Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan

Start of the scene is a wide shot and shows the waves and weather which interests the audience, as the violence of the waves matches the situation, connoting the chaos.

Putting the camera in the water already places us in the position of the soldiers. We know this because CU’s of the soldier’s expressions are the same as how we’d feel with positioning of the camera in the water. We can see the fear on the soldier’s faces and how one soldier starts praying and kissing his necklace.

There is the shaky camera held angles that show obstacles in the way of the camera which is the POV of the soldiers, there blocked with things in the way and they have to overcome them. These camera angles are constantly placing us in the position of the soldiers.

Having the camera behind the machine gun pointing at the soldiers puts the side of the machine gun in power, and to show how easy it is for this side and how its just a massacre.  Also considering there is a whole beach the framing is very small and doesn’t show both sides on each end of the shot, it puts the soldiers into tight frames and close ups to show how trapped they are and although it’s a large area, there is no way else to go.

At one point the camera slows down and the sound is lost, to show us how the particular soldier is feeling, that he can’t hear anything and time has just slowed down as if numb to the situation and feelings, that he cant believe what is happening around him.