A personal response to 'Prisoners'

The scene starts off outside with a long shot showing a car; the back lighting from the diner creates a sense of mystery as the features of the car cannot be properly seen. The continuous rain throughout the scene creates pathetic fallacy, making me feel down and miserable. The diagetic sound of the rain makes me feel like I’m actually involved in the scene as there are no non diagetic sound effects or music, making it seem very realistic.

There is then a jump cut to inside the diner, the high-key lighting contrasts to the low-key lighting outside and creates a sense of safety and security inside compared to the eerie atmosphere outside and makes it seem more welcoming. The mise en scene of the mans all black clothes may show that he is a sad person or that he has something to hide as he is out in the dark with dark coloured clothing. His clothes also contrast to the light colours in the diner which makes him stand out and seem like he doesn’t fit in. The camera zooms in from a long shot, showing the mans clothes and the diner, to a mid  shot as he begins to speak to a waitress. The fact that the rest of the diner is empty and he is the only customer shows that he is a solitary person, which is emphasized when the waitress mentions that it is thanksgiving as this is usually a family holiday. The slow zoom of the camera makes me feel like time is passing slowly which adds to the misery of him being there on his own as time often seems to go slower when you have nothing to do.

There is then another jump cut to an eye level mid shot showing the front of the man and the waitress. The depth of field focuses on the man rather than the waitress which shows that he is going to be the more significant character of the two. Although the shot is eye level, the man does not look at the camera once, making me feel distant and gives me the impression that he is untrustworthy. The diagetic sound of his phone vibrating then transitions into the non diagetic sound of a police radio describing the situation we are seeing and giving exposition about what is going on as the camera tracks the man as he walks out into the low-key lighting outside the diner to get to his car. A close up of his face as he talks into a police radio shows that he may be slightly more trustworthy than he was presented as at the start. The diagetic sound does not directly say that he is a police officer however it makes it very obvious by the way he responds to the radio.

A long shot shows the man approaching a van by the woods, the setting gives it a mysterious, eerie feeling and the only lighting is provided by car headlights and police lights within the scene. This shows that it is a crime scene and prepares the reader for the rising action. Non diagetic sound begins to play, the violin making a sound often used in action films to suggest that something is about to happen.

We then see an out of focus close up of the left wing mirror of the car and a bright light is approaching. Both the audience and the characters know what this light is even though it is out of focus and it is not mentioned. There are quick jump cuts that show parallel editing. This tells me that both shots are happening at the same time. You see a man approaching the van and the reaction of the man inside the van which creates tension as the viewer knows what is going to happen however the characters in the film are unaware of what the other is doing.

 The van then begins to move and the camera tracks the van to force the viewer to focus on the action. There is shouting which shows how chaotic the situation is and the jump cuts are very fast which adds to the thrill of the scene. The editing is matched on the action as we see the van driving away from an outside perspective as well as a perspective from a police car that is parked behind the van. This shows more than one person’s point of view so gives me a better understanding of what is actually going on. This is a convention of action films like this one as it gives the viewer m very good look at the action, meaning that they feel more involved and the thrill of the scene is maximized.

The van crashes into a tree and there are several shots panning around the van and tracking police walking around the van. This gives the audience a detailed view of the special effects used and the devastation caused by the crash. The camera then zooms into the windscreen and we do not see anyone. This creates tension as we do not know if the person is alive and if they are we do not know where they are or what is about to happen. There is then a jump cut to a two shot of police men about to enter the van. This shot seems to last a while as they debate who will go in first, showing that they are scared and building tension as the viewer is forced to wait in anticipation of what is in the van. When they go into the van the shot tracks the places where the torch is pointed and there are jump cuts between that shot and a close up on the police officers face. The parallel editing shows both what the officer can see and his reaction to what he sees which shows the viewer exactly what he is feeling during the action.