Quantum of Solace - Opening Scene Deconstruction - Seyi Daramola

The first scene I am going to deconstruct is the first part of the car chase under the tunnel and the lead up to it

Camera Angles

• Establishing shots of a calm looking tunnel, you get no insight into what is happening within the tunnel so you assume nothing is going on
• Many extreme close up shots of features such as the wheel of the car, his eye and you only notice that danger is occurring once you see the side of a gun
• Over the shoulder shots are used incredibly well as if you are seeing the outside of a car over someones shoulder you are basically having a backseat view which makes you feel as if you are a part of the chase
• The majority of the shots are close ups, mainly to show his calm and more aggressive attitude to the situation

Sound

• The sound also makes you not think that there is something dangerous occurring within the tunnel as the music you hear is quite classical, non diagetic sound, however in the build up to the tunnel the violin you hear is more intense which builds up the tension until the roar of the aston martin engine engages, then you automatically realise it is a car chase.

Editing

• Many jump cuts are used in the initial chase to show all the action that is happening, as you need to show all of the action happening and due to the fact that the cars are moving at high speed jump cuts are the best way to show the pace of the chase, also, in order to visualise the extent of the danger you need to see the chase from different angles, this is why they show many different shots of the same thing showing the intensity of the situation
• When you are seeing the extreme close ups, they are put in the scene in time with the music, which means that you are only realising what is happening in time with the music.

Mise-en-scene

• Barely illuminated tunnel next to river
• shot in mid day
• Packed road
• Loads of trucks
• Foreign police, Shot in italy
• Large mountain side

The 2nd scene I am going to deconstruct is the quarry scene where the car chase continues

Camera Angles

• Establishing shots are used a lot more as the director is trying to capture where the chase is taking place which shows more danger in the chase due to the steep hills, no roads etc, also the establishing shots allow us to take in the cars being used, James bond is in an Aston Martin DB9 which is a super car valued at around £100,000 while the man chasing is in an alfa romeo which would be valued around £30,000, the difference in cars being used automatically makes Bond seem more powerful and the establishing shots allow us to see this
• Extreme close up shots once again show the intensity of the chase e.g. the quick gear changes

Editing

• Jump cuts are once again used to portray all of the action used in a short space of time

Sound

• The sound seems to build up all throughout the quarry scene until the car falls down the cliff, it then goes silent once again

Mise-en-scene

• Large cliffs
• Quiet quarry
• Super cars
• Obstacles e.g. tractors

Pros and cons of Action

Pros and cons of Action

Deconstruction of Casino Royale

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJubOZLpp4A&safe=active

In action films there are a number of sub genres, however I will be focusing on the spy action sub genre.
I will deconstruct the 2006 film 'Casino Royale'

Good vs evil - (chase scene on cranes) 4:15

 Camera angles

• Close up shots to show facial expressions
• Establishing shots of high cranes
• Low angle shots in order to see the situation from a ground POV
• High shots emphasising the sheer drop below

Editing

• Eyeline match from the protagonist to the enemy, also used to see where to jump
• Cutaways from main protagonist used to look at others, then we see the main protagonist again

Sound

• Suspense and tension building non digetic soundtrack
• Digetic sound of heavy breathing and panting, combined with the 'thud' from the jumps

Mise en scene 

• Sky in background
• Clothes used blend in with the dry area and the other people within the area
• Blue cranes are darker than that of the sky to stand out 

Explosion - (final explosion) - 9:00

Camera angles

• Close up of gun before explosion, also of others expressions and the gas can
• Low angle shot of people flying through the air due to explosion (see picture)
• Establishing shot shows the damage that has been caused

Editing

• Eyeline match from Bond to the gas
• Visual effects of fire and the explosion

Sound

• Digetic sounds of:
• Gun
• Gas
• Flames going up
• Screams and yells
• Paper falling to the ground
• Building collapsing
• Flickering of fire

Mise en scene 

• Lots of paper, emphasises damage
• Collapse of buildings
• Security do not stand out to Bond being the dominant

Batman: The Dark Knight opening deconstruction

Batman: The Dark Knight deconstruction of opening.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OYBEquZ_j0

Opening shot of the city

• Establishing shot of the city, it's clear to the audience that wherever this scene is shot is a built up area, one full of sky scrapers with people working within them. This make it clear to the audience that the film won't take place in just one place, it's a city and the film will take part within it. 
• A wide angle lens has been used which captures a broad area, the city in this case and it makes it appear very 3D to us, as though the building are continuous and we gather an understanding of the depth of the city. 
• The movement of the camera is zoom, the camera zooms in on one of the buildings that we see at the beginning of the shot, it's as if the audience have to wait for something to happen, and then one of the windows is shot through and the audience have been given what they were waiting for.
• There's diegetic sound of traffic and car horns which just adds to the audience's understanding of the place that this shot is taking place in, and that it's a busy city yet it's about to be terrorized by a gang. 
• There's also non-diegetic sound played throughout the zoom. Sounds like a timer counting down or a clock ticking, something indicating that time is passing which suggest to the audience that they're supposed to be waiting for something to happen, and then that something does happen when the window is shot through within the first couple of seconds which induces shock as well as understanding to the audience. 
• As the window is shot through, the shot switches to one of the character who just shot through the window, the character is an anonymous one wearing a mask and holding what seems to be a 
• Guns connoting danger and crime
• Masks, in this case, connoting crime and hidden identity

