Camera
The first two shot in the opening scene of the Bourne Identity are long shots which help us to get an initial view of what is going on. We see a shot from underwater of a body floating above which automatically brings to mind multiple questions and draws us in to continue watching on to find out who the body is and how they ended up in the water.This element of mystery adds tension and sets up the start of the film as a thriller nicely.We also see a long shot of a boat which shows us where the main setting for this scene will be. It is effective because it helps us to visualize the scenery when action is filmed indoors. Mid-shots are used frequently throughout the sequence to show what is happening. By using a mid shot it allows us to see the body language and interactions of the characters but also their facial expressions. This is effective because we can see the panic and uncertainty on their faces which lets us know they're in an unfamiliar situation and what is happening isn't what they would usually have to deal with. This keeps us on the edge of the seat as we see how they decide to respond as it happens.
Sound
The sound effects of thunder and heavy rain are used as pathetic fallacy to help set the mood for the scene as uneasy and potentially dangerous. This mood is also reflected through the non-diegectic background music. The men inside of the ship are happy, laughing and playing cards and seem to have no idea what is coming so the music is our main indicator that something bad is going on outside of their situation. That paired with the images of the man floating in the water foreshadows what is going to happen.
Mise En Scene
The setting of the boat on stormy seas presents a stressful situation as it is well known that many ships sink or crash when the weather is stormy so that lets us know that there will be an element of danger and risk to the film. The low key lighting also helps with this as its dark and so difficult to see what is happening and scenes from thrillers are often shot in the dark so it helps us establish the genre of the film. The mysterious man thats floating in the water is dressed in back from head to toe which gives us very little information about his character and creates mystery as we, and the other characters in the scene have no idea who he is. This helps to build tension as we don't have any clues as to what will happen and if he's good or bad.
Editing
The whole extract uses straight cut shots to set a fast pace to the film and create tension. As the shot switches quickly from one viewpoint to the next you can't always make out exactly whats happening so your full attention is drawn to the scene to make sure you can make sense of all the details given to you. Straight cut shots are a typical feature of thrillers as its a good creator of tension and suspense. Ellipsis of time is also used when the sailor goes out onto the deck to see what is happening. This is used because there is no need to show him walking and is effective because it shows us only relevant images are being shown to us, making us focus as everything shown is important.
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