Matrix Clip
Opening scene
The beginning of the film begins off by showing us the
supposed coding of a computer with green symbols and a conversation going on.
It’s clearly between a man and a woman. This builds a sense of mystery and
makes the audience want to know some more context. In the dialogue (which isn’t
very common in action- adventure films) we hear about this girl ‘liking’ the
person which the man and woman speak about which they refer to as ‘the one’.
They also mention him by saying that he is probably going to die. This too,
peaks the interest of the audience. Then we hear that the woman isn’t sure if
the line is not being listened in on. This indicates that they are doing
something someone else doesn’t want to happen. Consequently, she hangs up.
Mise-en-Scene
The Mise en-Scene of the clip shows Trinity to be this
mystery woman. Immediately we see lots of questions coming up about her; why is
she wearing all black and sunglasses even though it isn’t sunny, why is she
scared of the ‘agents’ and who is the person she is talking to on the phone.
All this makes us wonder about her. This can make us feel uneasy yet keen to
find out more. The feeling of the film already to think that it is a very dark
film, this will either appeal to someone or wont. Considering the target audience
is over 15 years old and probably a man.
It then cross cuts to a dark apartment building corridor
where police officers are slowly coming up to the door. We don’t get much
dialogue nor distinction from the policemen so we don’t have any attachment to
them. They are, as we say, the middle men. We are instantly lead to believe
that this scene is a threat and will involve some kind of conflict as the
policemen are holding guns.
The police shout at this woman who is in a tight leather
outfit who has short but black hair. This is the only thing we can make out as
the room is very dark which fits the genre of the film. The woman stands up
keeping her cool. She raises her hands and puts them behind her head. It then
cross cuts to what looks to be outside the building where all the police cars
are. A shiny black car which is distinctively nicer than the others pulls up
and three, professional, well dressed men simultaneously get out of the car.
They all have a black suit with sunglasses and an earpiece in. they all look
confident and superior to the common police men. Our attention is instantly
attracted to them. One of them struts up to the head police officer and tells
him off for sending men in before he got there. The police officer is
incompetent by saying that its only one ‘little girl’. The man in the suit
reply’s to him by telling him that his men are already dead.
When we finally reach the roof top chase there is a
completely different theme to this scene. It is very threatening as these men
clearly want to try to kill trinity. We feel unsure for her and ourselves and
subconsciously think that we are in her shoes. This is the sign of a good
director.
Camera work
The police kick down the door (which hides Trinity in her
very dark mood lighting room) with a point of view shot as if we were the
people kicking down the door. The police shout at this woman who is in a tight
leather outfit who has short but black hair. This is the only thing we can make
out as the room is very dark which fits the genre of the film. The woman stands
up keeping her cool. She raises her hands and puts them behind her head. When
we see an extreme close up of her face. We also see bullet time as trinity runs around
the room delivering the ninja kick to the police man. When trinity enters the
lime green corridor it has a focus point on her, then on the men coming from
down the corridor. A crane shot is used when they run along the roof tops along
with a tracking shot, which help the audience see what’s really happening and
to get a better grasp on the scene. When everyone is jumping from roof to roof
we see a shot from below. Then it has a low angle shot which reveals the agent
looking at another agent below.
Editing
The main key editing bits which really add key effects to
this clip is when trinity is doing her slow/fast motion fight scene in the room
with the police men. Consequently this then cross cuts to the outside scene
with the agents. This change in pace really shows the clam confidence in the
agents and reflects the danger of Trinity’s situation. The cross cut help a lot
to build up suspense to the audience as we don’t realise what’s happening to
trinity, but there is also new significant characters coming into count.
Soundtrack
There is very eerie music and sound of footsteps and guns
being loaded when the police go to the hotel door. This is very minimalistic as
the audience has to listen to small audio detail as there isn’t much going on
at this point thus creating suspense. Then there is the sound effect of the
police radios and car as the camera tracks down the hotel sign. Creating a
realistic world as we know there are police cars outside which suggests that
this is a bigger deal than some people could have thought. The confident quote
from the agent; ‘No lieutenant, you men are already dead.’ This is to suggest
that trinity is more than meets the eye and is a deadly force that is to be
dealt with very carefully. It also shows that the agents know what they are
doing and seem as if they have experience in the matter.
There is light sound effects as trinity fights the cops with
deep resonant gunshot sounds and ricochet noises which adds to the extremity of
violence. The music builds during the chase sequence on the roof until its
climax as trinity leaps over the massive gap between buildings. The build-up
helps with the suspension and intenseness of it all. The climax expresses the
power in her.
The ending is where she shows a complete difference in
ability between the police and the agent and the woman. The agent makes the
jump too but the woman quickly covers herself behind the wall and waits. She
exhales deeply and that’s where the clip ends.
