The book of Eli opening scene shot by shot analysis.

By George Russell

The first frame in the film is a bright white light, this is then slowly filtered into a close up shot of trees with a green filter on the camera, this gives the audience the feeling of suspense and makes them think that something bad is going to happen by the contrast from a bright light to the dark green. There is also a non-diegetic flash/bang as the light fades to darkness to add to the suspense.

The camera then tilts down to the ground showing flakes of ash and fog, this shows the convention of a horror film and as the tilt is very slow it gives the audience a feeling of suspense and anticipation. There is no noise in this scene and this builds suspense further.

The camera then tilts further to the ground where there is a close up of the floor and a destroyed tree and this further builds suspense and creates the feeling of the overall film, this frame also makes the audience ask questions of the scene as to what happened to the tree etc. The absence of sound further amplifies the suspense.

This frame is a close up of a gun on the forest floor, it shows that something bad has happened as the gun is discarded and the holster is open and empty, it gives the impression there was a fight and makes the audience ask questions as to what happened. There is also no noise which further adds to the suspense of the opening scene.

The camera then pans to a medium shot which encompasses a hand as well as the gun and we can tell that that hand was holding the gun. It makes the audience ask the question of what happened to the man and what happened to the gun. There is also no music or sound which further compiles the sense of suspense.

The camera the pans round to show a medium shot of the man who had the gun, It immediately becomes clear how he was killed and how the gun got there, as we can see a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. At this point there is also a small amount of non-diegetic music that becomes louder as it creates a large amount of suspense.

The non-diegetic music gets louder and louder and creates more and more suspense, there is also a shallow focus and in the background we can make out a small animal coming to investigate the body, as we cannot clearly identify the animal we it makes the audience ask questions of what it is, why it is there etc. This frame is also very dark with the shadow of the trees creating a dangerous atmosphere.

The animal that we presumed to be a bad creature, can now be identified as a cat like creature and we associate cats with domestic pets which means we do not see the animal as a threat but more of a scavenger. As it goes straight to the man’s toes we can see that the animal is very cautious of the body and this makes the audience think why it is cautious of a dead body. The music further loudens and at this point because of the music the audience can tell something bad is going to happen to the cat like creature. The camera still shows a small amount of focus in the background which means that we are still looking at the unknown wilderness in the background.

The camera then pans very slowly creating the suspense. We then can faintly make out a mask with a hood on, at this point we do not know whether it is a man or whether it is still alive! As it is not very focused on the figure at this point it makes the audience ask more questions and builds even more suspense, the music stays at the same tone and volume which further amplifies the theme of the opening scene.

This frame is a long shot of the figure, we still cannot completely se what it is and it is a very suspicious character as we cannot see its face and we cannot clearly mate sense of what he is doing and the sound further creates suspense of this mysterious character.

The camera then zooms and focuses in on the character and the actor emphasises their breathing to show that they are alive and most likely human as we can see their hands on what looks like a primitive form of bow and arrow, the music falls off into an anti-climax as we now know what all the suspense has been building up to.

We then see a match on action so we know exactly what the figure is looking at and there is a sudden flash as we know what he is going to do and we know the cat like creature is in danger as we can tell it notices the man but at this point it is too late!

We then see another match on action but this time of what the cat see’s and it is a close up of the figure and this shot is designed to scare the audience as the dark figure signifies danger and creates a large amount of suspense. There is no noise at this point to show how stealthy and powerful this man is.

There is then an extreme close up of the arrow tip with a very shallow focus so that we concentrate on the arrow and the audience knows the man is about to fire and from the last two shots he is going to kill the cat, there is also no sound in this shot to further signify how silent this man is in his task and how good of a hunter he is.

The four shots in the slide before are designed to show us what the cat is thinking, it first shows the cat and then shows a match on action with a heart beat which makes a blured vision to show panic and then goes back to a shot of the cat before finally returning to the close up of the man with the gas mask on and at this point the cat realises it is in great danger.

Then there is an extreme close up of the cats face and this is also another match on action from the man in the gas mask, the director is using a lot of match on actions to create the suspense that is key to make this opening scene successful, the sound is again pure silence and this is still used to portray the powerful silent image of the man in the mask.

This shot is an overhead view of the man firing the arrow, the shot is very short and the only sound is the snap of the pressure of the string being released an the arrow being shot. It is a wide shot to show the area he is firing into and also has to encompass the whole of his body.

This shot is a close up of the arrow and also a wide shot so it can get in the whole length of the arrow, the shot is also filmed in extreme slow motion and the effect is called bullet time so that we can see the arrow in mid flight. The music is again silent as it gives a feeling of the power of the arrow.

• The next shot is when we see the cat getting shot with the arrow, it is a long show and also a wide shot as it encompasses both the cat and the body that it was analysing, this shows the audience that the man had put the man there as a trap and that the cat had fallen for the trap. The only sound in this shot is the diegetic cry from the cat as it gets hit and this shows the audience its pain and shows its innocence in the opening scene.

This is a low angle shot and shows the man getting up from his hiding place, the amount of dust and ash coming off him shows the audience how long he had been waiting for the cat and shows how patient the man is, there is a non-diegetic heroic sound to again signify how strong the character is.

The man then walks over to the cat and we see a close up of him pulling the arrow out of it, there is a sickly sound of the arrow being pulled out, by the way the man treats the cat we know how important the catch is to him and how desperate he was to catch it.

The scene ends with a fade to a flash of white light and we as the audience don’t know what is going to happen next.