the matrix is a kind of sci-fi/thriller that toys with philosophical ideas just as my proposed film will, so i am going to look into how they have constructed their opening scene, in detail. click here for the first four minutes of the matrix.
the first shot pans across from a profile view of a policeman, with gun, in close up, (who quickly goes out of focus) to a medium shot of another policeman, now in focus, who edges past the camera (which pans to follow him) with gun in hand. this establishing shot portrays that there is a unit of policemen, acting very cautiously, which implies to the audience that there is something very dangerous, that is yet to be revealed, which puts the viewer on edge. the next shot shows the two said policemen advancing down an industrial looking corridor, passing other officers with torches in the shadows, with dangling electrical wiring and grubby walls on show, guns clutched in hand, whilst the camera tracks from behind. these first two shots employ very little diegetic sound, with only the hushed and hurried footsteps making any noise. the non-diegetic soundtrack is very sparse, again building tension.
the shot changes to the two policemen reaching the door at the end of the hallway and the camera tracks around them (foreshadowing one of the recurring characteristics of the matrix: bullet-time), starting from behind them as before and ending 90 degrees around to the left so that we can see the face of one policeman as he nods to someone behind him. the shot changes to show the two policemen (now apparently joined by two more men in back up) from the viewpoint of the door, so that the men are in medium shot and two of them stand to each side of the frame, perfectly framing a large man who stands at the dead centre of the frame and proceeds to kick the door down.
match on action is employed in a flurry of expertly cut, split second shots, and then the police advance into the room towards the camera, shouting 'freeze!' at the suspect. cut to show the back of a woman illuminated in the torches' spotlights, in long shot, sitting next to a phone on a desk; she stays deadly still. the next shot tracks upwards from under the desk so that we finally see the face of the woman in closeup, as she puts her hands up, with four glaring torches in the space behind her. there is an orchestral swell of sound leading up to changing to the next shot, implying that this woman who has just been revealed will become very significant to the audience. the camera pans down, next, outside, at night time, a vertically aligned, electrical sign, heralding 'heart o' the city hotel, which we automatically assume is evidently the building that events have just unfolded in. the fact that it takes no explaining to inform to audience of this fact, shows that the text is well constructed to allow readers to fill in the gaps with their imagination. also now that we know that the scenes seen earlier of gritty looking industrial dilapidation are supposed to be inside a hotel, we know that this film will be ultra-stylized, as no realistic hotel, renting out rooms, would conform quite so well to this extremely dark feel.
next is a birds-eye view of a black executive car pulling up into a street full of police cars with their lights flashing and it cuts to a troupe of 3, black-suited, sun-glassed men getting out of the car. the evident leader of the 3 men (we know this as the camera focuses on him and he stands at the forefront) proceeds to converse with the police lieutenant (cue shot reverse shot) who eventually says 'i think we can handle one little girl...i sent two units, they're bringing her down now' and the ensuing shot of the man in the suit as he walks off and turns back to the man, his face in close up as the soundtrack swells, assures us that these words of the policeman will be famous last words, and sure enough, the suited man says 'no lieutenant, your men are already dead.'
the next shot is back inside with the woman and her captors, showing one policeman's hands at his waist as he advances on the woman who is in the background. next it shows an extreme close up of the woman's eye as she glances back over her shoulder at the advancing policeman, and proceeds to kill him and his men. the next few shots show that she kills all of the men in the room and in showing this, she goes into the aforementioned bullet time (where the camera shows her in ultra slow motion and tracks around her 180 degrees in a short space of time, as she aerially prepares for a flying kick before time reverts to normal and she connects her kick with him), she runs up the wall and moves very quickly, giving us a hint that she seems to have powers beyond what we thought physically possible, feeding our intrigue and interest.
when the next shot shows that she stands alone in a room full of dead men, in birds eye view, and consequently that the 3 men have entered the hotel and are coming to get her, she finally gets on to the phone and talks to someone about the line being traced.
it is worth noting that there is a definite green tint or hue on absolutely everything that is shown in these first 2 minutes, which gives the text a strong dark, shadowy feel.
No comments:
Post a Comment