Accident Sequence Analysis

• For our first shot we were aiming to create a good narrative flow, we did this by using an establishing shot to show were the character was and what she was doing.
• After our establishing shot we wanted to jump right into the action so we used a mid shot from a side angle which allowed us to see exactly what she was doing. This was a good choice of shot as if it was too close up you wouldn't have been able to see what she was focusing on and we didn't want to use another long shot as it wouldn't have been as interesting.
• Next we use an over the shoulder shot, this is effective as the audience can look directly at what the character is and they feel involved with that's going on. The dialogue after she looks at the watch makes it clear that she is flustered and in a hurry and helps the narrative flow.
• The match on action used between the shot after she looks at her watch and the low shot of her running towards the broom works well as it illustrates the action from two interesting angles. When we see the close-up on the feet it is linked to the over the shoulder shot as it plunges the audience straight into the action.
• Before the final shot you hear a bang sound and there is a blackout which creates the illusion that something has happened which we haven't been able to see. We end the sequence with a mid-shot of the character on the floor injured which leaves the scene on a cliff-hanger because we are not sure to what extent she is injured. The blackout and sound before this shot is effective because it makes it continuous otherwise there would have been a jump from her running to her falling which wouldn't look right.
• Unfortunately, in shot 2 to 3 there is a break in continuity as we break the 30 degree rule. It doesn't look that visually disturbing but in future we should consider it more because to avoid the audience getting confused

Opening Sequence Continuity - Trainspotting

• The narrative is established at the very beginning with the low shots and mid shots of the protagonist running towards the camera.
• The variety of shots order in the order we see them makes it smooth on the eye as it goes from a low to mid to low to mid long which doesn't look jumpy and the cuts help to illustrate the fast pace running.
• There is a matched cut when the protagonist jumps over the car bonnet as we see the point of view shot of him running into it, then a long shot of him running, then the shot from on the bonnet and the final shot of him rolling off the bonnet which all fit together perfectly to show the entire moment smoothly.
• There is also another example of match on action when the protagonist is hit in the head with the ball - as there is a cut as the ball is in the air, to the ball hitting his head.
• A parallel is created between the protagonist falling on the football pitch and falling in another scene, cross-cutting between these two events is weird but effective as we know the character cannot be in two places at once so it is quite interesting. There is a final match on action which cuts just before his head hitting the ground on the football pitch and his head hitting the ground in the new scene.

Opening Sequence Analysis

• This opening sequence begins with non-digetic narration which we assume is coming from one of the two men walking towards the camera in the VLS. We know that this is set in a prison as the mise-en-scene is very dull and mainly grey/navy colours. Also the outfits are plain and uniform but immediately the narrator says "There must be a con like me in every prison in America" so that also tells us we are watching a Crime/Drama film set in a jail.
• From listening to the accent of the narrator, we know that its taking place in America and he later says "When Andy Dufresne came to me in 1949 and asked me to smuggle..." we know its set around the mid 1900's.
• We are introduced to the two protagonists in the beginning of the sequence. Firstly, the old african-american man who's voice is being used as the narration. We assumes its his voice because the first close up is on his face and the voice matches his appearance. We know that he is a main character in the film as from the narration we can hear he does a lot in the prison for his fellow prisoners, from this we can infer that hes very respected and known. Also, the camera focuses on him a lot, for example, when they are going to see who the new prisoner is around 1:30, the camera tracks particularly him running to find a spot to watch as oppose to all the people that come after, telling us that he is of some importance. We only briefly see the second protagonist in the prisoner car. The audience know he is the one being narrated as the camera slowly zooms into his face from a mid-shot into a medium close-up. The audience can also tell because the narrator describes him as the "vice president of a large portland bank" and he is the only one smartly dressed in the bus and therefore looks like he'd be the one previously from an affluent background.
• This first sequence of the film is needed to introduce the two protagonists and tell us they have a relationship before we see them meet. With the aerial shot of the prison we can gauge the vast amount of people there are there. The composed body language of the new prisoners, especially Andy Dufresense, in contrast to the prisoners inside who are banging on the gates almost like animals could show there will be friction between the two groups as they are so different.
• The dramatic music that accompanies the aerial shot is quite typical of its genre. The instruments used also make it sound more dramatic and mournful - this could be an indication that people entering the prison are loosing their lives and their freedom, it almost makes the audience sympathies with them.