https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAe08lJXAb4
This is the Enduring Love opening scene.
Roger Mitchell
ENDURING LOVE, 2004
These two shots are POV’s. However, what is strange about this is that
it is a POV of the balloon. Which is a form of personification. I believe
that this is used to show how powerful the balloon is in relation to the
old man who is chasing after the balloon. It also gives the viewer an
idea of what is happening away from the protagonist (Daniel Craig).
In this scene there is only diegetic sound. This is effective as the viewer
can only hear the sounds of the rope / the man falling over. This makes the
viewer a lot more uncomfortable because in most films there would be
loud action music and it would make the scene action filled. However,
because there is no music / barely any sound at all it makes the viewer
hold their breath and it makes the scene, in my opinion, more action filled.
In these two shots a POV shot is used. However, these shots aren’t a POV of any
character or any object in particular. These two shots are actually the POV of the
camera man. He is running alongside the characters and running toward the
balloon. This gets the viewer involved in the scene as they feel like they are running
alongside the other people and running to help. These shots also show the chaos of
the situation as they are quite shaky and in the top shot the camera actually looks
like it falls into the grass for a moment. This is effective as it makes the viewer more
excited about what is going to happen and it thrills them a lot. They would probably
get very into this scene. The bottom image also shows the balloon in frame. This is
effective as it shows how far away the people are from the balloon and it would
make the viewer wonder if everyone was going to make it on time.
The strange thing about these scenes is that there is only diegetic sound. No music
is played throughout the entire opening until the end when they are all holding
onto the balloon. Like I said before, this makes the viewer uncomfortable. This links
to the top shot as when the camera looks as if it falls. This would make the viewer
uncomfortable as they would want to be seeing the action.
In this shot the sound gets more
distant as if the viewer really is up in
the air. It makes it harder for them to
hear what the characters are saying
as they would want to see a bit more
of the action then they actually are.
This is an aerial shot of the balloon and someone running towards the balloon. This shot is very
effective as firstly, it shows how far away this character is from the balloon. The viewer would again,
wonder if they were going to reach it in time. This shot also can be used to show how large the balloon
is in comparison to people. This makes the people in frame seem very weak and make the viewer think
that the people wont be able to stop it. This shot is also effective as it shows where everyone is at all
times. This makes it easier for the viewer to understand the frames. However, I know that each
character are wearing similar colours so this may confuse them a lot however this may have been on
purpose as it adds to the uncomfortableness of the scene. Also, the fact that a lot of different shots are
used very quickly at the start of the film also adds to the uncomfortableness of it.
These two shots are called an eye-line match. An eye-line match means
that you see the actors on scene look at something and then the next scene
we cut to is whatever they were looking at. In this case all of the actors turn
around and look worried and then the next shot we see some leaves
rustling and then it cuts to the bottom image which is actually a POV of the
wind which, like the POV of the balloon is personification. The audience will
be able to see the reactions of the characters before knowing what it is they
are looking at. In this scene the audience will be on edge as they see that
the characters all look very worried/concerned and the viewer will wonder
what it is they are looking at. Also the POV of the wind will make the wind
look more powerful to the audience. This will give it the effect that is
intended as it will look more powerful then the balloon. Also in the shot on
the bottom image the wind is travelling at quite a fast speed so the viewer
will know that there is nothing the characters can do to stop it.
In this scene, all sound stops. The viewer can barely even hear the characters
breathing. When they turn to view the wind all you can hear is the leaves
rustling but when we get a POV of the wind you can hear it and this makes the
wind seem more powerful then it actually is.