Face/off
John Woo 1997
The titles at the start are full screen titles and are in a black and white colour scheme, this could represent the use of good and evil inside the movie showing there is a bad side and a good side. This is a general convention of a thriller as in a lot of cases there is good and evil.
When the names of the characters appear in overlay titles it shows their surname and first name to be black or white, one being the opposite of the other. This further enhances the use of good and evil. The titles move forward and backward and one getting bigger and the other smallest. This could represent something being taken away and then being added to something else with one gaining size and one loosing it.
There is a diegetic sound that sets the mood of happiness and fun. This is also shown by the sound of a child laughing. This shows that at the time of this all was well and sets the mood for us at the start.
The first shot is a close up of John Travolta and his son at on the carrousel. This shows us equilibrium to start with just like in most thrillers making it a convention, in this case it is what seems to be a man that loves his son. The fact that this is the first shot we see in the movie ahead of an establishing shot perhaps suggests that the story may be based around these two characters.
We cut to a close up of a sniper being pulled out from under a cover. When the cover is took off we here an exaggerated sound to enhance that the sniper has been pulled out and so signifies danger. Also, the non-diegetic music of happiness disappears instantly. This indicates a change of mood and prepares the audience for something bad which is going to happen.
The close up has selective focus purely on the sniper rifle. We are looking straight down the scope of the sniper and so this shows us even further the potential for a catastrophic event.
There is a long shot of the person operating the sniper. This character is dressed in all black which suggests he is evil. We see in his non-verbal codes that he has a confidence about him when pulling the cover away. this tells us that his character is a professional and knows what he is doing with the sniper.
There is a close up of Nicholas Cage sipping what looks like a fast-food restaurant drink. This shows to us that he is calm about the job he is doing, which is we presume at this stage to kill John Travolta. The sipping of the cup also shows he has done this before as he is showing no signs of looking nervous and so knows what he is doing.
We then cut to the sniper in the scopes zooming in with the cross-hairs on the boy. This is done in a long-shot. The fact that it is pointing on the boy first, then to John Travolta suggests to us that Nicholas Cage is going to kill the boy instead of Travolta even though these were not his intentions.
There is a cut to Nicholas’ cage as he comes away from the sniper. We can see in his non-verbal codes at this stage that perhaps he is less confident about the shot and doubts what he is doing because there is a child there. Further showing the potential for something to go wrong.
We then cut back to a shot of the cross hairs aiming at John Travolta back, this showing where the bullet is going to hit when it is shot.
The music again changes to a sinister tone when the bullet is shot and creates a mood for the audience of fear and hurt, as if they are in the movie themselves, this makes the relate to the characters more.
There is a shot of the horse which John Travolta and his son fell off with the blood on the side. This shows us that they have been clearly hit. We hear a noise of a non-diegetic scream at this point, this enhances the horrible event that has happened and the scream itself is rather disturbing.
We see a low angle medium shot of some balloons rising up to the air. This could show us a life that is going up to heaven that has been lost. And also suggests that it is the boys as he was seen holding balloons beforehand.
There is a medium shot of John Travolta holding his son who has been killed, this shows us his love for his son and makes us sympathise with this character more. Meaning that for us we can see a definite distinction between the good and the evil
There is a long-shot of Nicholas Cage after he has killed the boy showing his non-verbal codes as quite shocked, this shows us that Nicholas Cage’s character has got some emotions and isn’t all evil inside.
There is a tracking shot showing outside a window. This shows lots of tall big buildings meaning that this movie is set in the city. This is a convention of a thriller as this is where the majority of crime is committed.
We track along to a close up of John Travolta stood at the window looking stressed and thinking. Because we have just cut from his son being killed it immediately links with this and makes us think that he is thinking about his son and that he hasn’t gotten over his death yet. We can also see in this shot a wedding ring on his finger, this implying that his character is married.
We cut to a tracking shot of the camera showing lots of awards that John Travolta has won, this shows us that he is an expert in the field that he works in which we can also see is in the police force. Which is another convention of a thriller as there is usually some form of law enforcement inside thrillers? There is a close up of a gun at the bottom. This shows us that John Travolta is highly skilled with a weapon and also links us back to Nicholas cage who was also skilled with a gun. This shows us the two characters are equally matched as is another convention of a thriller. This way the audience never know who is going to come out on top out of the two.
There is a close up of John Travolta looking very determined and focused to do something. Because of te previous scene and him grabbing his gun it makes us think he is out for revenge and perhaps foreshadows things to come in the future of this movie.
We see Nicholas Cage in a close up in a Priests uniform, which to begin with makes us think he may have changed his ways. But by seeing the orange box which connotes danger we can see that he has not and it is all a disguise. This shows he is still out there trying to cause trouble and increasingly makes the audience’s interpretation of him be worse then before.
There is a skull sign on the inside of the orange box. This sign normally connotes death and so suggests to us that Nicholas cage was planning to plot something which could kill a lot of people.
There is a contrapuntal diegetic sound of the words ‘halleluiah’ being played over and over again. This is completely opposite to the mood being set at the time but shows us that the people inside the building singing the song have no idea of what Nicholas Cage has plotted to do, this also adds a comedic effect to the movie showing that it will have some comedic elements throughout.
We see a close up of a phone with ext 1 lighten up. This is after we have heard diegetic dialogue saying his wife is on line 1. John Travolta ignores this and is more interested in breaking the case. This perhaps shows us that there are problems within his marriage and at home showing us that he is a flawed hero. This is another convention of a thriller as the protagonist is usually the one with a flaw in the movie to show that they are not all perfect
John Woo 1997
The titles at the start are full screen titles and are in a black and white colour scheme, this could represent the use of good and evil inside the movie showing there is a bad side and a good side. This is a general convention of a thriller as in a lot of cases there is good and evil.
