Contextual Analysis For ‘Mission Impossible II’

Camera Angles:

    Aerial shot that moves around key character: This shows the vastness of the setting as it is set in a desert with mountainous rocks. This type of shot exaggerates the fact that he is climbing the rock on his own without climbing equipment. This shot is most likely taken from a helicopter. This shot could also be a point of view shot. This is because there is a sound of an Eagle which also sets the scene as it could be a typical place for an Eagle to live. This could mean that the shot is from the view point of an Eagle.

Zoom out to an establishing shot: After a wide shot focusing on the key character, the camera zooms back out to an establishing shot, similar to the one at the start of the opening sequence. This is used to exaggerate how small he is compared to his surroundings. This could imply a metaphor which is saying that the key character is inferior to the vast surroundings. However this changes when he reaches the top and shows him like David in the story of David and Goliath which is a religious connotation.


Close-up on sunglasses: The sunglasses are an important prop in establishing the role of the key character. The sunglasses give the audience a clue to his occupation and suggest he is a secret agent or a spy. The close-up adds the effect of mystery because we cannot see the characters eyes so it is as if he is hiding his identity like a spy would.


Action Elements:

    The slow motion jump: By editing the jump to be in slow motion, the director has created tension which is felt by the audience. This makes the audience ask questions such as ‘is he going to make it?’

    The way he hangs off the cliff: The way his arms are spread could be implied as a religious symbol. His arms are reached to the sides which imitates Jesus   on the cross. Jesus is seen as the saviour to the world in Christianity so imitating this could imply that the key character is also the hero of the film and is possibly going to save the world.

     Key character is prepared with chalk: The fact that he is prepared with chalk shows that he planned to climb the cliff even is the camera angles sometimes suggest that he is being hunted (eagle’s point of view shot). Even though he is prepared with chalk to stop his hands slipping, he does not have a harness. This could show that he likes to take risks and portrays a brave heroic key character.

Visual Elements:

    
Title sequence shows orange and red tones: In general, these tones are associated with danger and risk. Adding the title sequence after the opening scene adds clarification to the ideas the audience have about the story; the film is most likely going to be filled with action and danger.

    Gladiators and knights in the title sequence: Gladiators and knights are associated with strength and bravery. As the audience have only seen one key character so far, they are more likely to link these types of figures with him, adding to his image of being brave and a saviour.

Sound:

    Eagle sound: One connotation of this sound it is played at the beginning of the scene which suggests that there is danger already which is linked to the point of view shot talked about previously. Another connotation is that the eagle is an American symbol which shows this is an American film and that the key character is American too.

    Up beat music fades in: At the start of the opening scene, there is no music and all the audience can hear is the wind and the key character breathing. After a few seconds, African sounding music starts to fade in. When the audience can hear the character breathing, they may imply that he is struggling and that he has had to climb the cliff by accident. However, when the music fades in, it eases the audience as it changes the tension and shows maybe he’s there on purpose.

     When he jumps, the music changes: There is a part in the opening scene when the key character has to make the decision to jump to a ledge to be able to climb to the top of the cliff. When he is preparing to jump, the vocals on the music stops and the audience just hears a dramatic drum beat. This change in music creates tension and makes the audience interested in what is going to happen to him; they wonder whether he will fall or not.

    
     Makes a risky move on the beat of the music: This is used for dramatic effect and exaggerates the move. This is joined with a close up on the hand to make sure the audience notices how much the key character is holding on the cliff.

    Music crescendos when key character reaches the top of the cliff: This highlights the grand scale of his success. This is joined with a point of view, establishing shot which could be from the helicopter the audience hears in the background.

    Spy music when canister is fired: When the canister is first fired, the audience may get the impression that the key character is getting attacked. This changes when he opens the canister. Without the spy music, this section of the scene may not be as interesting as using the spy music informs the audience that this is where the mission starts.

     Voice over: The voice over is a man giving the key character a mission. This is important as it gives the audience some background information before the main story begins.

     Images in title sequence move with music: This emphasises the importance of the music. The music used is the main music track for the film. This give the film an identity as when someone hears the music they will automatically think of the film.