How Mise-en-scene and Cinematography are Used in an Opening Sequence to an Action Adventure Film

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How Mise-en-scene and Cinematography are Used to Position the Audience and Create Effect in an Opening Sequence to an Action Adventure Film

In Entrapment the opening sequence plays a key role in captivating the

audience and setting the plot for the rest of the film. Mise-en-scene

and cinematography are vital in positioning the audience and creating

a sense of mystery which will attract the audience to keep watching.

Mise-en-scene refers to everything put in front of the camera during

filming, this includes, location, characters, body language, costume,

props, character positioning, colour and lighting.

The initial location in entrapment appears to be in a large urbanized

city at night. This is obvious to the audience by the sky scrapers and

impressive buildings; however it is unclear where geographically the

film is set as there are many cities in the world which resemble this

image. To the audience this would initially strike them as quite a

beautiful scene and will clearly represent that this film is mainly

situated in big cities around the world.

There is only one character introduced to the audience in the opening

sequence of this film and at this point their sex cannot be

established by the audience which conveys a sense of mystery and

intrigues the audience. They are seen to be stealing a painting which

conveys to the audience this person is corrupt and immoral.

Facial expressions in this opening sequence aren’t visible which

increases the tension for the audience which captivates them and makes

them want to discover who the person behind the mask is. However the

body language of the thief becomes more accentuated due to the lack of

facial expression from the person. They appear to be graceful and

experienced at burglary especially when they abseil down the front of

the building, also they appear to be fearless in a very dangerous

situation which also helps to build the tension within the opening

sequence.

Costume is a vital part in setting the scene and showing the audience

that this person is a thief.

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