When the names of the characters appear in overlay titles it shows their surname and first name to be black or white, one being the opposite of the other. This further enhances the use of good and evil. The titles move forward and backward and one getting bigger and the other smallest. This could represent something being taken away and then being added to something else with one gaining size and one loosing it.
There is a diegetic sound that sets the mood of happiness and fun. This is also shown by the sound of a child laughing. This shows that at the time of this all was well and sets the mood for us at the start.
The first shot is a close up of John Travolta and his son at on the carrousel. This shows us equilibrium to start with just like in most thrillers making it a convention, in this case it is what seems to be a man that loves his son. The fact that this is the first shot we see in the movie ahead of an establishing shot perhaps suggests that the story may be based around these two characters.
We cut to a close up of a sniper being pulled out from under a cover. When the cover is took off we here an exaggerated sound to enhance that the sniper has been pulled out and so signifies danger. Also, the non-diegetic music of happiness disappears instantly. This indicates a change of mood and prepares the audience for something bad which is going to happen.
The close up has selective focus purely on the sniper rifle. We are looking straight down the scope of the sniper and so this shows us even further the potential for a catastrophic event.
There is a long shot of the person operating the sniper. This character is dressed in all black which suggests he is evil. We see in his non-verbal codes that he has a confidence about him when pulling the cover away. this tells us that his character is a professional and knows what he is doing with the sniper.
There is a close up of Nicholas Cage sipping what looks like a fast-food restaurant drink. This shows to us that he is calm about the job he is doing, which is we presume at this stage to kill John Travolta. The sipping of the cup also shows he has done this before as he is showing no signs of looking nervous and so knows what he is doing.
We then cut to the sniper in the scopes zooming in with the cross-hairs on the boy. This is done in a long-shot. The fact that it is pointing on the boy first, then to John Travolta suggests to us that Nicholas Cage is going to kill the boy instead of Travolta even though these were not his intentions.
There is a cut to Nicholas’ cage as he comes away from the sniper. We can see in his non-verbal codes at this stage that perhaps he is less confident about the shot and doubts what he is doing because there is a child there. Further showing the potential for something to go wrong.
We then cut back to a shot of the cross hairs aiming at John Travolta back, this showing where the bullet is going to hit when it is shot.
The music again changes to a sinister tone when the bullet is shot and creates a mood for the audience of fear and hurt, as if they are in the movie themselves, this makes the relate to the characters more.
There is a shot of the horse which John Travolta and his son fell off with the blood on the side. This shows us that they have been clearly hit. We hear a noise of a non-diegetic scream at this point, this enhances the horrible event that has happened and the scream itself is rather disturbing.
We see a low angle medium shot of some balloons rising up to the air. This could show us a life that is going up to heaven that has been lost. And also suggests that it is the boys as he was seen holding balloons beforehand.
There is a medium shot of John Travolta holding his son who has been killed, this shows us his love for his son and makes us sympathise with this character more. Meaning that for us we can see a definite distinction between the good and the evil
There is a long-shot of Nicholas Cage after he has killed the boy showing his non-verbal codes as quite shocked, this shows us that Nicholas Cage’s character has got some emotions and isn’t all evil inside.
There is a tracking shot showing outside a window. This shows lots of tall big buildings meaning that this movie is set in the city. This is a convention of a thriller as this is where the majority of crime is committed.
We track along to a close up of John Travolta stood at the window looking stressed and thinking. Because we have just cut from his son being killed it immediately links with this and makes us think that he is thinking about his son and that he hasn’t gotten over his death yet. We can also see in this shot a wedding ring on his finger, this implying that his character is married.
We cut to a tracking shot of the camera showing lots of awards that John Travolta has won, this shows us that he is an expert in the field that he works in which we can also see is in the police force. Which is another convention of a thriller as there is usually some form of law enforcement inside thrillers? There is a close up of a gun at the bottom. This shows us that John Travolta is highly skilled with a weapon and also links us back to Nicholas cage who was also skilled with a gun. This shows us the two characters are equally matched as is another convention of a thriller. This way the audience never know who is going to come out on top out of the two.
There is a close up of John Travolta looking very determined and focused to do something. Because of te previous scene and him grabbing his gun it makes us think he is out for revenge and perhaps foreshadows things to come in the future of this movie.
We see Nicholas Cage in a close up in a Priests uniform, which to begin with makes us think he may have changed his ways. But by seeing the orange box which connotes danger we can see that he has not and it is all a disguise. This shows he is still out there trying to cause trouble and increasingly makes the audience’s interpretation of him be worse then before.
There is a skull sign on the inside of the orange box. This sign normally connotes death and so suggests to us that Nicholas cage was planning to plot something which could kill a lot of people.
There is a contrapuntal diegetic sound of the words ‘halleluiah’ being played over and over again. This is completely opposite to the mood being set at the time but shows us that the people inside the building singing the song have no idea of what Nicholas Cage has plotted to do, this also adds a comedic effect to the movie showing that it will have some comedic elements throughout.
We see a close up of a phone with ext 1 lighten up. This is after we have heard diegetic dialogue saying his wife is on line 1. John Travolta ignores this and is more interested in breaking the case. This perhaps shows us that there are problems within his marriage and at home showing us that he is a flawed hero. This is another convention of a thriller as the protagonist is usually the one with a flaw in the movie to show that they are not all perfect
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