Neve's textual analyse of 'minority report'

Textual analyse of 'Minority report'
- camerawork
-editing
-sound
-mise en scene
-media terms
scene 1

figure 1

figure 2

The establishing shot  (figure 1) is a close up and fazed out shot two high key white shapes opposite each other,This could be the outline of two faces. The sound is non-diegetic it is a creepy sound which slowly increases to a more serious sound as we see more of the shot and can put it in context. as the shot unfolds we can see a two shot of two people kissing their body are in low key lighting however there is high key light in the background, this makes the audience feel suspense because the sound is getting stronger and building up to a disruption. the camera fades in and out to create the effect of a dream and pleasure. (figure 2)

scene 2

figure 3

figure 4

In this shot scissors fade onto the image of them kissing (figure 3), this forshadows what might happen as the scissors are placed in the middle of them, cutting there relationship up? the non-diegetic sound gets quieter and slowly fades into old style music sounds. the lighting is black and white creating another dream like affect. the camera then fades to what looks like a flashback. the narrative is linear however it doesn't appear to be in chronological order. The flashback creates disorientation and confusion for the audience as we cant tell who the flashback is from. the flashback shows water splashing connoting that there is a struggle and someones getting held down. (figure 4)

figure 5

 scene 3
In this scene we are introduced to another male character, (figure 5) However the ambience implies it is a flashback from one of them. The man is filmed in a mid shot birds eye view this is also oblique/canted angle, Creating the effect of disorientation and confusion. The males costume is a smart black suit giving the impression he may be important. The shot is from a small hole in the wall looking down on the male this is called the blocking technique where we are being blocked from seeing everything. The outside if the hole is black, therefore giving it a surreal feeling to the scene. The lighting is low key dark blue light resembling night. the corners of the frame are blurred, Adding to the affect of surrealism. We can see that the male is walking up some stairs, Forshadowing what might be about to happen as there was previously a shot of two people kissing, Presumably upstairs? The non diegetic sound increases as the male gets closer to the disruption this is creating suspense in the audience.  the camera transitions resemble a bubble bouncing kind of effect with the non diegetic sound of bubble to. this really creates the feeling of being in a scary disorientated dream.

figure 6

scene 4
This shot is a match on action shot of the male walking up the stairs and creepily appearing next to the couple kissing in bed (figure 6). There is diegetic sound and non diegetic.  The sound of a woman panicking is diegetic and the non diegetic is of the eerie scary tone background sound. Both characters in bed pull apart and begin to look frightened and shocked that there is a man standing over them, This is creating a feeling of supernatural surrealism because of the Mise en scene, editing,sound, and camerawork adding up to create the feeling that weird things are happening. The frame is a canted angle and Birdseye view long shot of the three characters. The lighting is low key around the edges of the shot and high key glare coming from the window adding to the effect of surrealism. The male standing up is showing confident body language and looks crazy. He doesn't seem to act on them pulling apart, Maybe he isn't really there watching them. However this is a very creepy shot and really makes us feel scared for the couple. The three characters are wearing opposite costume making there a big difference in the hierarchy, The standing man hold authority in his black suit while the man is wearing a vest and boxers and the women is wearing a silk night dress. This suggest that the man in the suit has power over the two weak ones in bed.

Scene 5

figure 7

figure 8

In this scene we see many cut's at a very fast pace making it very hard for the audience to keep up. one of the cut's is a close-up shot of the women facing the standing man (figure 7), Her facial expression looks worried and scared does she know this man is no good? there are non diegetic sounds of eerie scary noises and a sound of wind when someone runs extremely fast in thriller films. This sounds forshadows the next few seconds as he grabs hold of her and we are taken to a close up/mid shot of an mans arm holding her down and lifting her up in water, this appears to be a flashback as the pace is increased to above the pace humans can move. there is water splashing back into the bath creating another effect of surrealism and dreams. the water has a red tinge in it from the woman's head being hit against the hard basin of the bath. there is no dialogue in this scene suggesting she has no power or it is a scary dream where nothing is explained. This scene is in low key light in blues and black colours with a white glare. The cut's are at a very fast pace making the audience concentrate on every detail. the pace also suggests the feeling of being scared and a sense of urgency. (figure 8)

scene 6

figure 9

In this scene we see a long shot tilted angle of the male in the bed (figure 9), Tripping across the floor trying to get away, whilst the woman in curled up on the bed, suggesting the last scene was a flashback or a view into the future.the use of a long shot allows the audience to see their messy surroundings, the lighting makes the setting appear older and worn down. The lighting around the edges of the frame is blurred creating the effect of a dream. There is diegetic sound of running and scattering footsteps that add to the feeling of urgency and being very scared. the man standing jumps across the floor and onto the other man like an animal this really creates the feeling that this situation is supernatural and very creepy, Due to the pace, Lighting, And the males fast reactions.

