Media AS Level Case Study (Textual Analysis)

2.  There is almost a match dissolve between the villain sat in the darkness in the
back of the police car and when he's in darkness at the back of the prison wall.
This gives me the impression that this process is one he is used to and has
experience with, as he is very calm up until he kills the policeman, which appears
to have no effect on him guilt-wise.

3.  The sound used in the opening sequence is just a voice over of a mysterious
character which we do not know yet, however it’s clear that he’s an important
character.
 Diegetic sounds are used such as the sound of the police officer and the closing of
the police car door, as well as sound of the main character placing the mysterious
tank object on the front seat of the car.
 The non-diegetic sounds of the wind blowing softly emphasises the isolation of the
setting, which just makes the placement of the characters all the more bizarre.
 The lack of a soundtrack when the killer chokes the policeman shows the lack of
importance of the character's death, as it doesn't warrant the need for one, which
mirrors the lack of empathy the killer shows for killing the policeman.

4.  The mise-en-scene in the opening sequence shows the audience that the location of
the film is set in a remote location because all that is shown to the audience is
desert horizons and no sign of civilisation.
 We also learn from the mise-en-scene that it is set in America because of the
costume of the police officer, which makes him look like a stereotypical America
sheriff and also the police car is easily recognisable as an American police car.

5.  The first camera shot used in the sequence of the opening titles of the film ‘No Country For Old Men’ is an establishing
shot of a remote desert location, this is to show the audience the type of surrounding the film will be in. One of the next
shots is also an establishing shot again showing the audience that the story is still in a remote location in a desert.
This adds a sense of curiosity for the audience as they do not know where they are and they start to become suspicious
of what will be taking place. Straight away, connotations of a Western film have been conjured, despite no characters
have yet appeared on screen.
 There is a long shot of some hills and then a close up of a barbed wire fence. This suggests to the audience that
although it is a remote location there is some still signs of people living there.
 There a close up shot of a man pretending to be a police officer using a compressed air tank. This shows that this is a
significant piece of information/evidence because a close up of the tank emphasises the importance of the object. We
know it’s important because in the following scene it’s used as a weapon to kill a man.