At this moment there is a very considerable change in the volume of the music from very loud to extremely quite to the point where you can barely hear it. It is an extremely wide angle with a long shot of the room and at around the eye level of the “emperor”.

He then lays down some props that he said he had on the man and these props are a gun and a spindle which id for working out if you are in a dream world or not. The importance of this prop is not shown by his facial expressions but how his body movements suddenly change and almost pause. He reaches for a glass of wine but then pauses when he is shown the spindle as if he has just realised something extremely important.

He is brought into the room which is shown by another long shot which is partially blocked by the “emperor” and the table. He is sat down and there is a close up of his facial expression and then the same shot again just after the first English line is said, “Are you here to kill me?”.

It cuts to the old man reaching for the weapon and then reaching across to the spindle and says “i know what this is” and then there is a cut to a medium long shot. As this happens the music volume starts to build as the anticipation also builds.

Then the non-diegetic music suddenly explodes and the major plot detail is given away.

Conclusion of thriller openings - To conclude, The similarities of all the thriller; Almost all the openings had extremely long takes and very little cutting. They were also extremely confusing at the start and slowly started to explain what some of the actions in the sequence where for such as the man in Mission impossible 1 saying that she had been under to long, at the time the audience didn't understand what that meant or why he was saying it but by the end it was clear that she had been putting her life in danger so she could seem to be dead.