JV- Technical Analysis

Inception (Nolan, 2010)

Technical Analysis;

Shot: Pan across the ocean with the crashing waves.
Duration: 11 seconds
Mise en scene: Ocean, sea, cliffs, rocks.

Shot: Mid-shot
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise en scene: Mid shot of a crashing wave.

Shot: Close up of one of the main characters.
Duration: 8 seconds
Mise en scene: One of the main characters washed up on beach front, appears to be very tired the ways the eyes are shut.

Shot: Mid shot Duration: 2 seconds
Mise en scene: A child having fun on the beach, colour changes dramatically creating a juxtaposition.

Shot: Close up of one of the main characters.
Duration: 2 seconds
Mise en scene: One of the main characters washed up on beach front, appears to be very tired the ways the eyes are shut but then eyes start to open and he lifts his head up.

Shot: Long shot of the original boy, joined by girl.
Duration: 5 seconds 
Mise en scene: Colourful clothing, red dress, as well as bright lighting contrasting with low lighting level.

Shot: Mid- shot
Duration: 4 seconds
Mise en scene: Main character begins to gain strenght, manages to lift arm up

Shot: Long shot of the original boy, joined by girl.
Duration: 2 seconds
Mise en scene: Colourful clothing, red dress, as well as bright lighting contrasting with low lighting level.


Shot: Back to a close up of the main character washed up on the beach
Duration: 4 seconds
Mise en scene: Old ragged clothing, loses strength and closes eyes again and rests head.

Shot: Midshot of man in uniform poking stranded gentleman, to check that he is still alive
Duration: 2 seconds
Mise en scene: Gun, showing that he may be part of the army.

Shot: Mid shot of the man in uniform with the gun
Duration: 2 seconds
Mise en scene: Gun, showing that he may be part of the army, also the way the lighting changes from dim to bright may show a revelation and perhaps a form of help.


Shot: Mid shot
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise en scene: shows the man in the uniform using his gun to show what the other man is carrying, a handgun

Shot: Midshot
Duration: 2 seconds
Mise en scene: cuts back the soldier of him looking up to someone in the distance

Shot: Longshot is used to show the man giving off a signal
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise en scene: Close  up of the soldier giving off a signal, showing his dominant state of authority.

Shot: Longshot, pans up
Duration: 5 seconds
Mise en scene: sends a signal to one of the other soldiers, also pans up to show the size of the building representing some significance. The way the camera is looking up with a high angle shot gives an idea of dominance.

Shot: Longshot, zoom
Duration: 11 seconds
Mise en scene: longshot shows the mysterious nature of the bald headed man as you cannot see his face.

Shot: Mid shot
Duration: 5 seconds
Mise en scene: Reinforces the idea of the mysterious nature of the man by using an establishing shot, makes the audience want to see more, furthermore, it shows one of his 'men' in the background placing something on the table infront of him.

Shot: Close up
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise en scene: Shows close up of gun and and spin top showing significance

• The soundtrack which is played at the start of the scene is triumphant and bold which then juxtaposes with the sound of the waves.
• Furthermore, the use of diegetic sound from the children playing with the background also creates a different contrasting atmosphere which inevitably  creates dramatic tension as the viewer is invariably unsure what is currently happening leading to the characteristics of a thriller keeping the viewer on the edge of their seat.
• The lack of dialogue also the fact that it is in a different language creates more tension with more silence.

• What I have learnt from this is that a lack of dialogue is sometimes key to thriller films at it creates tension for the audience.
• Also this idea of tension is reinforced with a lot of contrasting shots which create a juxtaposition, for example the close up of the main character in distress washed up on the beach front to the long shot of the happy children playing in the background.