Tom's Media Portfolio
Saw (18) Opening Analysis
The scene opens to almost complete darkness, using low key, dull lighting which, in this case, gives an unknown feeling to the scene, which is made tense by the minor key score. The scene also opens to a juxtaposition as it starts in water, something that is often compared to tranquility, alongside the darkness. The characters are both in mostly casual costume, however their costumes have some sort of damage. Finally, the setting is obviously somewhere inside which gives a claustrophobic, confined effect.
Mise En Scene
An image showing the darkness of the scene initially, also the character's costume is slightly visible here
Juxtaposition of stereotypically tranquil water with darkness and panicking character
The scene starts using close ups to heighten the fear of the unknown which is around the character. It then uses consistent long shots once the character is out of the bath tub, which shows his actions and the fact that he is scrambling helplessly, which shows his uncool nature. The character in the grey shirt is shot using handheld cameras to give a panicked sense, however the other character in the blue shirt is shot using stable cameras to show that he is more professional and better equipped to deal with the situation. When the lights are turned on, there is a pan down to the corpse in the middle of the room, which builds tension as to what the characters both see. This is preceded by a POV shot from the grey-shirted character which is shaky and shows his fear, as well as blurry which adds realism as his eyes are adjusting to the light. Finally, there are close ups on the corpse to show off important objects that the corpse has.
Camerawork
The POV shot from the grey-shirted character's viewpoint. Uses blur to mimic character's eyes reacting to light
A close up on one of the corpse's objects which is used to relay important information to the audience
Soundtrack
The soundtrack in this scene is used mostly to build up a sense of tension and fear. The scene doesn't use much non-diegetic sound, the most amount being a score played at the beginning to raise tension and fear. The score is in a minor key to give the sinister effect. Once the grey shirted character gets out of the bathtub, there is a musical attack so the audience can hear the dialogue. Once the lights are turned on in the scene, the score begins to crescendo, even more so as the camera pans down to show the corpse, which heightens the tension in the scen further.
Editing
This scene is mostly made up of long cuts, which means the audience can focus on the dialogue being exchanged. However at the beginning of the scene and when the corpse is discovered, there are quick cuts to add confusion to the scene. There is also an eyeline match to introduce the second guy visually, and to more easily follow their conversation, which is also done using shot reverse shot. Finally, the colour in the scene is tinted to look more pale than it actually is. This effect is used to make the scene seem bleak and cold, and make the situation even worse.
Graphics
The graphics at the credit sequence are in serif, plain font. The text is set on a black background as well, most likely to make the distorted effect that is shown more visible. The distorted effect with the text gives off an uneasy feeling, and unsettles the audience. For the order, the production company is shown first, followed by the producers, then the director, and finally the movie's title.
The distorted effect that overlays the text to give the uneasy feeling.
The sequence in which the credits appear
This opening scene encouraged us to use a bleak setting as well as an enclosed one, and that a cold-looking setting does well to compliment the thriller theme because of the bleakness of the situation, which is why we decided to make the colour in our scene pale.
