First Analysis

Analysis – Man On Fire

The film, man on fire starts of with producing the company logo on screen for the audience to view. This shows who supports the film or who has made it. It then goes onto an establishing shot of the city, which the film is based in, it doesn’t appear to be a well know city, but it is highly populated which may give some significance to what is to come. There is then non-diegetic sound which starts off a calm but then builds up, making the audience feel relaxed but then a bit unnerved as the music built up. Following that there is a super imposition and a medium shot of a couple that look happy and relaxed. But this contradicts with the music, which is played in the background, the music makes you feel uneasy and makes you think and know that something is going to happen. Next there is a sound of a bell toll, which may signify death, it makes you feel eerie. The sound for the music then contradicts with the sound of kids laughing, whilst given onscreen text which gives the audience extra information, which m ay link with the ongoing film, which it does. All of this is over another establishing shot of the city. Next there is a freeze shot, which is in black and white, which helps to change the mood from, relaxed to, dark and eerie. It defies the sadness and depressing nature of the sequence. There are plenty of quick a medium shot, which builds up the tension for the audience and makes them know that something bad is about to happen in the sequence. There are plenty of fast camera movements as it shows that there is loads of action going on. The music also builds up tension and people screaming add to the effect of the drama and tension involved. The close ups in the frame show the characters facial expressions so the audience will know what they are feeling about what is happening, at first they are happy as it is a normal day but then it dramatically changes when chaos breaks out. When the title of the film appears on screen, the whole frame is in black and white and freezes so that the audience have to pay attention to what’s going on the screen. There is also close ups shots of pictures in frames that the characters are looking at which gives the audience clues of what’s to come. The music calms down and goes quiet while the families who are worried are on screen but as soon as the phone call is happening the music begins to build up and gives the audience a sense of being scared. The on screen titles let you know who is involved in playing the characters in the film. There is plenty of diegetic sound near the ending of the opening sequence, such as the traffic and sounds of people crying. The voice on the phone is louder on the music until the music finally builds up and takes over completely. This is where the opening scene ends and the mood completely changes.