Apocalypse Now Opening Scene:

       in the opening shot it is a wide angle shoot there is no movement for 75 seconds, the wide angle shoot shows what is happening to the jungle over the period of the time, this shot is an establishing shot as it shows the audience the setting well be in for the duration of the film. the lack of movement works as it shows how something so easily can be destroyed. In the frame we start off with trees, however by the end we are shown fire and explosions to show how dangerous and scary it is like an Apocalypse. The colour for the opening shot is bland and lifeless to imply that everyone who has been there is like that, this is a juxtaposition as a jungle is meant to be beautiful scenery and not a nightmare. There is no spoken words in the first shot, this makes a disturbing atmosphere as it doesn't answer our questions, not following the classic Hollywood studio system. The music that is playing is the opening of The Doors The End 1967 this foreshadows the film as characters deaths and everyone will to die the unsetting opening of the song works well as the audience and the actors in the film don't know where they are as they are in unfamiliar location. Even-though we see a helicopter there is no sound effects so all you can hear its the unsettling score. There is no editing in this scene as it is just a held wide angle shot.


When we do get camera movement it is a pan for 25 seconds, showing the destroyed and burning jungle the pan shot works as it shows everything that is to come as it is a war zone our view gets more obstructed throughout showing that we are getting blinded by all the horrors. the unsettling music of The End is still playing still with no dialogue or sound effects creating an unsettling mood as we still do not know what is going on.

The fist character we see is a deadbeat person who has seen the horror of the jungle the close up on the the unknown characters face shows this emotions being lifeless and looking dead inside adding to the disturbing atmosphere, with no words said we know that this man has been through hell and is suffering from it now. we know this body language is empty as he is starting into a ceiling dan whist smoking a prop cigaret showing that It is his stress reviver and his only way to escape, whist he is staring up he is looking at the fan as it cuts to a helicopter showing that he was apart of the war and was affected by it this as an emotion impact on the audience as it shows the what you will see in there will destroy your brain and mess you up. The only sound you can hear is still just the song the end implying that he has gone tone death because if the horrors and suffers from PTSD. in the scene there is a ceiling fan witch implies the helicopters and shows that he can never escape his fate. there is the dark jungle witch again shows that he cannot escape his fate and there is a cigarette slowly being smoked showing that he knows he is doomed.  The editing used shows the close up of the man and a wide Angle of the jungle showing that they are never unbound from each other and the jungle will always be there. the unknown character fades into the shot whilst we have the slow panning camera movement in the background the opening is very slow moving.

when we do hear sound effects is in the shot when it cuts back to the jungle with 2 helicopters flying around we can hear the propellers and the ending to the song. We also hear the propellers when it cuts the the man starting at the fan sowing that he has PTSD. The performance fits in well with the camera  movement as it has his a zoom out whilst the camera spins showing that his head is doing loops, the zoom out helps us see more of the costume and the body language, the man is shirtless showing that he has no care for himself this is also implied by the lack of body movement, the misty lighting and the the band colours also helps implies how much this man hates his life as there is a lack of colour .





In these shots we see the setting with is a showing that he lives in filth as he has unfinished alcohol and a unclean room as you can see, once again showing this mans lacks any motivation to do anything. This also shows that he live in fear as he has to sleep by his gun showing that he is always on edge. the the lighting is natural but as the blinds are closed it shows that he is afraid of society and wants to hide in the darkness as it is only where he feels comfortable in these four shots it is a hand held pan showing that he is shaken about his life now. the props used are a gun alcohol and cigarettes with a. lighter to show that its the only way that he can escape,  a picture of a loved one to show that he misses his family and just wants to return underneath letters. His performance is still blank and has the body movement of a dead man with a bland gesture. The use of the editing is cuts in the four shoots and it is noticeable again not following the classical Hollywood style. The order of the shots shows his getting increasingly more unstable as it goes from a. loved one to depression, to alcohol and smoking to a gun showing that he is mentally insane. The sound again is still just the song and helicopter propellers without any words being said showing that he is a crazy man.



In these shots it shows him being away from the jungle and being in a beatdown appaortment at this point the music had been cut showing that that song links to the jungle and everything in it all we can hear is helicopter propers again this is because of the ceiling fan as it is his war trigger. being 4.14 minutes in without any dialogue shows the inside of the mind as it is empty and he is lost for words. the colouring is bland and shows noting much beside him being in a a disgusting room. The lighting is even darker when we get away from the jungle as it again shows how dark his mind is and how the jungle has taken away his light and his will to live. the camera movement points down in the room and is a held shot on the man still being a close up whilst having the room in a mid shot establishing the room and showing what kind of person the man is there is a hand held zoom in on the window and not a cut to give the audience the same experience as the man as its our first time being the society he fades away from. The noticeable cuts shows how the film is clunky and homemade as it being hand held give it a shake look. the order of the shots show him being in darkness to the dan to the room to the window showing that the society is the last thing he wants to face.



these two shows foreshadow the ending as it shows the final scene, this shows that all this is after the events of the horrors and it is no longer ongoing. the lighting is dark and you cannot see a lot showing at that point in his life he was in darkness there is also dark colouring when he is thinking about it and there is a fire red when he has a flash back to it showing his rage for the event. the shots are close ups to show his emotions and to show that is is flashback. the sound has the music playing again as he is going back to the jungle as that song is linked to the jungle, we also hear a calm night with implies that it was the sound of the flash back, the sound gets increasingly louder to show that the flashback is haunting him and he cannot escape it. his performance shows him having deep thought and great sadness. there is nothing to note in the scene as we are focused on his facial expression and his emotions. the editing uses a fade to show that it is a flashback, this once again doesn't follow classical Hollywood style and shows that the director had creative freedom.



in the first society shot we hear no music and no speaking, when we do hear the chatter speak there is no music and he talks abut he fears going back to the war, he talks about how he has gotten worse after the war and is only getting worse to show the side effects of war and how he is suffering with the after effects of it. the lighting on his face is dark whilst the lighting and colouring outside is high key and vibrant. showing how fearful he is of society

in these shots it shows the mental side effect of the war to him, it has made him into a mad and fearful man who has a lot of hatred for society. he is constantly tortured by the war as he is having flashbacks of the jungle when he is a room witch has connotations of safety and comfort not fear and horror showing that he has been drawn into mental insanity. the dark colours and lighting reflect his current emotions as he is empty and can only have negative thoughts the music goes crazy in these scenes to reflect how the character feels.