Men zipwiring across 

• Non-diegetic sound, low notes which sound like something played on a string instrument, accompanies by sudden gun shot sounds which again signal that something negative is about to happen, as the characters we've seen have all been partaking in activity that seems illegal and suspicious. 
• Birds-eye view camera angle is used to show how high the characters are, high as if they're avoiding the people on the ground, the people that would see them and wonder what they're doing, but from the birds-eye view it seems that there are now people down below, just cars so people won't suspect them. 
• Both zip-wiring characters are wearing masks, this creates connection among the masked characters that we have seen within the first few shots of the opening scene as they're all wearing masks that hide their identity whilst they seem to be hijacking a city. 
• This scene conforms to an action film, it's extreme action that would definitely not happen in every day life. 

Scene inside the bank

• The diegetic sound of the masked men talking allows the audience to understand that the place is being raided but because we can't see the mouths moving of the masked characters, as the audience we cannot sense who's talking and demanding for actions to be made and this makes us feel the confusion that the other innocent characters in the shot are feeling. 
• The shot used is again an establishing one, it shows us the building that the raid is taking place in and that it's a bank and helps the audience understand that the characters are raiding a bank. 
• Cross-cutting is used to show what is going on elsewhere as part of the raid and how the other masked characters are working outside to help with the raid. 
• The full shot of the character who gets shot by one of the masked character adds to the crime of the situation, which is what you expect from an action film, a crime scene and murders, conforming to the conventions of an action film. 
• During the medium shot of one of the masked men (3:57), the background is blurred indicating that is was most likely filmed using a telephoto lens, and also makes him the dominant of the shot. We can see that he is dressed in a suit, just like the other masked men and just like the other characters that we see in the scene, which may suggest that this group of masked men are just like normal people that have decided to individualize themselves from others with the masks, hide their identity for criminal reasons. 

Within the safe

• Throughout the opening scene we see the masked characters kill eachother off, this subverts to the conventions as it's usually good vs evil in action films like Batman, but during this scene it's evil working with evil yet they kill eachother off. 
• Non-diegetic sound of the atmospheric music continues throughout the scene acting as a bridge within all the scenes, relating them all to one another. The ticking is still continuing as though the counting down has not come to an end which keeps the audience's attention as it suggests the worst is still yet to happen. 
• The eye-level shot of this point within the opening scene makes us as the audience feel as though we're watching what he's doing, from our point of view, as if we are standing within the door way of the safe watching this criminal action take place. Because of the use of the masks within the beginning, the audience have created a connection with clowns and crime within the film, and later on, even if you did not have a previous understanding of Batman, you would understand that the Joker has a permanent clown face painted on him, and he is the evil within the film. 

Deconstruction of Bad Boys 2 Opening Scene - Seyi

Camera Angles

• A low angle shot is used to show Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as they emerge from the KKK outfits, this shot is effective as even though they are black men surrounded by racist whites they still seem powerful in the situation.
• This use of high angle shots is used throughout this scene as even though the odds seem low towards them they still hold their own through out the scene
• Camera angle slightly hovers over Will Smith when using the over the shoulder shot where he is looking at the man holding his partner at gun point, this exaggerates the height difference between him and the man showing that he still has control over the situation
• A close up of Will Smith's and Martin Lawrence's faces are used to show their reactions to the situation, this is sued well as you can see the intensity in Will's face where as you can see the submissiveness in Martin's as he in the one trying to calm the situation down.
• Establishing shots of where the shootout is going to take place help set the scene due to the mist in the air that is more obvious due to the shot used, this mist adds an extra mystery to the scene also

Editing

• Cutaways are used very well to create suspense when there is static between the two undercover cops and the swat team in the water, this means that you know more than the undercover cops themselves as you know how the situation might play out as you know that no connection has been established between the two parties
• The main type of editing used is continuity editing so that you can literally see the tension build up from when the undercover cops reveal themselves to when the shootout starts, this way you can anticipate what is going to happen and it will give the viewer a feel of excitement in the same time as the actors

Sound

• When you are facing the men in the water you hear a lot of nature's noises e.g. birds or any different animals within the surrounding forest, however they are much more exaggerated in their volume as you would not normally hear them, these noises create more suspense in the situation as it is if they are in an environment where they have less power in
• The pace of the music builds up when one of the KKK henchmen tries to make a run for it, this pace speeds up until the gun clicks to one of the cops heads, this creates an unexpected stop to the music as the gun click is where the pace stops completely
• Most sound is non diagetic, all of this is used to create or lose tension in the situation
• The pace of the music escalates once again once the action builds up once more, use of electric guitars and drums to create a more action type feel in the situation, rather than a perilous one.
• When a slow motion shot occurs, the sound also slows down allowing the whole scene to slow down, this allows you to slow down with the shot to see whats happening

Mise-En-Scene

• Use of the mist to create a sense of mystery as you do not know 100% what is happening
• Dirty clothing and unhygienic men used as the KKK men to show the uncivilised nature of the people 
• Chemicals and bottles around as even though you don't see drugs you get a hint that that is what is going on in the background
• Burning cross to show the intensity of the racist men's beliefs