Prisoners

Prisoners 

The scene begins outside a café, with a car central to the frame. Sounds of heavy rain and thunder can be heard, which, alongside the low key lighting outside of the café, creates a mysterious, eerie tone. The contrast between the high key lighting of the café and the low key lighting outside emphasises the weather conditions, and aids with the context of the sequence. 

The scene then cuts to the inside of the café, where the sound of the weather is present, but muted much more than outside. The café is lit with high key lighting from all angles, making the area seem a refuge from the external world.

The camera begins to pan in on a character (Jake Gylenhall), who sits at a table with his back to the audience, dressed in black attire and reading over a newspaper. The shot is interrupted by a waitress, who walks in front of the camera, and begins to talk with the unknown character.

The shot continues to pan in as the two characters talk, and begins to raise in height above the character in black, going from neutral angle to a high angle shot. This prolonged shot of the unknown character causes the audience to question the sequence, wondering why the character is not yet revealed. This creates a mysterious atmosphere. 

Just as the shot seems to reveal the character from high angle, the sequence cuts to a close up shot of the characters face. He ponders over a cup of tea and a newspaper. Upon the table are Chinese decorations and traditional café items. The two characters continue to talk, regarding Chinese traditions, and including funny remarks within dialogue. This gives the audience a positive impression upon the character in black. The waitress is out of frame, so not regarded as important. 

The sequence cuts to a wide angle shot of the café, with the character sat alone within it. This calm shot is interrupted by a police announcement over the characters radio, inferring he is a police officer. Without the police audio stopping, the scene cuts to the character entering the previously seen vehicle outside.

The shot cuts to a close up of the character inside the car, his face wet from the heavy rain. The camera shoots with shallow depth of field, causing street lights in the background to be blurred. The low key lighting inside the car again evokes a mysterious atmosphere. The character speaks into the radio, announcing he is 'five minutes out'. This infers an action scene within the film may occur shortly. 

The sequence cuts to the inside of another car, with the camera shot the exact same as in the previous car. This makes the transition smooth, and confuses the audience initially. The camera changes focus from the trees outside of the car, to a low lit figure inside of the car. 

The scene cuts again to the original characters (Jake Gylenhall) car, which drives through a well lit gas station, and continues to drive towards the camera, appearing more in frame as it does so. The high key lighting of the gas station relaxes the audience. The car drives up to the camera until the character is in a close up shot. This reveals a confused expression. 

The scene cuts to a point of view shot from within the car. The character and camera looks upon a parked S.U.V. vehicle, the one facing the trees.

The character, assumed now to be a police officer, exits the car into the rain. The pounding audio of heavy rain increases in volume as he exits the car. The sequence cuts to a wide angle shot, revealing multiple police cars in frame, aswell as the  S.U.V. and the officers car. The scene is lit, low key, but with a blue tint from the police lights. This emphasises the rain, and creates tension within the audience. The lack of audio creates suspense like that of music would, however silence builds an eerie atmosphere, like that of a horror convention. 

The scene cuts to a close up of the officer, who walks towards the S.U.V. The high key lighting of the gas station in the background creates contrast to the shadowed face of the officer, and acts as back lighting. This emphasises a deeper emotion building within the officer. 

The sequence cuts to a shot reverse shot of the officer, then the wide angle of the full scene, then back to the officer. 

The scene then cuts to the interior of the S.U.V., where the silhouette of the character can be seen against the tree line outside. The audio of rain is muted as the scene cuts to the vehicles interior, giving the audience a characters perspective. Music begins to fade in when the scene cuts, which allows suspense to build within the audience. The scene cuts to a shot of the approaching officer in the wing mirror. The officer is highlighted against the high key lighting of the gas station, making him a silhouette. This gives the impression of an approaching demon to the character, which may reflect what he sees inside his mind, not what the audience sees as a trustworthy officer. 

The sequence begins a shot reverse shot of the interior character and the police outside. This shows their approach to the vehicle.

The scene then erupts into chaos as the vehicle begins to reverse. This is followed by shouts. The sequence cuts between shots in quick succession, emphasising the chaotic nature of the action. The scene cuts to a close up of the officer shouting, before transitioning to a quick succession of cuts shooting the vehicle driving forcefully into the trees. 

The camera shoots a neutral angle of the front of the vehicle. It is pictured smoking and dented. The vehicles lights shine directly into the camera, highlighting the smoke. The vehicle contrasts against the gas station lighting and the blue flashes from the police cars.

The sequence cuts to the police officers approaching the vehicle. The audio returns to heavy rain after the crash, and includes odd shouts from officers. The sequence is of low key lighting, lit mainly by torches held by officers. This puts the officers into shadow, and incorporates the fear of the unknown into the scene. 

The scene cuts to a close up of the officer (Jake Gylenhall) inspecting the vehicle. The shot is lit front on by torches, which gives low key lighting and creates tension. The officer also carries a pistol, which suggests an action or horror convention. The door to the vehicle is swung open, and enters the officer. The scene cuts to a shot inside the S.U.V., which shoots the officer as he enters. The torch lights the interior, and is pointed at the camera directly, throwing the officer into shadow. The shot films the officer inspecting the interior. It is a confined space, filled with living appliances. The combination of low key lighting and the officers extremely heavy breathing builds tension. The sequence seems to drag, and is prolonged to build suspense.

The scene cuts to a shot reverse shot, cutting between the officers started expression and a curtain. The officer shouts warnings towards the curtain, behind which lies the character situated in the vehicle.

From the split in the curtain, illuminated by torch light, appears a hand, then a second hand. 

The sequence then cuts to a wide angle shot, framing police officers wrestling the character between the vehicle and the bright lights of the distant gas station. The officer wrestles the character towards the camera, then turns left toward the trees, at which the camera pans to follow them. The scene is lit by torches once again, making the characters hard to view. This leaves expression and emotion to be revealed by  audio, which is done through cries and shouts. The hard rain continues to control the clips sound.

The sequence cuts to a shot behind a tree, viewing the character being wrestled to the floor. This reveals the location, and provides a traditional cut of horror conventions with the inclusion of a dark, damp forest at night. This frightens the audience.

The scene cuts to a close up of the S.U.V. character, lit by low key back lighting. This reveals his doomed expression, however provides shadow for the audience to imagine emotion. The scene cuts to a point of view of the officer, viewing torch light against the rain soaked back of the character. The character turns, giving a clear view of his face. During this, dialogue provides context, with shouts of 'is this where you put those girls?'. This, along with the appearance of the character, implies he is a paedophile. The shot continues to view the startled, confused face of the character, alongside various remarks from the officers.

The character is again wrestled, however away from the camera shot this time. The scene cuts to a close up of the officer (Jake Gylenhall) shouting instructions. His face is lit well by torches, leaving areas of low key lighting behind in, heading into the forest. The officer turns to head into the forest before the clip ends.