This document provides a summary and analysis of 15 shots from the film "The Hurt Locker". The shots establish the setting of a Middle Eastern country experiencing conflict and evacuation due to a bomb threat. Various camera techniques like shaky camera, zooms, and close-ups are used to convey a sense of urgency, chaos, and the point of view of soldiers searching cautiously for bombs amidst crowds of civilians. Elements like costumes, sounds of horns and shouting help set the scene and mood of danger and uncertainty during the evacuation process.

1. TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
The Hurt Locker
Gianluca & Jake

2. SHOT 1:
The first shot establishes the
setting of the film, the beginning of
this film is very fast pace. The
voice over sounds very dictatorial
and it refers to the setting of the
film. The dessert looking ground
connotes a middle eastern type of
country where there is a lot of
corruption. The diegetic sound of
the alarm connotes evacuation,
an insight of what is about to
happen. In the next shot we see
the evacuation take place.

3. SHOT 2:
The long shot of these
people being evacuated
gives a better
understanding of the
setting. Their clothing
connotes a middle
eastern type country and
with the accompanied
text we are instantly
aware of the setting. The
non-diegetic sounds of
shouting adds to the
effect of the evacuation.

4. SHOT 3:
This extreme long shot connotes a
chaotic environment which is similar
to the previous evacuation scenes.
The diegetic sounds of the car
horns connotes impatience and it
controls how we interpret the
situation. It allows us to believe that
it is more chaotic than it really is.
The camera then zooms and pans
to the robot , also the camera is
shaky, which connotes a sense of
watching. This camera movement
seems very aware, and you could
associate it with the army and how
they use their equipment to find
things e.g. Binoculars. This
movement is very similar.

5. SHOT 4:
This long shot connotes how
everyone is affected by the
corruption in the city.
However, the children act
naturally to the situation as
though it is a normal
procedure. The diegetic
sound of children
talking/shouting adds to the
shot and it connotes a sense
of fun and games. As the
audience we assume that
they will just carry on with
their games elsewhere.

6. SHOT 5:
The pan and zoom which
follows the car, connotes speed
and a sense of urgency. The
diegetic sounds of orders being
passed on through
megaphones adds to the sense
of urgency. The dissonant
score connotes how the
civilians aren't responding to
the orders of the army, they are
all over the place reacting in
different ways.

7. SHOT 6:
This medium shot explains
how the civilians won’t
cooperate, this man won’t
move from his shop. We
can assume this from his
hand gestures and his
head movement. This
connotes poverty, leaving
his store will result in him
possibly losing his stock
which will leave him with
nothing.

8. SHOT 7:
The extreme long shot of
the truck connotes a
focus on how big the truck
is. The track that follows
the truck allows us to
follow the action. The
diegetic sounds of car
horns connote normality
and a sense of
continuation .

9. SHOT 8:
The diegetic dialogue
of the armed men
connotes urgency
which adds to the fast
pace. The shaky cam
and slight pan makes
the audience feel as
though they are there
and watching the
soldiers every move.

10. SHOT 9:
The shaky cam in this
shot connotes realism
as though it is
strapped to the back
of a soldier. The
medium shot connotes
regimentation and
organisation.

11. SHOT 10:
The quick zoom out, pan
and zoom in connotes a
sense of watching, and it
feels as though someone
is observing the
soldiers, for example
through a sniper rifle
zooming in and out on
the subject.

12. SHOT 11:
The extreme close up on the
soldiers eyes connotes
determination, accuracy and
concentration. He says
“approaching” which
connotes a regimental frame
of mind.
SHOT 12:
This extreme close up
connotes concentration
and makes the audience
assume the difficulty of
the task as two sets of
eyes have to be aware.

13. SHOT 13:
The previous shot
This long shot is of what the
soldier is looking at in the
previous shot, this allows the
audience to get a perspective of
what the soldiers see which
creates an effect of feeling
involved with the film. The
previous shot connotes a sense
of awareness and gives the
audience an understanding of
how the soldiers must react to
any situation.

14. SHOT 14:
This medium close up shot connotes
awareness of surroundings and
uncertainty. Due to the many people
watching from balconies and buildings,
the soldiers are wary of who the bomber
is.
SHOT 15:
This shot is an eye line match, this gives the audience
an idea of what the soldier see and it allows them to
feel like they are in their shoes. At this point most of
the evacuation process is complete and we are aware
of this through the change in sound. The non-diegetic
foreign dialogue is no longer there but the dissonant
score is still there, which connotes fear of the
unknown.