Boogie Nights

The establishing shot is a red car pulling up in front of a house. The three main characters have a discussion and we are aware of the presence of gun before we see it with the diegetic sound of a gun clicking, heightening the atmosphere and telling the audience that the following scene is going to be dangerous. Todd is the first character to leave the car which implies that he is leading the way. When the three characters exit the car, the camera tracks them as they walk to the house. The front of the house has blue and red lights in front of it, the contrasting colours giving the audience the sense of that this is a strange and uncomfortable place to be. Todd is framed in the centre of the scene, portraying him as the most confident about the situation. There are bars at the front door, giving the impression that the place is a prison and foreshadows the criminal nature of the man inside. The camera tracks in to a close up of Todd pressing the doorbell and waits a few seconds to emphasise the tension and anticipation felt by the characters. The second drug dealer looks through the peep hole with his face partially obscured by the door, hiding his identity and giving the audience a sense of that he cannot be trusted. When the door opens and the characters walk on through the camera stays in a fixed position as the door closes in slow motion, implying that the characters are now trapped with no escape. This magnifies the sense of danger about the house as the audience begins to speculate about what is going to happen next.

The camera tracks in to a POV shot of the Drug Dealer from the perspective of the main characters. He is positioned in the centre of the frame, with the symmetry of the lights, ornaments and windows placing him as the focal point of the scene. Initially he is facing away from the camera but upon seeing the main characters, he turns around revealing that he is wearing only underpants under the nightgown. This inappropriate attire shows how he does not care about what others think about him. The fact that there is a younger man walking around dressed similarly gives implications of his vile tendencies. Firecrackers frequently go off throughout the scene that sound like gunshots, making both the characters and audience jump. This heightens the tension in the atmosphere and makes the audience feel uncomfortable. The non-diegetic music drowns out the dialogue as it increases in tempo and volume. This intentionally overwhelms the audience as the music is in juxtaposition with the scene, giving a chaotic feel to the scene.

The Drug Dealer's body language give insight into his character as he is very expressive with his arms whereas the two characters who are new to this drug world have nervous body language, coiled up, revealing they are uncomfortable. Todd is more comfortable in the environment, thus his body language is representative of that and he is more relaxed in his position. In a similar fashion, the two characters unique to this strange house are framed in a two shot so we can see their reactions simultaneously whereas the Drug Dealer is always alone in his shot,

The sequence begins as wide shots but as the tension in the scene increases and the music becomes louder, the shot types change to close ups and mid shots, immersing us further into the world and increasing the uneasy atmosphere. This also adds to the sense of the characters feeling trapped in this house with no escape with the tight shots effectively making the audience fear for the characters lives.

The camera tracks the whispering conversation between the three main characters, as if we are listening into a private conversation, This highlights the intensity of the scene, and how the characters are afraid of the impending threat. The Drug Dealer is masked in a shadow, implying his hidden darkness.