scene 7

figure 10

figure 11

In this scene the scissors from the beginning appear this time in a close up/mid shot of the male cutting another males eye out in a picture (figure 10). This suggests to the audience that the man kissing the women did something wrong to the other man to make him act like this. The context hasn't yet been revealed to us, It creates suspense and wonder as to why all of this is happening this is enigma created to make us wonder is it real? Why? What happened previously as we've been thrown straight in, This is in non-chronological order. There are high pitch non-diegetic sounds of scissors scratching together, in this scene we are for the first time introduced to dialogue however it is non-diegetic, The angry male is saying  ' how blind i am without them' this makes the audience wonder who's eyes a male was scratching out? as the angry man talks about being blind without them, This shot and dialogue creates enigma as we are now wondering who's hurt who? there is a high key white glare shining through the window suggesting that the situation might be settling down. the tone of the mans voice sounds scared and worried like he is crying. The prop in his hand is the silver scissors being held at a high angle in the frame. Ready to stab someone. There is a mid shot of the man holding the scissors up and the woman on the bed behind him an over shoulder shot. Their body language is very different the women looks worried and scared and the man looks evil and angry. We hear the second diegetic dialogue from the woman saying 'don't cry Allan' this is a quiet tone in a whisper however this makes Allan very angry and he turns and stabs her in the chest, This is a cut mid shot as we see him stab her, there is also an extreme close up of his facial expression  (figure 11), Which looks very angry and scrunched up like hes been possessed.  There are very fast pace cut match on action shots of him then back to her struggling to survive heavy breathing and the lighting turns dark low key creating a sense of danger maybe death? there are flashbacks within flashbacks this is very disorientating and confusing for the audience especially as its done in very fast pace cuts. 

figure 12

scene 8

figure 13

In this shot see an eye it looks like a women's eye (figure 12) so presumably the women's that just got stabbed, It is an extreme close up of her eye however it is upside down, Creating a disorientated feeling for the audience and enigma.The sound begins to intensify as the camera shakes her eye to a blur. the colour of the shot is an old fashioned low key brown then shakes into a cold blue colour's. the camera shakes finally blurring her eye into a shape, Then we see and extreme close up of her eye however the pupil is blurred and we can see eyelashes flickering suggesting someone is waking up. The eye is intense and suggests to me that it was a dream or flashback and now they are wide awake, This is a cut in ecu.  the camera zooms out and we see a white face with piercing blue eyes, The face us in water and as the scene unfolds the face goes further under, this is creepy for the audience. The dialogue says 'murder' in a slow tone sounding out every letter, this suggests it is a dream or supernatural. The person hasn't got any hair or eyebrows/eyelashes their makeup has been done like this to create an effect? suggesting they are ill? (figure 13) The high key lighting adds to the effect of dreaminess and surrealism.

scene 9

figure 14

figure 15

In this scene we come away from the creepy flashbacks and enter a business building (figure 14)we see this in a long shot as the camera tracks and dolly's a male walking into the office. The setting looks new and modern with glass wall and paths on different levels the cold blue/ grey colour suggests it may be scientific or crime work.The modern style also suggests that it may have new technology advances in it. the lighting is high key lighting suggesting it is now day time and a safer place than the last shots. there is diegetic sounds of doors however they sound like electric doors implying there need to be lots of safety here. There is also non-diegetic sound of musical instruments creating an upbeat feeling of a fresh start. There is written text in one of the shots saying 'the year 2054' suggesting this is set in the future, in a previous shot there were balls with people names written do they say who will get killed next? as this place is working in pre crime. These shots make the audience wonder what the first scenes were, Initially flashbacks however now we know the context they could be future crimes going to happen. The sounds are busy and intense suggesting that it is a busy important place. the high key lighting also adds to the effect of this being a modern new bright place. We see a close up shot of the white face again this time there is a non-diegetic alarm going off and the face is getting deeper and deeper in the water, they use enigma code with this face to make us wonder what the relevance this has to crimes? (figure 15)

figure 16

scene 10

figure 17

In this scene we are introduced fully to the character we were tracking and another character in an office chair.(figure 16) The setting is smart and modern suggesting wealth and power. There is a dialogue between the two men talking about a case that has come up, The man sitting down appears to have authority over the man standing as he is walking into the man office, He is also telling every detail which implies to me that he is the boss and The standing man is a practical worker he stops the crimes.This is a mid/long shot and over the shoulder shot giving us the chance to see the setting and what kind of place this is and work out the hierarchy between the two men. The props in the setting are piles of books and notes suggesting a busy place of work, There is also a large glass machine in the corner where the balls with names on are generated, The standing males picks the ball up and we see it in a mid shot  cut in  of his hand picking the ball up this suggests that he is going to deal with the case. (figure 17)

narrative
This thriller opening follows subjective narrative, It is not shown who's point of view it is. The story is also in non -chronological order starting with whats in the future and working its way to the present, Using this narrative style keeps the audience interested because they want to know, What is was at the beginning? If it actually happens? Who's was it? This thriller is fast pace and demands your full attention to not get confused.