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How camera shots are used in opening sequences to create meaning.

SIOBHAN WREN.

Mise en scene – Setting.This shot shows the setting in which the character is in.He is in a dark, dirty house, with the wallpaper ripped off, this gives us the impression that he is in an abandoned house and he is possibly hiding away from other characters.

This shot shows that he is in a dark room, which sets the mood as being dull, and lifeless. The room is tidy and well-kept which is the complete difference from the other setting shot where it is dirty and misused.

This shot shows the setting and the location that he stayed in, “Discounts Inn”.The hotel doesn’t look very clean, it looks rough and the walls are boarded up which gives us an idea of whereabouts the main character lives and what the society was like at that period of time.Also, they showed us the name of the hotel “Discount Inn” to tell us that the town is quite poor and because the main character goes there, he must be quite poor as well.

Mise en scene – Costume.The costume that the main character is wearing shows us his personality.In this first shot, he is wearing a dirty suit, which shows that he must of come from work as he was wearing a suit, this also tells us that he is well-presented and smartly dressed. However, after he killed the man in the house, he gets his clothes dirty which could show that underneath his normal, good-self he is a killer.

In this shot, he is wearing an oversized checked-shirt and boxers. This scene was straight after he killed the man so this shows that he is laid-back, relaxed and he must of done it before to be this calm.

In this shot, he is wearing the same suit as he was in the first shot I took, however, it looks like it has been cleaned.He has the first 2 buttons undone which shows that he is casual and relaxed.Also, the fact that he is wearing the same suit as the one he wore when he killed the man shows that he isn’t afraid of getting caught out and he is calm about the situation.

Mise en scene – Figure expression.This shot shows the expression on the main character’s face as being scared, worried and possibly confused. He looks down from the camera which suggests he’s looking at his victim and what he has done to him, he could possibly be regretting what he has done. We can also see the scratches on his face and the blood which shows that he has possibly been in a fight.

This shot shows the main character’s figure expression as being angry, scared, and confused. He is looking down at the camera again, which shows that he is looking at the man he just killed. He was heavily breathing which suggests he’s either scared and he doesn’t quite know what he’s done or he was very angry and killed that man with his anger.

This shot shows a close up of the main character’s facial expression just after he killed the man. It shows that he is looking away from the camera, which suggests he is thinking about what he has done. Also, his eyes flicker up and down which suggests he is becoming impatient and is worried about getting caught out.

This shot shows the main character looking down at the camera, he also looks angry, unhappy and his eyebrows are diagonally down which looks like he may be confused about what happened. This also tells the audience that he is the main character as the camera is always on him.

This shot shows the audience a completely different side to the main character, this shows him talking and interacting with other characters, his figure expressions seem to tell us that he is keeping everything true about himself inside and as a secret as he is acting completely normal around everyone.

Mise en scene - PropsThis shot shows the use of a photograph as a prop, this photograph shows the room in which he killed the man, it shows the amount of blood that was involved. It tells us that he likes to take pictures of his victims which suggests he is a proud killer. This shot lasts for 1.09 minutes which shows how important this prop is. The picture is the main focus of this shot, as the camera is completely focused on it.

This shot shows the use of a camera as a prop, the main character used this camera to take the photo of the victim. He uses a professional camera which shows that he is serious about his killing and he is professional.

This shot shows a used bullet, which suggests that he has killed the man with a gun. Also, the bullet is clean and doesn’t look like it has been used, which shows that he is professional and has killed with a gun before.It also, shows that the prop is important as it is the main focus of the camera shot and it lasts on the screen for 4 seconds, which is a long time for one prop to be shown.

This shot shows glasses from the victim, the glasses are covered in blood and are turned upside down which suggests they were taken off his face when he got shot, which tells us that the main character is a dangerous man. Also, it suggests the killer likes gory scenes and death.It also shows that the prop is important as it is the main focus and it lasts on the screen for a long period of time.

This shot shows the use of a gun as a prop, the main character is using the gun as a weapon to kill the man. By showing this, it tells us how he likes to kill and he isn't afraid of using a gun.Also, he forces the gun which shows that he has power and he isn't scared of killing a man.

This shot shows us the use of keys as a prop, these keys are his hotel keys to get into his room. We know that he is staying in a hotel because on the other side of these keys there is a logo of “Discounts Inn”.This suggests that he either cannot afford to buy his own property and is forced to live in a hotel or he has this hotel room as a hide out for his killings.

Extreme Close up.

This extreme close up shot shows us the main characters eyes and nose. The shot is very dark which suggests this will be a dark film. The main character is looking away from the camera which suggests that he is thinking about what he has done and also his eyes don’t look like they’re worried as they aren't alarmed but instead they’re more relaxed and calm which suggests he knows what he is doing and he has possibly done it before.

