Action

The Mechanic opening scene analysis

The trailer starts with an in depth camera shot and close up of a black and gold watch surrounded with other watches, this connotes that this character is wealthy or because it is in action we could get the idea that these are stolen watches as they are matching. You hear the diegetic sound of the watch being placed in the suitcase which again connotes a business man.

The next shot is a man in a robe opening two double doors adding diegetic sound as he pushes them open. It is a low angle shot representing little power at this time. The long shot allows the audience to see all his bodyguards on the balcony, regaining the power he might have lost from the camera shot. When he dives in the water you hear the diegetic sound of the water clashing. The next shot is a long shot of him swimming and in the background there are extravagant antiques connoting that he likes to show off and confirming to the audience that he is a very wealthy man. You then get a close up of his face coming out the water and him taking a deep breathe. This is all effective as it allows the audience to recognise the character and understand who he is.

After this there is an extreme low angle shot of him while he is swimming, with the diegetic sound you can feel the tension and get a brief idea that something bad is about to happen. As he looks down he sees a watch at the bottom of the pool. He dives in to go and grab it then all of a sudden as soon as his hand reaches the watch a face appears for a split second. The other person grabs his hand and pulls him down. You get close ups of him struggling trying to escape but this man has his arm around his throat, straggling him. Bubbles appear all around the camera. You then get a low angle shot of what the man being drowned is seeing, it views his balcony and there is no bodyguard. This could connote that this murder is clever as has planned all of this to put himself in no danger. The non- diegetic sound gets faster as well as the shots as it comes close to this man’s death. All of the sudden the up paced music because to an end and the bubbles stop. You do not see the murderer’s identity keeping him a mystery for now. He rises to the top and there is a high angle shot looking down on him lying dead ion the swimming pool. The music is still, representing his death.

The non-diegetic sound which is the music starts the speed up as you get a shot of the murderer running down the stairs. The camera doesn’t follow the murders feet but shows you the stairs first and then the character building tension. The shots are now shot and fast as the murder is up to something and this is the reason why someone died. The conventions of an action are starting to kick in. You never see his face properly until he takes off his wetsuit. His identity is revealed. The camera shows the whole of his body which is extremely muscly. Most villains or heroes are known to be strong and muscular. His facial expressions show dedication however you can see the slight worry in there in case something goes wrong making the audience feel anxious and wanting to know more.

The music is less up pace and is settled when you get a high angle shot of a maid walking past who spots the wealthy man dead. You get the diegetic sound of her screaming and in a hurry two bodyguards appear, one dive’s in while the other alerts. Suddenly the alarm goes off and you get different shots of men in suits running in the building with weapons.  

The non-diegetic sound starts to speed up again as you get the close up of the murders face on his way out to escape. It is low pitched and extremely tense, this starts to create suspense. Enigmas have started to be added. Will he escape or get caught? Why did he kill this man in the first place? You get a shot of the bodyguard dragging the dead man out the pool and then it quickly changes to a high angle shot from high up on the stairs looking down on the murderer showing that he has a lot of power. As the murderer is on an escape route you get several camera shots ranging from medium to close ups. The close ups stand out the most as his face is constantly serious and looks deadly, again making you feel like he contains so much power but may not have a high status as he is being a criminal. The shots on the dead man are so much slower in music and movement compared to when on the criminal, this helps create a mood for the audience. You switches of shots on the criminal running down a bridge then you get shots of the other man lying there dead with maids crying.

You then get shown a boat coming towards the criminal, obviously in the act. The audience are put on the edge of their seats. Will he escape? They will have to keep watching! I find the next shot is my favourite shot. It is a long shot of the criminal standing on the bridge closest to the camera at the side with the background of the bridge and fields. It is my very shot because as you can see his face is titled to the side with his fists clenched together showing power and dominance. Suddenly in slow motion you get him jumping off this tall bridge as the boat goes under. Beats have started to be added in with the non-diegetic sound and the audience are shocked at this danger. You get a long shot of him flying in the air down to the boat, allowing the audience to see the drop. Your first thought is that this man is full of bravery and courage.  He hits the water and the tension has reached the maximum. The camera stays still, is he dead? Until, he rises from the water and grabs onto the back of the boat. The final shot is a close up and the main thing that attracts the audience are the look in his eyes.

Finally the title is revealed at the end. This trailer has left you on a cliff hanger with unanswered enigmas making the audience not feel fully satisfied and making them want to watch the film.