MEMENTO – VIDEO ESSAYBY KIRA MARGENOUT

TITLES• The opening titles are constantly

being faded in and out which connotes that the protagonist may have some problems with focus, or perhaps the films meaning and plot are going to be very blurred

• The use of a close up denotes that the protagonist is a man, from his hands, and is focused on the photo, which shows a murder, most likely the protagonist is linked to the murder

EDITING• As the opening titles roll, the photo in frame,

slowly fades as the man shakes it, this connotes that perhaps the main character will have to remember what's happening and will have some form of memory problems. • The fact that the

polaroid is fading out of focus, denotes that the clips is backwards, because as the man shakes the picture it slowly turns to white.

EDITING• The use of close ups of the items as they move back in times connotes

that the film will be using flashbacks and foresight liberally throughout and the film will tell the story of why the protagonist shot someone

• The use of close up denotes the importance of the items and that they are telling a story of their own about how the situation in the frame came to be.

CINEMATOGRAPHY• The use of a close up

shows the blood on the protagonists face and denotes that he was the one to commit the crime and establishes that he will be the main character.

• The medium close up shows that the protagonist is in a rundown building or room, as shown by the broken and decaying walls over his shoulder, which suggests that the murder may have either been planned ahead which is supported by his face which lacks remorse.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

• The close up of the blood smeared glasses suggests that there was a scuffle and that they were knocked off of the victim during the scrap

• The fact that the killer took a picture of his kill would suggest that it was planned murder and he either knew the victim or has mental issues e.g. psychosis.

CHARACTERS• There are only two characters

shown in the opening minutes of the film, the first the protagonist who shoots a man, and the man being shot.

SETTING• The two setting

we see are an abandoned building where the murder took place in the present.

• And a motel room where the main character lives which happened in the past, this is shown by the use of black and white filter

SOUND• As the film shifts to show

the past, the protagonist appears disorientated and the sound of a steady heartbeat pumps in the background.

• This creates a sense of tension in the film as we link the heartbeat to the protagonist who is going to kill someone in the possible, near future.

NARRATIVE• The opening few minutes is

narrated by, who the audience can assume, is the main protagonist as he manoeuvres through the past.

• This places the audience in the protagonists shoes and makes them experience the events through the main characters thoughts, which adds a sense of immersion to the film.