Film Introductions

DRIVE

• backlit shot showing silhouette of face
• low-key to show nighttime
• camera angles focus on main character where as everyone else is out of focus, he heads towards a bright spotlight
• another character is briefly established out of focus walking past him as he heads for spotlight
• city - establishing shot to set up location; panoramic views from helicopter shot
• chiaroscuro

The opening two minutes of drive establish location, time and protagonist. The retro font in neon pink, soundtrack, car and outfit of the protagonist let us know that this is set in the 1980's. The opening long-shots of the city at night establish that we are in a city, all shots in this opening sequence are low-key (dimly lit) and this gives us a sense that the movie is quite dark and mysterious. When we see the film title and main character in full it is from a low angle shot, looking up at him, making him look ominous and intensified.

TAXI DRIVER

• red on black, stylised
• bellowing fog, taxi comes through
• close up shot of eyes, giving a distinct emotion
• Scorsese film
• shot from low angle to show power
• mysterious character - wants to work long hours, anytime, anywhere

This film starts dramatically; using harsh yellow/red light with a lot of smoke to create an intense effect, we then see the taxi emerge through the thick fog. The soundtrack is intense and has a fluctuating tempo and beat to create tension, there is an SFX of the car revving engine similar to the sound made at the beginning of an 80's car chase, perhaps implying that there will be a chase theme in this film. There is an extreme close up, shown above that gives us a brief glance at the characters true feelings, we also see the reflection of the taxi window, showing us what DeNiro is looking at. A blurred show motion shot out of the windscreen succeeds the close up, portraying a city that has blurred/merged into one thing, vivid colours are used, like the red rear lights of cars and yellow street lamps, possibly suggesting that this is hallucinated and unlike real vision. The opening ends with a staight cut to DeNiro, although a soundbridge is used to give the location of the first scene.

COLLATERAL

• non-diegetic sound is anything you\'re adding to the scene
• diegetic sound is the original sound; shot on camera
• diegetic is natural sound
• focus on main character through large crowd
• sound non-diegetic is used to create tension and build up
• a constant beat is kept on the track, that is suddenly cut, dramatically changing the atmosphere
• sound bridge from ident to first scene
• synchronised sound of door closing and music cutting

This is excellent camera work in the first scene, a changing focus is used to keep focus on the protaganist throughout the sequence as he walks through the crowded airport. A soundbridge also links the idents and the first shot of a busy airport. We see our two main characters (notified by focus) walk toward each other and then to draw our attention to what they're doing, we see their bags drop on the floor, a low angle shot of only their feet and the bags, an SFX accompanies this to emphasise what they are doing. You then see them subtley switch bags and the beat on the soundtrack kicks in as Tom cruise sets off out of the airport.

LIMITLESS

• Uses close, short burst shots to create a confused effect, replicating characters mental tracking
• Switches between two locations, TV watching and real-life fight scene, idea being that one is memory
• The quick flashes and fast cut pace of editing excites the audience and also confuses them slightly so that we are expectant of whats coming and excited by it's suspense and intense nature
• cold, white lighting and lots of filler to illuminate all characters sufficiently
• Lead character is dressed in suit and always central to shot to show his position in the film
• Intense close up at 0:12

TERMS OF FILM: Useful Terminology 

• long shots set the scene - establishing what's happening
• mid shots show the action - frame stays still when alot of action is happening in the scene
• close ups draw your attention - telling a story without speaking; notifying the audience what is important by highlighting it, using a close up
• extreme close ups are edgy - make us feel slightly uncomfortable having a characters eyes or features in very large sizes, also only allows us to see a certain part of the scene, giving us a secluded view of the action