Hurt Locker

Q 1. Explain two ways the characters and/ or events fit the action adventure genre.

Use examples from the extract. [10 marks]

There is a time pressure situation, which is obvious due to the constant shouting and everyone talking over each other. The audience can clearly tell from the tone of the actors’ voices that they're frightened and nervous. This causes a tension filled scene. There is a translation barrier which can also add more tension because the man who has a bomb strapped to him is terrified. The audience can connect as they know that how the man is reacting to the situation is how they would.

There is a build up to when the bomb actually explodes. The film is based on war which fits the action genre. It is easy to tell it is war because the audience would be familiar with the army uniform used. As the situation develops the tension builds as the main character starts to put on the bomb diffusing suit. The audience can start to tell that it won’t end well. The scene continues to develop with heavy gear like bolt cutters being used. Then the bomb explodes which is a large part to action, there is a loud bang and the audience sees the impact of the explosion, then the scene ends with complete silence.

Q2. Explain how each of the following is used to create effects:

soundtrack

editing

mise en scene

camerawork

Use examples from the extract. [30 marks]

In the scene there is diegetic sound from the main character as it then focuses on him and makes him a larger presence than the rest so the audience know he is important. All characters have diegetic sound so that we can see their reactions to the situation. There is also a lot of non-diegetic sound as there is a lot of shouting from multiple characters at the same time. due to the overall view looking like a documentary or a point of view from others there is a sound bridge as the group of army soldiers are nowhere near the man with the bomb. The film is very realistic so there is synchronous sound so there are no unexpected sounds.

Editing is key to this scene as there is a lot going on so it is fast paced as it reflects the thoughts of the characters who are frightened and under time pressure. As the film feels quite natural the editing is the typical continuity style so uses cut editing. The soldiers talk to one another so there is a shot reverse shot for some conversations so the audience know who is talking. Action films use cross-cutting, especially to build suspense, which the scene needs.  At the start of the scene a jump cut is used to show the whole scene of the man walking towards them, and sets the scene.

The idea of the film is army based so the characters are all in army uniform; it is sand coloured and pale greens as it blends with the background as it should in the army as they don’t want to appear a target. The costumes are likely to be real uniforms for an authentic feel to the film. To help give the view of a realistic life of one solider, the main character William James, there is also actual army gear like the trucks that carry multiple soldiers to destinations, the disusing suit the main character puts on. the realistic situation of an army officer in Baghdad there is a bomb threat, so the man has a bomb vest around him that James has to cut through, it might connect to the title as the vest is covered in locks that he has to break. The lighting in this scene is very natural as it was likely shot in in the Middle East to get an authentic setting for the film. So there are shadows and the light causes lens flare, which is very common in films as it makes them appear more realistic helping with the continuity as they don’t have to create it.

As the film feels almost like a documentary almost all of the shots are hand-held as it makes the audience feel involved in the action. tracking and Ariel of James is used whilst he walks toward the man with a bomb strapped to him so that the audience can see the high pressure situation and feel the comfort of being an onlooker from a distance rather than walking with him. Ariel is used again probably on a crane as an establishing shot at the start as the film tracks days of being at different camps or areas so zooms out so that the audience can see a full view of the scene. In all conversations, the soldiers talking and James trying to save the man, there is a use of shallow focus so that the characters talking are clear and the main focus to the audience. canted angles are used to show the uneasiness of the situation and also help show the full view of people at different heights e.g. James standing telling the man, on his knees, to put his hands behind his head. dolly zoom is used a lot to zoom in a characters faces to show their reactions to this situation as the translator and James sympathise for the man and the officer in charge tries to tell James to give up as he is 'a dead man' due to the time pressure.

Q 3. Discuss the ways in which people are represented in the extract.

Refer to stereotypes in your answer.
Use examples from the extract. [20 marks] 

The whole film is a stereotype as to what the audience think goes on in Iraq, For example the clip has a bomb threat by a suicide bomber. The film focuses on James falling into multiple booby traps made by the insurgents. Audiences would prefer to see this as it fits with their expectetions, although it is actual things that happen the film has more than what would be normal for the average soldier. the excessive amount of situations could ten make him seem even more of a hero as he goes above and beyond what is expected.