Close up.This shot shows the use of a close up on the main characters face.His facial expression tells us that he is going over what he has done.He is looking down at the camera which suggests he doesn’t want to make any eye contact with anything but the victims body.Also, this close up helps us to recognise that he is scared and angry as he is breathing out of his mouth which tells us that he is out of breath.

This close up shot shows the main character deep in thought, which suggests that he is concerned about what he has done. Also, because of this close up shot we are able to recognise him as the main character.

Medium shot.This medium shot of the main character allows us to see his costume and his body language.It tells us that he wears a suit which suggests that he is smart and possibly has a well-paid job, however we are able to see that the suit is dirty. His posture shows that he has authority and power over the other man.

This medium shot of the main character also allows us to see his costume and body language.From this shot we are able to see that he is relaxed and completely normal which suggests that he has possibly killed before.

Long shot.This long shot allows us, the viewers, to see the location of the setting and we are able to tell what society was like.This shot tells us that he is in a hotel room, which suggests he has either rented it out to hide away his true identity or he is unable to afford a property of his own.We are also able to see what genre the film is, as it is dark and mysterious which suggests it’s a horror/thriller film.

Pan.This shot shows the use of pan in the film opening, it goes from one side of the room, to the other simply by moving the camera side by side.It’s a very quick movement as it only lasts 1 second but it looks like it goes slowly, the mood is dark, dull and lifeless and we get this impression because it moves slowly and it the effect of the camera is in black and white.Pan is good for thriller films because it shows the different sides of the room and it lets us, the audience, see what's around the room and what the kind of place the main character is in.

Tilt.This shot shows the use of tilt in the film opening, it goes either from the bottom of the room or scene and moves up to the top of the room or scene, and it can also go the other way.Here, this shot shows the closet, which is empty and it moves slowly up to the top of the closet which is empty also and has a fan on top. The director decided to use this because it shows that the main character hasn’t got any possessions in his hotel room which suggests he doesn’t own anything and he doesn’t have any other clothes apart from his suit and pyjamas.Tilt is good for thriller films because it allows the audience to have a closer look at what the scene is like and it shows the whole aspect of the scene.

Zoom.In the opening scene of Memento, there isn't any camera shots that are zoomed in or zoomed out.Zoom is good for thriller films, because it allows the audience to see the different emotions and expressions that the characters are feeling, this is also good for other types of genres.Also, zoom is good for thriller films because it can scare the audience when a scary scene is happening, if it zooms in on the main focus of the scary scene then it would be effective and it would make the film much scarier.

Cut.These two shots show the first cut in the movie.At the end of the first scene, it quickly cuts to the second scene which is him in his hotel, and the mood is changed completely, its changed from being dramatic and having action in it to being calm and mysterious. The first scene lasts 1.44 minutes, and it has a very fast pace which shows that it has lots of action to it, and the second scene has a slow pace which shows that it is relaxed. Cuts are good for thriller films as it shows the different scenes of the film and it shows different angles which, for the audience, would be scary as the tension would build up and cut to a scary scene.

Performance.The performance of the main character tells the audience what he his personality is.In the first scene, the main character kills a man which tells us, the audience, that he has power and he is quite a strong character.Also, the main character is portrayed as a bad, evil man because of the way he shot the man in his face.He doesn’t speak in the opening scene which tells us that he is quiet, and he keeps to himself.Performance is important for thriller films so that the audience can see what the different types of personalities are and they would feel like they know them more because they know what they're like.

Diegetic.The diegetic sound in the opening scene of Memento, is the gun shot when the main character kills the man, it is heard by the main character as it is in the scene.Diegetic sound is important for thriller films because if there wasn’t any diegetic sound in a movie then there would be no dialect so they wouldn’t talk to each other, which is essential for all films. Also, diegetic sound is good for thriller films because it emphasises the noise of weapons like guns, and it would give the film more of a jumpy feel to it, which is what thrillers are for.

Non-diegetic.There is no non-diegetic sound in the film opening of Memento.Non-diegetic sound is good for thriller films because it creates tension and it builds up the suspense. It could be used for when somebody is killing another person, there could be background music which is loud and at a very fast pace, by doing this it would make the audience scared and makes the film more interesting.

The use of micro elements would help me to in my own film opening because it allows me to use all different types of camera shots, which makes the film opening more interesting and scary for the audience, which is the main priority for a thriller film.It also, helps me in my own film opening because it shows me how important and how effective these different shots are and if I use all of them then it would attract the audience to my film.It would help me in my opening scene also, because it all creates tension and suspense which all good thriller films need, to become successful.Micro elements, like performance, allows the audience to become closer with the characters and they would know their personalities, which I think is a very good quality to have in a film opening, because its good for the audience to feel a connection with the characters in the film.