Mission Impossible

Media

Mission impossible intro.

The first camera shot is an establishing shot this makes the viewer aware where this scene is set and where the action will take place. (Mise En Scene) Its set in a real life location; the Grand Canyon (intertextuality) because it’s referring to another reference. The Grand Canyon is a very remote place but also is a very dangerous place to be on your own. The camera is then panning around the surroundings again setting the scene for the viewer. At this point there is only ambient sound of wind.

The camera then zooms in to the area of interest a man alone climbing the Grand Canyon... It then shows this man (Tom Cruise) climbing up the Grand Canyon camera; panning as he climbs. What does this show about the character his self?; this shows a lot about the character being played for example he’s in a dangerous, remote place all on his own with shows his fearless and clearly has done this before. He also is already climbed high which then shows isolation but also that he is clearly not scared. To back up this point the viewer then hears Non-Diegetic sound of birds, not any bird though… a eagle which is the only life form we have seen so far. It’s at the top of the food chain and Tom doesn’t even seem bothers at all he is thousands of feet up from the ground and there are deadly predators nearby.

As he climbs the camera shot is a medium shot which then he hangs with his feet wedged into a rock and takes a break, slowly the Non-Diegetic sound (a music soundtrack) is being place which for where he is doesn’t fit in at all (contrapuntal) As he is climbing up further the Grand Canyon the camera angles are now swapping between extreme close ups of his feet with is showing the danger which he could slip and fall at any time which is creating suspense for the viewer back to long shots of him climbing.

As the camera pans out the non-diegetic sounds frequency increases, the bird’s eye view shot yet again is creating suspense for the viewer as you can now see how high he has climbed. The camera then to a point of view shot which is showing raged edge om the Grand Canyon which he then leaps to jump on the camera then going into slow motion which yet again shows courage but gives the reader fear because anything could happen.

Tom Cruise then slips and falls which the camera is going to a low angle which is again showing how far up he is but also his masculinity and fear. As he hangs the camera again changed to a close up which then he swings into a very much alike Jesus crucified look,( EG; arms fully apart hanging) Which then applies that he is a legend, he is capable of a lot and is not scared of death. As the camera is panning around him it then pans into him to form a close up which shows clearly who he is if the viewer didn’t notice its Tom Cruise which he is seen as a sex model to the opposite gender. Which on that case alone would encourage viewers to carry on watching.

The Non-diegetic sound frequency is now taking over any other sound and the tempo has picked up as he climbs on the top of the Grand Canyon this implies that something’s is going to happen. He then stands up and the camera does a 360 rotation around him. You then see an aerial shot which then more Non-diegetic sound of what sounds like a helicopter the camera angle then is a low shot which implies further that the helicopter is higher than him, there is then a mid-shot with a man in the typical agent costume with a hearing aid in and he shoots something out of a gun onto the rocks which then questions and intrigues the viewers to what it was? A bomb? The camera then changed to Tom at a close up when then he signs which shows all the expressions of his face by using this shot.

He then walks over to this prop (a canister) and opens it and an extreme close of some glasses. While  he does that the start of the mission impossible theme tune is being placed (Non-Diegetic) which by playing this lets the viewer know what there watching by their famous theme tune. This is also incidental music as the viewer unaware of what he is doing. He then puts the glasses on and sees a CGI (Computer generated images) within the glasses which he is then told about his mission. The camera keeps swapping between close up of him wearing the glasses and the CGI.

He then chucks the glasses and they blow up; a close up yet again created with CGI.