Then there is a cut to a close up of the left side of the narrator’s face and gun. Then cut to front side close up of narrator and gun, this time the hand holding the gun is visible. Next there is cut to medium shot of the hand pulling the gun out of the mouth of the narrator. Tyler Durden, holding the gun, moves to the right and camera pans to follow him, keeping narrator still in focus and in the shot.
Tyler walks to the back of the narrator to a window behind the narrator. It is then clear all this is taking place in a skyscraper. Then there is a shot-reverse-shot of close up of narrator’s face turning to look back at the window and Tyler. Then cut to a beautiful medium shot from outside of the building looking in at the narrator and Tyler with the reflection of the city in the window. Then suddenly the camera does a fast tracking shot down the building, transcends the street to basement of the building. The camera stops with a medium shot of a van with a bullet hole in it. The camera then tracks forward, transcends the windshield, and stops on a close up of a bomb in the van. Then there is another fast tracking shot out of the van, out of the building, across the street and into another building. The shot stops on another bomb under this building. Next there is a cut back to medium shot in front of narrator with him still looking back at Tyler looking out the window. Cut to close up of waist of Tyler holding his watch. Then there is a long shot in front of narrator, still looking back, with Tyler behind him on his right looking out window. Then cut to medium shot of narrator looking forward. Next camera tracks in to close up of narrator’s face. This then concludes the first scene of fight club.
This first scene of Fight Club is essential to the make up and meaning of the movie. The initial shot of the opening credits is actually inside the head of the narrator. This conveys that the movie is going to be dealing with the mind of the narrator. Come to find out a lot of the movie actually takes place in the mind. The audience has to view the movie with an understanding that sometimes the events taking place may be a representation of the narrator’s mind and not the real world. Once the shot moves out of his head, the audience sees a gun in the mouth of the narrator. This actually is a continuation of the mind and the narrator is actually the person holding the gun in his own mouth. The narrator thinks it is Tyler Durden, his best friend, but Tyler is also a continuation of his mind. The scene also shows bombs under two skyscrapers of the city. After the first scene the viewer realizes the movie is going to be about how the narrator arrived in this position and how those bombs came to be under those building. In closing, this scene conveys that the entire movies is about a man struggling with his mind and alter ego, and how he arrived at his present position
