'Saw' (2004) Opening Sequence

• In a wide shot of the brunette male character the audience get to see clearly the location of the scene. It appears that the characters are in a bathroom, however the audience can see it is not an ordinary bathroom as the whole place is rusty, the tiles are dirty and it is quite empty. The bathroom being dirty will instantly tell the audience that the character is in danger. 

• There is some dialogue between two characters during the beginning of the scene and the camera stays on a medium shot of the brunette, male character until the high-key lighting is present. Mystery is already present as the lighting is very low. The composer chose to not show the other character to amplify the mystery and to worry the audience. They have no idea who the mysterious character is, therefore they are not sure whether he is dangerous, or safe and also a victim of the unknown antagonist. When the lighting finally brightens and and the audience see a medium shot of the blonde, male character, they gain a sense of catharsis. It is clear that he is distressed and therefore is in the same position as the character introduced from the start.

• Jump cuts are used when the brunette male is screaming and trying to pull the chain he is attached to off. Obviously from the screaming the audience can now see that the character is beginning to become distressed and the jump cuts emphasis this because it signifies that he is panicking and is not thinking straight.

• The low-key lighting makes its it hard for the audience to see the location and the characters properly, which creates a sense of mystery. It engages to audience more as they have to try to figure out who it is and where they are, for themselves. Therefore stopping the audience from being passive and loosing attention.

•  A birds-eye view shot of a dead body in a pool of blood is shown. The audience can see that the dead being has a gun in their hand, making it clear that he inflicted death on himself. This enigma code makes the audience wonder; what did he went through that was so bad he wanted to end his life? The use of a gun as the prop and the blood surrounding the body, signifies danger and pain, therefore showing the audience that the characters are in danger. Sparking a panic because they will assume the two characters are about to go through what caused this dead person to kill themselves. 

• The title sequence for 'twisted pictures' shows barbed wires wrapped around the words and slicing them. The use of a sharp object and the letters being sliced establishes the genre before the film is even started. The audience can see that the film is going to contain a lot of weapons and these weapons being used on the characters, so the audience will know straight away that 'Saw' is part of the sub-genre:slasher.   







•   When the lights turn on the POV shot shows the audience that the character is disorientated as the image or the lights is dissolved. When someone is in the dark for a long time and see light it feels uncomfortable to look at and it is hard to properly see. This editing technique captures that the character cannot see properly.