Hurt Locker Opening Sequence

Costume As The Hurt Locker is an action war film the only costumes we see are those of the US military. So all the characters are in uniform. This tells us a bit about their personality because to be in the army you need to be tough, brutal and physically fit which makes them dominant and also scary. From the costume alone you are not quite sure who is in charge, however one of the marines is wearing a bomb disposal kit which tells the audience what type of unit the group of men are in and also how dangerous and tense their job is.

Lighting The lighting is very high key, this is because they are in a middle eastern country during the day where it would be very hot and bright. The lighting has a small yellow-brown tint which creates the effect of being stuck in the middle of the desert. The many reflections off windows and the helmet of the bomb disposal guy are very bright which makes the light from the sun much more intense and makes it more real for the audience.

Actors The actor’s play their character’s in such a way that makes the scene seem extremely tense and dangerous. They go this through long pauses between conversations and nervous jokes. When the marine starts shouting at the Arab man to put his phone down, this creates confusion and anarchy. To show that the actors are uncomfortable and hot they are sweating and are making small fidgety movements while the bomb disposal guy walks towards the bomb.

Make Up The only evidence of make up is the sweat on their faces to show how nervous they are in the situation. Other than that no make up is used because in reality marines wouldn’t be wearing make up and so the absence of it is to keep the scene realistic.

Setting The setting is very dry and sandy with blue skies with no clouds in slight suggests they are in a middle eastern country. The setting really gives an indication as to what the marines are doing. This is because of the stereotype that most wars seem to be taking place in middle eastern countries and so this is where the whole of this film is set. The set is very big and open which intensifies the danger element of the scene and gives a reason for the characters to be jumpy and nervous.

Sound The scene starts off with the sound of the bomb disposal guy breathing heavily with the ambient sound of a slight wind in the background. During the dialogue between the two marines there is no music playing and so it makes the scene appear quiet and deserted. However when one of the marines spots the Arab with his phone out tense music starts playing which tells the audience that something is wrong and that the man is a danger. As the men start running the music gets louder and more intense until the explosion which drowns out the sound of the music and the only sound you can hear is the explosion.

Enigma Code When the Arab man appears you don’t know who he is or what he’s doing because it looks like he’s only on his phone which is a very common thing in the world but the reaction of the actors tells us something else. Now we question whether or not this man is a threat and of how much is he capable of.

Action Code The action starts as soon as the marine see’s the Arab man and this pushes the narrative forward because of the intensity of the situation. This mixes with the enigma code because the trigger for the action is the mystery man that the audience know nothing about. This action keeps increasing until the climax of the scene, which is the explosion.

Semantic Code This code is used a lot on the film because the audience need to know what’s happening without being told. So they use connotation for the marine e.g. the uniform and speech, and also the setting which is in a middle eastern country. From this the audience know that it’s a war film and that the marines are fighting against the terrorists. This helps create a basic meaning for the world and makes it believable and allows the audience to watch without being confused as you what is going on.

Symbolic Code The use of the binary opposite of the marine and the Arab man kicks off the action and helps the narrative progress and keeps it exciting and interesting for the audience. As you see this particular binary opposite in the opening sequence it would be safe to assume that this will continue throughout the whole film and also that it is very significant to the narrative.

Cultural Code The war between America and the some middle eastern countries is a current affair and is therefore a foundation of truth in this film. The war is mainly religious based between the locals which causes civil war and therefore forces America to intervene. Without this knowledge people will not understand the film and why they have gone to this middle eastern country and caused war.

Camera Angles The opening sequence starts with a tilt starting at the characters feet and going up to show the rest of his body. This creates enigma about the character. As the bomb disposal guy picks up the bomb the shot goes from a low angle median and then zoom’s in to a low angle close up, this creates tension and also shows us that the bomb is very significant. When the other two marines are spread out a high angle extreme wide is used to show their environment and to show the audience how venerable they are to attack. When the marine is looking down the sight of his gun a point of view shot is used to show us exactly what he can see so we know and same amount as the marine does and realise things as the character does.

Editing Technique The technique of not-crossing-the-line and matching eye line is used during the conversation between the two marines, they look in opposite directions and stay on their own side of the screen, as if looking at each other. This keeps it realistic and doesn’t confuse the audience. When one of the marines spots the Arab man a shot/reverse shot is used to get the reaction of the marine and to show what caused the reaction, so the audience knows why he suddenly changed emotion.

Todorov’s Narrative From the opening sequence you can only see the equilibrium, which is that a small bomb disposal unit is in a middle eastern country and is working to clear the streets of the bombs without getting into any combat. However the bomb going off could possible be the disruption because it is a change of routine although this could still be apart of the equilibrium because a bomb going off can be very common.

Uses and Gratifications Mulvey’s Gaze could be applied to this is the way that it keeps the attention of the viewer through envy. The marines are physically fit and very strong and so the male audience could be inspired by this and therefore want to keep watching.

Propp’s Character Sphere This is an action film so there is an obvious hero(s) – bomb disposal unit, and villain(s) - terrorists. A donor/dispatcher is not present in the opening sequence, however we know from previous films involving the army that they always have a higher command on the radio giving them instructions. The helper’s are the other marines that fight along side the main hero unit.