Saving Private Ryan [year 10 english]

Private Ryan’s eyes as if we are going back in time into a flashback. We then enter his eyes and we are on Omaha beach. The colour from here onwards is saturated and you can see the iron hedgehogs that were used to stop vehicles moving onto the beach. You can see these deep into the background, this is called a Long Shot, or an Establishing Shot. You can also hear the waves in the background this adds realism and sets the scene. You then enter the boats that were used to breach the beach. The camera used is a handheld camera, this makes you feel as though you are in the boat with the soldiers and you can see what is going on around you. Next all the door of the boat gets opened and the soldiers get shot into pieces by the German machine guns. After you can see that one after another the soldiers are getting ripped apart by the machine guns, and you can see that you are going to be next. The camera switches to a Over the shoulder shot, this gives the Germans perspective and you can see how many people the machine gun is killing. The camera then moves back to the beach and you see soldiers reacting in different ways, e.g. some people start to be sick and others kiss there religious signs, like a cross. You then see Captain Miller who just looks around as if he can’t believe what’s happening. The sound goes into a slow motion phase then he picks up his helmet which is full of red sea water because of all the blood in the water and puts it on, the water runs down his face and you can see the slight tint of red that the water has now given his face. He then snaps into action and starts shouting commands to soldiers, this makes the film realistic because you feel like your there with the soldiers and you can see the shock on all the soldiers faces and how everybody reacts differently to war and fighting. In the next part of this scene the majority of remaining men run up the beach and try to survive. When the soldiers are running up the beach the camera that is used is a handheld camera this again makes you feel like you are there and that you are one of the thousands of soldiers. Along the way the camera keeps moving onto a medium close up at soldiers that have been shot to pieces and are screaming in agony. This camera, the medium close up, ensures the viewers are not gored out by all the blood and guts hanging out of the soldiers bodies. Another camera angle used at this stage is the over the shoulder shot of the German machine gunner. This camera angle gives the Germans perspective of the fight. The camera then returns to a handheld camera and follows the action from the front line until the soldiers reach a small embankment then the camera angle changes as Captain Miller is explaining what to do next. When it has all been explained and everybody understands the soldiers move further up towards the base of one of the German machine gun bunkers. The camera angle used as the men are stationary is a point of view camera as you see Captain Miller assess the situation. This makes you feel as though you are there again and you are co-operating with Captain Miller. The next camera used is a over the shoulder shot as the camera is placed just behind the soldiers that are providing suppressive fire onto a Machine gun nest, One soldier then shoots at the nest and all the sand bags collapse the German soldiers come rolling down the hill, the soldiers providing the suppressive fire shoot the Germans who had just rolled down the hill. As the soldiers storm up the hill the handheld camera returns at the back of the soldiers. There is a small fire fight at the top of the hill, but the handheld camera remains in use. For large parts of the remaining scene the handheld camera will be used. The affect this has makes you feel like you have conquered the beach and that like you are a soldier who has just ran all this way up the beach. At the end of the scene the camera changes as it floats in onto a dead body where the back pack reads “S. RYAN”. This opening scene of the film “Saving Private Ryan” is very affective in my opinion as it sums up how the war was extremely shocking and the methods used in this introduction make the scene extremely realistic and makes you feel as though you are there.