Collateral textual analysis

By Joe Coquet

Directed by Michael MannReleased 6th August 2004

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P00reQ0TyGM

Location/setting

The OTS for collateral starts in an airport, which is a crowded urban area. It goes onto be in a taxi rank. There places are both normal everyday places and this is typical of the thriller genre because extraordinary events happen in ordinary places to shock the audience.

Lighting

The airport is brightly lit because it is set in the day time, and lots of artificial light is used. At the taxi rank, there is also lots of artificial light, however there is more access to natural light than inside the airport.

Costume

In the OTS, Vincent wears a grey suit, which shows he s an upper class man with power. It being grey shows how he doesn't’t want to stand out in a crowded place, and wants to blend in. Max wears a plain t-shirt and a hoodie, which are casual clothes, telling us that he is working class due to the shabby nature of his clothes.

PropsThe main props used in this OTS are the bags that get switched in the airport. It is clear to the audience what happens and this makes them want to know what is inside the bags, and makes them think about all the possibilities that could be inside. This helps the audience start to make assumptions about the rest of the film.

Actor performance

Tom Cruise, the actor playing Vincent does a good job of not standing out in the crowd. He is very calm and strolls smoothly through the airport without any suspicion being raised. He blends into the crowd very easily and doesn’t do anything to make him stand out.

Camera shotsThere are a variety of different camera shots used to show different details of what is in shot. There are medium close ups, long shots, close ups, associated POV etc. These shots show the audience they key details of every shot, with close ups showing the thing in shot up close, where you can see every little thing. The long shot helps establish the setting of the taxi rank and allows the audience to see the whole setting.

Camera movements

A panning shot is used to show the people at the taxi rank and is used to show the full scale of the busyness of the area. A tracking shot is used to show the paths of the two men before their collision, which almost prepared the audience for their impact.

Editing

The editing of the OTS makes it flow very well, with it starting off slow and he the pace picks up. This sort of editing style is typical of the thriller genre as the films usually get more exciting as they progress.

Sound

At the beginning, the only noise you can hear is the footsteps of Vincent. This is non diegetic because I think it was added after the scene was shot. Until the two men meet, the only sound is background noise of the airport, showing the audience how it is just a normal place, but after the collision, music starts which in turn starts a change in the OTS, with the setting changing and the characters involved changing.