Textual Analysis Of A Film Opening

The opening sequence for ‘Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark’ contains lots of clever use of edits, camera shots, music, lighting and editing. For example, the film cleverly introduces the main character, but keeping his identity for the opening sequence hidden right until the very end.

This was done by having any camera shots on him always facing from behind him, obstructing his face and using low levels of lighting on him to add more shadows, which further builds up the mystery. When they finally show his face, they do it in quick paced little action clip, which uses many different shots in a quickly edited fashion, to keep the scene face paced and clearly show it was a very tense moment for the characters.

The show where the film is set and when the events take place, by showing clear shots of jungle canopy at the foot of a mountain in the opening shot, and carry on to show dense jungle throughout the entire sequence. Later on in the sequence, they a shot that says ‘South America, 1938’, which further shows the location the film is in, and the time period as to when it was set. Finally they show that the story is being based around adventure and action, and the possibility of going to exotic locations around the world.

I can learn from the elements used in this film that for any action scene, the shots need to be quick, short and snappy, and that high suspense orchestral music will help to build further suspense and add to the action present, no matter how shot the scene lasts.

I’ll try using the same style of mystery the is present about why they main character and his team are at first trekking deep through a South American jungle. I’ll do the introduction to the hero differently to this film, as I don’t wish to keep his identity a complete mystery until the end, instead showing his face in the first shot.

Film Synopsis

Film Synopsis

After the rest of the group finds out Alex is infected, then plan a journey from their garage in Marysville, OH to Washington, D.C. where there is supposedly a cure. They plan out their journey across the states and plan a route that takes 420 miles and across the different motorways connecting the locations.

Harry manages to get a car working to transport them in their journey and they grab their supplies, and set off. Throughout their journey they come across numerous obstacles such as while traveling in their car it breaks down and they're attacked by a group of infected and have to run on foot. Another example is when they're fleeing through a woodland area south of the city, they're ambushed by a group of scavengers and have to escape.

Just before they make it to the city, Alex turns and the fungus overtakes his brain and they have to kill him and flee to the city. When they reach it they head straight for the research center which is where they discover a cure has been found for infected people, but those who've already turned can't be saved, only those in the early stages on the infection.

The guilt Zak feels for letting Alex get infected causes him to take his own life due to the overwhelming levels of guilt he feels, leaving his brother, Olan, and Harry to fend with them selves after losing their two best friends.

Film Synopsis - Back Story

Back Story

In early February 2015, there was an infectious fungal outbreak that rapidly infected a large portion of the world. This fungus infects the blood stream and the brain, and after a week of rapid growth the spores overtake and control the Lateral Orbitofrontal Cortex and the Amygdala, which leads to constant anger and aggression, and a loss of control of the human body and emotions by the host.

After the outbreak, 4 friends; Alex Harrison, Zak Hughes, Olan Hughes and Harry Stokes, all manage to escape the mass outbreak close to them and avoid being infected and getting caught up in the widespread mass panic within all major towns and cities. This lead to them fleeing from Columbus, OH north to Marysville, OH. They found that the majority of the town had been quickly deserted after news of the outbreak and managed to find a small but secure garage outside a house with its own generator and well, meaning they have a constant supply of clean water and potential limitless power. Alex and Zak make regular weekly supply runs by heading back into a large grocery store on the outskirts of Columbus, around 8-9 miles away that had been completely untouched after news of the infection spread.

2 Years after the outbreak in early March, 2017, during their regular supply run to the store they reached the stores location to find that a large group had entered the store and taken all of the remaining supplies, leaving Alex and Zak searching all the shelves and storage sections of the store when they heard some noises around near the entrance of the store. Upon investigation, it had appeared that due to the large group having raided the store, they’d brought upon themselves a large amount of attention while hauling all the remaining food, drink and medical supplies out of the store, which lead a group of the infected to follow them into and getting trapped within the store. Alex and Zak then have to fight their way out of the store, and while in the process of killing one, Alex was deeply scratched by one of the infected humans. This lead to him contracting the fungal infection and a deep wound on his chest. Knowing they don’t have much time to escape and get back to the safe house in Marysville, Zak helps Alex to escape and they start their journey back to the rest of their group, a further 8 miles away.

Codes & Conventions Of Action/Adventure Films

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From these points, I know what kinds of characters to have in my film, for example what kind of person the hero will need to be, the side character that help the character on his quest have to be, and the way the villain and the false hero can team up to try stop the hero on his quest. I've also learnt that action scenes can be heavily dependent on props, like guns or fast cars, that'll help speed up the pace of the scene, along with quick and snappy edits of the shots, and add to the action and the suspense of each shot. Finally, I learnt about the kinds of locations action/adventure films tend to be sent it, for example if they're on a quest, a bulk of the plot and the quest itself will take place within an exotic location, such as deep in a jungle, up a mountain or in the middle of a desert. I also learnt that if they're on a quest to stop the villain, the film may be set in a densely populated area, such as a major city of the world, as for example, the villain may be attempting to destroy the city and is endangering the population. This means that the location will be based in the city that he's trying to take over.