The opening scene of the film SAW shows a character waking up in a dark, dirty bathroom. They are trapped inside a bathtub filled with water. As they struggle to get out, they realize they are trapped in the room with no clear way to exit. The character panics and shouts for help, confused and scared by their unknown surroundings in the extremely dark and underexposed scene.

1. SAW
Film Analysis (Opening Two Minutes)

2. The film begins with a black screen, SFX have been
added to show lighting and an abstract logo
appears. As the lightning continues the logo
becomes clearer to see. This logo works towards
the Uses and Gratifications theory – Personal, as it
is providing the viewer with a social status, of
watching a Lions Gate Film.

3. This then fades to black to show the words
‘Twisted Pictures’, barbed wire then curves across
the wording, with a stake in the middle. This
creates a feeling for the viewer that this film is
going to have some elements of horror, getting the
target audience hooked in from the first few
seconds.

4. The opening credits then begin, with a black
background, and blue writing fading onto the
screen. These credits are fairly typical and have
been seen in most films – however they are
effective.

5. The screen once again fades to black and we can
see a blue light swimming through what appears
to be water. This creates a hermeneutic code as
the viewer is thinking, what is this and why is it
here. This creates thoughts for the viewer.

6. Another fade to black shows the words ‘SAW’ in
the centre of the screen. This then begins to
disperse in a cloud effect creating an aura of
mystery for the viewer.

7. We then see the blue light, moving through the
water, only this time we can see more of its
surroundings. An under-exposed shot shows a
bath tub, and what appears to be a blue LED torch
attached to a key ring, however the hermeneutic
code created by it continues to make the viewer
wonder what this object is.

8. The filmography in this scene is very effective, as
they have been able to expose the lighting in such
a way that you can only see what the LED light is
shining on, yet you are still able to see the LED
light on the key ring itself. This creates a
hermeneutic code to the viewer, as it is making
them wonder where it is, and also why this LED
light is there.
This draws the viewers attention in, and works
towards the uses and gratifications theory needs
model in that it is playing on their mind and their
emotions.

9. Suddenly the water begins to ripple, this makes
the LED light disappear, it suggests movement
somewhere else within the bath tub, and again
makes the viewer wonder what is going on. They
are asking – what has moved in the bath tub, what
else is with the LED light.

10. The camera quickly cuts to show a face shaking
within the water, as if a person is in there and only
just realized that they are in the bath tub, or
woken up. This shot again is under-exposed to
create a dark environment and this creates
tension and a horror element to the film.

11. We can hear the diegetic sound of coughing, as if
the person was about to drown because they
could not breathe, and the rippling of the water as
they move within the bath tub. An extreme close
up shows the face in some discomfort.

12. A fast cut shows a larger shot, again incredibly dark
allowing the viewer to see only shadows as it is so
underexposed. By creating a dark room they are
creating a feeling of mystery and secrets. This is
another feature common to horror films and works
towards the uses and gratifications theory, creating
fear within the viewer – fear of what is happening.

13. Another cut shows a very dark shot of which is
unknown to the viewer. It suggests that the
makers of the film wanted to create a
hermeneutic code, as the viewer would want to
know what this is. The water begins to ripple once
again, and it appears to be a plug hole.

14. A cut to a wide angled shot, shows the bath tub
again, this time we can see the person inside trying to
get out by placing their hands on the sides, suggesting
they are reaching to escape. By using such a dark shot
it is hard for the viewer to see properly, but we can
gather from this that the room they are in is dirty – a
question asked would be: “Where are they?”

15. Suddenly as they begin to get out, the water moves
more, and the LED light shining blue appears to be
sucked into the hole we saw earlier. This makes the
viewer wonder what is happening. The character
begins to breathe heavily as they are getting out of
the tub, suggesting they are scared or in some
discomfort. The LED light gets sucked into the hole
and disappears as they get out.

16. The character falls out of the bath tub, suggesting
they did not know they were in there, and are
therefore scared as a result trying to get out as
quickly as possible. A pan down shows the
character on the floor. The scene is so dark we
struggle to see anything apart from the outlines
and shadows of what is happening.

17. The character quickly jumps up and appears to be
struggling to move, suggesting they are in some
pain – combined with the apparent fear. They grab
onto what appears to be a chain within the
dark, dirty room. It is suggested this is not their
home, and makes the viewer wonder where the
character is, and why they are there.

18. It is made clear by the characters need to hold onto
the walls that they cannot see and this is shown by the
under-exposed, dark shot. They begin to look
confused, and we can see their face for the first time
with a full body shot. We hear the non-diegetic sound
of the character shouting “Help, let me out of
here”, this tells us they are trapped.

19. The character is breathing heavily and they have a
scared expression on their face. They are shouting for
help and suddenly we hear a noise from the
background, the character quickly turns to see if there
is anything behind them and then shouts to see if
anyone is there. They continue to repeat, “let me out”
– why are they there and why can’t they get out?

20. The character is breathing heavily and they have a
scared expression on their face. They are shouting for
help and suddenly we hear a noise from the
background, the character quickly turns to see if there
is anything behind them and then shouts to see if
anyone is there. They continue to repeat, “let me out”
– why are they there and why can’t they get out?

21. Summary of analysis:
• The character is in a bathtub, with a blue light
floating around. The scene is very dark.
• The character wakes up and realizes they are in a
bath tub, confused they clamour out of the bath tub.
• They then realize they are in a room and do not
know how to get out. Panicking they begin to shout
for help.
• The scene is underexposed and very dark, with the
character clearly scared by the situation.
• The only sound is diegetic.
• There is little dialogue – mainly near the end of the
scene.