Opening Scene
The Maze Runner film is a 2014 American science fiction action thriller
film directed by Wes Ball. The film is the first instalment in the Maze
Runner franchise. The story is based around a sixteen year old boy
named Thomas who in the opening scene awakens in a rusty elevator with
no memory of who he is, only to learn he's been sent to the middle of a
maze, along with a large number of other boys, who have been trying to
find their way out of the ever-changing maze. This story goes through
the adventures of Thomas and how he try's to escape the labyrinth. This
film was released on September the 19th 2014 and has a running time of
113 minutes. This film earned over 348.3 million pounds in the box
office and is distributed by 20th Century Fox. This film is based on the
book series from James Dashner.
The film starts of showing the distributer of the film- 20th Century
Fox. From this logo the audience can identify this film as being from
Fox, the audience can then relate this to pervious films Fox has
distributed and compare the films together. The sound track from this
scene also gives a sense of familiarity to the audience.
After the opening credits the audience are then greeted with a pitch
black screen. This black screen connotes mystery because the audience
doesn't know what is happening in the scene. Another part from this
scene is that there are various diegetic mechanical noises is the
scene, these mechanical noises bring tension to the audience because
they cannot identify the sound to a picture which then could make them
confused and wary to what is going to happen next.
The audience are then shown this shot of the main protagonist in some
sort of rusty lift. In this scene there is also not much light coming
from anywhere except for some artificial light so it connotes that this
scene could be set underground. In this scene it shows the main
protagonist first waking up in this metal cage completely unaware where
he is and he is shown to be throwing up. The only sounds to be heard are
that of the confused protagonist waking up and the sounds of the lift
gradually going up. From this the audience can see that the protagonist
is in a sticky situation because he doesn't know where he is and he
cannot get out. In this clip it also shows Thomas to be quite dirty,
this connotes that he couldn't have washed himself for awhile because he
has been trapped in this cage, also his face appears to be quite damp
along with his clothes which connotes that it is very hot and cramped in
that environment. Another thing about this scene is that it shows a mid
shot of the character which shows his position within this shot, it
shows how he just woke up and focuses on what state he is in.
This then cuts to a high angle shot of the character which shows his
surroundings within the lift. The audience can then clearly see lots of
supplies in the background. These supplies could connote that the lift
is taking these supplies to a destination where the main protagonist
will then survive off them. This scene also shows the protagonist
hunched over looking below his, this could suggest that he is confused
about where he is and wants to know what is below him. It could also
suggest that he wants to know where he came from because of his amnesia
he cannot remember the previous events so he is trying to get an answer
by looking down. After this Thomas then stands up and finds that the
lift is going faster and faster, I know this because the mechanical
sounds become more harsh and the lift is shaking more showing that the
lift is going faster. As Thomas gets up he also notices more noises
within his setting. The diegetic sound is coming from a pig that is
trapped in a crate, Thomas then springs back to the other side of he
cage after seeing this pig. He probably over reacts because he has
amnesia and all he knows is that he is trapped with a foreign species
that he is not familiar with.
Thomas then begins to scramble to the top of the crate to see of a way
out. While this is happening it shows a close up of his face while he is
screaming 'Help'. This shows his distress and confusion over this
situation and his need for help. This could define Thomas as the
princess character because the princess is in distress and in need which
Thomas is replicating. While he is shouting for help it then cuts to
the top of the lift which has been closed off, this causes Thomas to
panic because he believes that he is going to crash into the wall.
Thomas then falls down onto the floor which is then accompanied by a red
light that goes over the shot. This connotes danger and that something
bad it going to happen to this protagonist, this gets the audience to
think about the consequences, This red light then progressively changes
to green which shows that the issue could have been resolved. The scene
then again goes completely black which also creates even more tension
because the audience doesn't know what is going to happen to this
character, the only sounds to be heard is Thomas's frantic breathing
which shows his distress.
The metal doors are then immediately opened to show blinding light. This
connotes that the lift has know gone up from underground and is know
facing the bright sun. Now you can fully see the protagonist. He is
shown to have his clothes drenched in sweat, this connoted that the
anxiety of confusion has effected him and has caused him to panic within
this container. Thomas also try's to cover his face from the blinding
eyes because he cannot see through the light. As he lowers his hands
many shadows appear within the shot, this then cuts to a group of people
surrounding the container where Thomas is in. The people are also shown
to wear similar clothes to Thomas which could connote that they come
from the same place. The main person within this group then volunteers
to open the cage and get Thomas out. He refers to Thomas as a 'Greeny'
which could suggest his ranking within the group, it could suggest the
lowest rank because he is new. Thomas is then thrown onto the grass
where the group of people look down upon him while he is stuck in the
foetal position confused and distressed. Finally Thomas tries to get up
and run away from the group but ultimately fails when he falls onto the
grass.
By my group member Honesty Bradshaw
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