9 Shot Analysis of Bourne Identity

Usman Majid

This shot establishes a CCTV camera being watched by someone??

Moreover, the CCTV camera footage is then zoomed in on a male, a medium close up, presumably the wanted

man.

A big close up shot is then portrayed of the man,This could signify to the audience that this character has a huge role in the film and will be seen in the film throughout, as he is possibly the main character. This is simply because he is constantly being filmed right

from the very beginning.

We then get a glimpse of the same man previously being filmed by CCTV, only that this time his passport is portrayed. This then creates tension as it informs the audience of who this character is: Name, D.O.B and nationality etc. Ultimately it raises tension and thoughts on who's tracking him, is it the police/FBI? The passport is then burned by someone presumably the man himself “Bourne” as he is trying to get rid of his identity. The colours used on the match on action shot

signifies danger in comparison to the shot on the left which is showing natural colours. Where as on the right it shows realism i.e. Burning fire, this could be a hint into what will happennext and

could suggest and emphasizes the realism as he is being constantly tracked by FBI.

This shot is appealing to the audience as it allows the audience to engage for themselves on what might happen next. This is because the character who we

now know is called “Bourne” is overly conscious as he is portrayed in a negative way almost feeling guilty whilst he kooks over the shoulder to the policemen.

Another point that I should mention is it puts the audience in the spot via –over the shoulder shot- as it almost feels like the audience is watching Bourne. This

gives the audience a slight adrenaline as you are unsure on what will happen next.

This shot portrays Bourne in a strange way as it leaves the audience with anxiety feeling on what will happen next. Is he about to be arrested from a police officer? Or will he escape? It will also allow the audience to acknowledge that this character Is suspicious simply

because he is constantly being followed.

This shot is a medium wide shot, this shot offers an insight for the audience as to what is going on as it

allows the audience to suddenly acknowledge that a group of FBI/Secret agents are after Bourne. The props used in this shot are: Pc desktop, files, fax machine as

well as a handful of spy gadgets such as a voice recorder machine. All these props are associated with the police,

secret agents/FBI.

This medium close upshot of “Bourne” represents him in a negative way simply because its abnormal for an

ordinary man to point a Desert eagle .50 -Handgun- at someone. Guns are considered as violent and is highly

unusual

This shot is a super in position shot which portrays Bourne in both a positive and negative way. The fact that its positive is due to the fact

that he is portrayed in an individual superior way, with an arrow target on his face/on par with his left eye. This could suggest that he is popular and is constantly being followed. Alternatively it could be portraying “Bourne” in a negative way as it has a gun target pointed

straight at his face, moreover a gun is usually associated with Police/FBI an for “Bourne” to have a sniper type gun target pointed

at him could be to suggest that he is a criminal and an urgent wanted man, hence, he keeps being followed.