2. ■ The Leon action drama's title sequence is
displayed in this section. Through hazy
and ambiguous images and symbols, the
insert gives viewers a glimpse of the main
plot in order to pique their interest and
keep them watching.
3. ■ The film begins with a swooping cinematic
aerial shot flying over and looking down on
trees, the shot is quite close to the trees and is
panning fast, creating a quickly changing
image. This is accompanied by non-diegetic
soft and calming music as well as some
opening credits that appear in large writing.
This shot then pans up revealing New York in a
magnificent panoramic shot of the city around
Central Park. This shot is both powerful as well
as being instantly recognisable, immediately
establishing the setting of the film as central
New York. At this point the music becomes
more striking and bold, adding to the impact of
this impressive shot and showing the
importance of the location. “LEON” the title of
the film then comes up in large white capitals.
4. ■ After that it cuts to a working class area of
a New York city street, again a moving
panning shot is used which goes down the
street, most likely on top of a bus or lorry,
this again adds to the setting and
contrasts against the previous upscale
Central Park to a more low key area of the
city. The shot is a bit shaky giving a more
realistic impression to the street, in
contrast to the previous large panoramic
shot. This then jump cuts several times
down the street. The elliptical editing
abruptly draws attention to the new shot,
specifically the Little Italy area of New
York ending at the “Supreme Macaroni”
restaurant, establishing the setting of the
next scene.
5. ■ This then cuts to a conversation between two characters sat
opposite each other at a table inside the restaurant. The
silence is broken by the flick of a cigarette lighter and the
camera focuses on the smoker’s mouth, the smoke filled
screen and the deep field of depth creates a calm but
ominous aura. Extreme close ups are used in the shot,
followed by reverse shots of both characters facial features
this technique creates a feeling of tension. A close up shot
of Leon’s glasses reflects his companion and a photograph
on the table. This shot cleverly enables us to see Leon and
simultaneously to view the scene from Leon’s viewpoint.
These carefully restricted glimpses create a mysterious
setting as no clues are given about the characters; we are
only given a small insight with the close up shots. This quiet
enclosed scene of an exclusive conversation, juxtaposes
with the previous scene of the busy and lively street with its
evocative sound track. The serious and professional
manner of the characters highlights the importance of this
scene, as well as leading the audience to want to know
more. Leon’s glasses conceal his eyes, which add an
intriguing mysteriousness to his character, we cannot full
view his identity and we are not able to put a face to the
main character.
6. ■ Leon in this scene is seen to be drinking milk
through the use of an extreme close up of
shots. This may be seen as abnormal and does
not follow the conventions of a typical assassin
like character, further reinforcing the secretive
nature of this character and again making the
audience curious and intrigued. Towards the
end of this scene non-diegetic tension building
music is used. The drumbeat creates suspense
and signifies that something of importance may
occur next. The scene ends with a close up shot
of Leon firmly placing his glass of milk back on
the table and then picking up the black and
white photo of what appears to be the
antagonist on which the conversation topic was
about. In both of these clips the diegetic sounds
have been amplified for effect.
