‘Witness To Murder’

9 FRAME ANALYSIS

The film opens with a worms eye view of a cloudy sky, with the moon shining through the clouds. This shot kind of establishes at what time this scene is set, and gives an idea of the tone of the film.

The next shot shows the audience an establishing shot of the city where this is set. This is used to give the audience an idea at what type of place this is going to be set, and what they can expect from the film in terms of its setting.

The scene opens with a medium close-up of the woman’s face whilst she is in bed, there is a light which highlights her face, with the shadow of the blinds moving over her face. This may give the idea that something is going on, and something that will disrupt her sleep.

The woman then wakes up and goes on to get out of her bed, the camera tracks her as she walks towards the open window. A medium shot is used to show her shut her window. This is a set up for the next sequence, as the open window is obviously an opportunity for the character to witness something, or something dramatic to happen.

As the woman goes to close the window, the camera changes to an over-shoulder shot, showing the house opposite. The window is open and the lighting inside is high-key. This is to show that this is a key part of the sequence, as it highlights the two characters living across her. This shot shows the woman witnessing a man abusing his wife/partner.

The camera angle then changes to a long shot, which is from outside the window of the opposite house. This gives the audience a closer look at what is happening, abuse towards someone’s partner can be quite a common film noir convention, and is shown a lot in this genre.

The next shot shows a medium shot of the woman who has rushed to the phone next to her bed. She shows quite a worried expression This has now set the scene for the film, as the violent case she has witnessed has been addressed and she is calling for help from the police – and will give the audience their expectations for the rest of the film.

After the woman calls for the police, the camera then goes back to the long shot from outside of the window, the curtains are closed, then the lights go out. The opening credits then start, this opening is used to draw the audience in, and get them interested in what will happen in this movie – to keep their attention.

A fade transition is then used to change to the next scene, this scene opens with a long shot of a dark street. A police car then drives past, this gives the audience an idea that the police are on their way to the abuse scene, and action is being taken. This makes the audience interested in what is going to happen next, and will draw them in. High key lighting is used at the location where the police car parks, telling the audience that this is where the murder scene will be.