Children of men analysis

Scene 1: 32 seconds-54 seconds

Scene 2: 54 seconds- 1.32 minutes

Scene 3: 1.32 minutes- 1.48 minutes

Scene 4: 1.48 minutes-2.02 minutes

Scene 5 2.02 minutes- 2.28 minutes

Scene 1

In the first scene the sound starts ahead of the picture, this is effective because it makes the viewer’s pay attention. It does this as when the sound starts the viewer’s look at the screen however when there’s no picture they pay more attention to the sound as it’s the only thing playing.

The lighting and colour in the first scene is pure black, this draws the viewer’s attention to the sound.

There is no camera usage in the first scene as the screen is completely black.

Mise-en-scene is irrelevant in this scene for the reasons mentioned above.

Scene 2

In the second scene the sound is continued throughout, this is the TV broadcast, this has a continued affect as the viewer is still mainly focused on the voice as it’s still the most important effect that’s happened so far in the film.

The lighting and colour in this scene comes into effect as it is very bland, this fits in well to the current scene and the time period. The greyness of the scene tells me this is either a very sad moment n history or that we’re in the past, this also tells me that we’re in England because of the color of the sky in the background.

The use of the camera of this scene appears to be on a crane. This shows the full extent of the scene and the costumes, this is important because when watching we can determine the time period and the effect of the costumes. This also shows the main character walking through the crowd when we wouldn't be able to see him from most other angles, we know he is the main character because he is in the middle of the shot and he is the only one moving in the whole scene.

The background of this scene automatically tells me they’re in a coffee shop, this is obvious because of the wall saying café and the coffee machine at the back of the scene. This shows the setting of the scene as well as the costumes. The costumes help us to determine what country they’re in, for example the police man in the background is a classic English police man, you can tell this from the costume.

Scene 3

This scene is where the TV announcement ends, there is also crying in this scene so we can associate the crying with the child’s death to assume it’s important.

The lighting and colour in this scene is mostly the same as the last scene however as we get closer to the coffee shop window we can see more vibrant colours of the cars and busses driving past.

This scene demonstrates the use of a freehand camera. Meaning the camera is being carried without its dolly. This is effective as the freehand camera follows the main character outside the shop it makes the viewer feel that they are following him as you get the slight subtle movements as if we’re walking.

We get to see more of the setting in this scene as we move closer to the window of the shop, we can begin to see buildings and cars driving past and we get to see the TV broadcast which everyone is watching as we begin to leave the coffee shop.

Scene 4

In the fourth scene of the video we can hear the sounds of the streets and the horns an revving of the cars going past, this is effective because it works well with the camera in the way that we feel like we’re there a little bit more now we can hear the background.

The lighting and colour of this scene get a little brighter as we step out into the daylight. This changes the lighting rapidly as it’s more natural light and the cars driving past give some more vibrant colours as well.

The use of the camera as it pans round slowly when we leave the café is really effective for me as it shows the background and setting of the scene in much more detail. Here we can see the height of the buildings and population of the cars, which creates more of a London feel.

The main character leaves the middle of the frame in this scene as we pan round to see the setting of the scene and where we are.

Scene 5

In the final scene the cars continue to fill the atmosphere of sound until we hear the explosion. The explosion is extremely effective as it is unexpected. This effect is even more emphasized as throughout the film so far everything has been really calm and quiet until the explosion goes off near the main character.

The lighting and colour in this scene remains the same until the fire of the explosion goes off in the background. This also emphasizes the explosion as this is the first splash of bright colour we've seen so far in the opening of the film.

The use of the camera in this scene almost the same until we pan round to see the main point of interest, the explosion, this I shown by the camera because this is an important part of the opening scenes.

In the last few seconds of the scene a women walks out of the exploded building with only one arm this already warns the viewers that this film is graphic and violent. As well as this there is screaming from inside the building.