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

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. Mise en scene - Props
This 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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.