Saving Private Ryan Opening Scene Analysis

The first shot consists of a manipulated ident. By manipulating and giving the ident a unique look for the film, helps the viewer to connote that the fonts are related to war. Using this font and colour helps to relate to the genre of the film therefore giving it extra meaning for the viewer. The font style is fancy and has an old aspect to it. Therefore denoting the past, and connoting the wars in the past. The backgrounds is plain black, therefore it is simple, and relates to the film.

The shot then leads onto a protagonist and his family going to see the graves, in remembrance of their loved ones, in the present moment. This angle of shot helps to tell the viewer and emphasise the fact that lots of people died in the war. The Cinematographer/DOP wants us to see this therefore releasing a certain emotion when the viewer is show this. By organising the graves in a ordered formation, recreates the organised formation of the soldiers when they were at war. Also because the graves all look the same, a white cross, this can also recreate the soldiers because they all looked the same they all wore the same uninform/clothing. This creates extra meaning for the viewer therefore they can connote that they are war graves dues to the amount, formation and look of them.

Later in the film the protagonist gets close to one of the graves of his friend in the war. The camera then pans and zooms into the eyes of the character showing lots of emotion, and to simulate the fact of what he is thinking. The next cut then leads into a flashback of his experience, therefore zooming into the eyes of a past soldier is relevant.

After the cut of the central protagonist the film leads onto a flashback of his experience. By slightly titling the camera helps to suggest that something is wrong, or something is about to go wrong. By adding a date to the screen help to keep the viewer informed of the timescale but also to give it that war film representation. (what we expect from a war film)

The environment around is also very blue therefore showing coldness which portrays the whole film connoting sadness.

This close up shot of the other soldiers helps to give the viewer a first person view from the central protagonists point of view. The filming is quite unstable, shaky and a little blurred. This helps to give the aspect of their point of view giving the viewer a real interpretation of the war. Using a close up of the soldiers helps to show how cramped the boat is showing what it was like in the real war.

Later in the opening the camera switches to the other side of the battle, showing the muzzle flash, guns etc. Because the shot is looking down at the vulnerable soldiers scrambling onto the beach, it suggests who holds the power in the scene. The powerful Germans with their machine guns, high up on the cliff side. This shows the viewer who is in control at this moment in the film. The shot also has a bit of blur to it. This gives another effect of the machine gun firing which helps to simulate the power of the gun. The sound in this part of the film is mainly gunfire, the diegetic sound of machine guns helps to add to the whole picture. Using this sound with the visuals is effective as it shows the viewer what the battle would have really been like.

When the camera switches to the other side, back to the first person shots, the camera looks up at the German soldiers in their base which gives the effect that they are defenceless, powerless, etc.

Because it is meant to be a first person shot, as the other soldiers jump into the water the camera follows giving the viewer a realistic interpretation of the war. As the camera plunges into the water, the diegetic sound of distorted gunfire and drowning really give the film a realistic feel and shows the viewer how grim the war actually was.

This next shot shows the soldiers swimming towards the shore, by tilting the camera to one side, suggests that something is not right and suggests vulnerability. Because the environment is overcast, this connotes sadness, coldness, etc. Also the colouring of the shot is blue which also connotes these same qualities.