Michael Mann COLLATERAL, This is the opening title sequence of collateral.

In these two shots you can see similar techniques are used. Both characters are in a large crowd, however, everyone else in scene is blurred except for them. This makes it so that both characters stand out and the viewer will know that they are probably going to be important. Also, this scene is slowed down quite a bit. This makes both characters seem powerful and important and that the director wants you to see them both properly. In the top image with Tom Cruise, you can see that he is wearing sunglasses. This suggests that he has a hidden identity and actually throughout the film you never really find out who he is. Also, the fact that both characters here are wearing a suit suggests that they are both business like and are there to do a job. Also in this scene, I can see from the sound that we can only hear these two characters footsteps. This tells me that the director is trying to get you to focus on them and not be distracted by anyone else in frame.

In this scene both characters that we saw earlier bump into each other and drop their briefcases. The camera shows a close up of the briefcases. This shows the viewer that they are important and will probably be used later on in the film. The briefcases also suggest, again, business and that they are probably related to a job. This tells the viewer that both characters in shot probably know each other and dropped the briefcase on purpose. Briefcases could also suggest hidden identity just like the sunglasses. The hidden identity keeps the viewer guessing and makes the film more interesting to watch as they are constantly trying to figure things out. Also in this scene, when these two characters bump into each other the sound changes the sound was more focused on their footsteps but when they collide the you get the sound from the rest of the airport. This tells me that the main focus isn’t on them anymore.

In this scene we get an associated point of view of Tom Cruises character. You can see that the background and the crowd is again blurred and Tom Cruise is not. This shows that he is important and nothing else in frame should be noted. This also tells the viewer that he has finished what he came to the airport to do and is now leaving. This lets them know that bumping into the man was obviously on purpose. Again, in this shot you can see that Tom is still wearing sunglasses which creates mystery about his character and the viewer will wonder if you will ever find out who he is but they will know he is important. This shot is not slowed down anymore which again links to the fact that the job he came to do is finished. At the end of this scene music starts and it wasn’t playing before this. This tells me that this scene is probably about to finish and the music carried onto the next scene. Again, I can link this to the fact that his ‘job’ is probably finished.

In these two shots, we have moved to a Taxi Rank where the protagonist Max works. In the top frame the camera pans from left to right and we see three different workers at the Taxi place. All of these people are talking and watching television and the last character we see is chatting on the phone. Then the camera cuts to Max and you can see that he is on his own. This suggests to the viewer that he doesn’t really like talking to people much and prefers to be on his own which is quite odd. Also, the fact that you can see in this frame (where it tilts up to Max’s face) that Max is doing a crossword puzzle. This suggests intelligence. When the camera tilts up to Max, you can also see he is wearing glasses, this also suggests intelligence. However, glasses can also suggest weakness and vulnerability and this could be foreshadowing the rest of the film as he is vulnerable to Tom Cruises character.

In this shot, Max enters his Taxi. He then proceeds to clean everything in frame (the wheel the dashboard the mirrors etc.) which tells the viewer a lot about his personality. This could tell the viewer that Max could possibly have OCD or even a germ fear. In a lot of Thriller films the protagonist can be flawed in some way. This ‘flaw’ could be seen as relatable to a lot of people. The fact that Max could have OCD could be very relatable for a lot people. Also in this scene, Max closes the door to his taxi. At the same time as this, the sound cuts. All of the noise from outside is taken away from the scene. This could tell the viewer that his taxi is a getaway from the outside world and that he feels comfortable there.

After Max closes the door to his taxi he proceeds to put up a picture of this island that can be seen in the image. The picture of an island can be seen as his comfort. During the film Max refers to this image a lot and this could also give the viewer idea’s of what his life is like. It could tell the viewer that Max is dreaming big, almost impossible. It could also suggest that Max feels like he hasn’t really made it in life yet and hasn’t gotten to where he wants to be. Later on in the film we find out that Max has lied to his mother and told her that he has a different job to keep her happy. This tells the viewer that he is unhappy with his life and wants to change it not only for himself but for his mother. This gives the audience an idea of his personality.