Semester Exam - Film Opening Analysis of Black Mirror (season3, episode 4, San Junipero)

The movie Black Mirror had very much of film elements in the first 5 minutes. A lot goes on in so little time. There are only 3 main characters shown in the scenes, but to me it seems like they are going to play a big role throughout the movie. Movie seems very organized and helps me get an idea of how exactly the movie will play out. Each film element that is displayed just adds another addition to make the movie better.

The first film element that is displayed well is sound. The movie starts off with a lady walking down an alley looking very much confused and you can just hear many different voices and sounds all around but at a very low tone. You can quickly realize that this girl might be scared or worried about something and there is so much going on in her head at one time. Once the scene is switched into the club, more sound is displayed with the background 80s music being played while others dance and talk with one another. The musical tone is then lowered when the two girls begin to speak so you are left two things of sound going on at once. There is also sound displayed when the man walks up to the girl and she is at the game area and you can hear different sounds coming from the game as she clicks buttons. One more sound is given off when the car pulls up in the beginning and you can hear the motor and squeaky breaks.

The second film element that is displayed is camera angles. A good angle of shots was a shot being shown when all the characters I the movie are in one shot all dancing or standing around. The camera also begins to flip back and forth between both the girls and the mans showing their facial expressions during their conversation. The man looks very confused but a little mad while the girls are giving off the expression that they do not want to speak to him and want to be alone. During this scene is also when a medium shot comes in showing all three characters from the waist up to their faces. In the beginning of the film the camera zooms in on the girl’s face showing her nervousness with little voices in the background.

The third film element that is displayed is mise-en-scene. There was not much to give off for this element but the lighting. The lighting that is given off is the colorful strobe lights moving around bouncing off the walls and people at the club helps give off an exciting effect for all people.

The fourth film element and last that is displayed is editing. There also was not very noticeable editing shown. There was a contrast from when the film starts, the woman is outside in a dull quiet area and then suddenly switches to inside a club with loud music and people screaming with music and lights.