As he begins to walk the graves block the view of the camera which makes the audience notice the extent amount of graves. We also notice that the old man is looking for a certain grave which illustrates how he may have lost someone close.
The veteran in the background shows the audience that it is a military graveyard.
The camera follows him as he looks for a certain grave. We know instantly when he has found this grave as he stops and begins to cry. Spielberg shows the audience how the man that the grave belongs to has, affected the main character in someway. When the old man falls to the ground in front of the grave crying we notice the family is worried as they rush up to him and hold him. The shot of the crosses emphasizes Spielberg’s perceptions of the extent of deaths in the war which leads us to feel sympathy for the character that has been affected by these deaths.
We know that the man who has his arm around the main character is his son since he shouts out ‘dad’. The next shot is a close up of the old man (centre frame) surrounded by his family who have their hands on his shoulder to show that they care for him.
Spielberg use’s sound effects of the rough sea to show a link between the main character and the next scene. Also by using a close up shot of the old mans eyes it displays how maybe the next scene is from his memories and what he had seen.
In the next scene theirs is a dramatic change in the atmosphere; from soft, orchestral, melodic music to the sound effects of loud waves crashing against tank traps. The first shot of this scene is of a close up of a tank trap on the shore of Omaha beach. Behind this there are rows of tank traps all the way down the shore into the distance.
The audience knows immediately that it is set in a new time of 1944 the year when the d-day landings took place and also now on the Omaha beach which was struck worst with fighting. In this scene there is no music unlike the first scene.
Spielberg focuses on one specific U-boat which suggests this squad is relevant to the rest of the film. Behind the close up of the one specific U-boat there are many more.
The next shot is of a hand shaking, this illustrates how he is feeling nervous because he is about to go into battle. It might even suggest he is ill or unstable. We are shown a shot of him taking a drink maybe to calm him down. As we see him take a drink we can see a centre shot of the two stripes on his helmet to show his is captain/leader of the squad.
We know that the soldiers must be nervous because there is a shot of a couple being sick. Also we know they are about to land on shore, when the man sailing the boat shouts “ clear the ramp, in 30 seconds, may god be with you” The fact that he says God be with you suggests many of them are going to die.
The audience also knows Tom Hanks character is the captain since he gives the other soldiers orders. Spielberg chooses to have close up shots of some of the soldiers faces to see their different reactions and feelings. We can see that the men are religious because one man makes the sign of the cross and the other kisses a crucifix. When the ramp goes down; immediately the men at the front are shot down one by one shocking the audience of how quickly that amount of men had died.
Spielberg chooses not to show the enemy’s faces to emphasize that the enemy were evil and somewhat inhumane. The audience sees from the point of view of the Nazis shooting down on the American. The colours are very dark in this shot which goes back to the point of the enemy being evil.
The sound effects of gunfire are very loud and cause the captains to strain his voice when shouting to the other soldiers so they can hear him.
Men tumble over the sides of the boat to escape gunfire. The camera follows the men into the water. When under the water the sound becomes filtered so the audience feels like they are seeing and also hearing exactly what the soldiers were seeing and hearing. The shots under the water are of men struggling but eventually get shot or drown from the weight of their clothing and equipment.
The camera focuses on different men struggling to move forward, in the background of the shots are dead soldiers everywhere, which show the amount of deaths in the d-day landings.
The next couple if shots are very action packed and move quick, bombs are going off, bullets are dashing across the screen, and men are dying everywhere you look.
While we’re watching the soldiers struggling to move forward; Spielberg often uses a hand held camera to give the effect that the audience is seeing what the men on the beach would be.
Tom hank’s character falls to the floor; Spielberg then blocks all the sound out with a calm sound effect. This implies that the character is in shock, we know this also by his very emotionless facial expression.
Spielberg's use of low light gives the thought of depression. Throughout most of the scene the colours are very dull and grey, which give the sense of the mood being dismal and gloomy. The most used colours other then grey, are red and orange, which are two very intense colours seen in the blood and fire.
When the captain is in shock again it seems very calm and quiet which contrasts to when he returns to a normal state we can see the action packed, fast moving shots also return.
The squad discuss tactics and begin to run forward. The camera follows the captain and the shots are held for a very short time which adds to the effect of it being a very busy scene. The camera begins to sway as he runs and there are loud sound effects of him breathing heavily which shows how he must be exhausted and struggling.
The sound effects of screams in the background, displays how many soldiers were in pain from a result of this battle.
When they break through the barriers they rush forward off the beach.
The shot where the sniper is aiming for the two Nazis shooters is very calm. It gives the feel that he is concentrating.
Spielberg chooses not to focus on the Nazis faces to make them look somewhat inhumane and to avoid the audience feeling sympathy towards the enemy. Also the shots of the Nazis are often focusing on their hands firstly when they are feeding the guns with the ammo which shows them killing. Secondly we’re shown the Nazis with their hands up to the Americans surrendering which gives the audience a different insight to the Nazis as Spielberg shows them being in a way patriotic.
The shot when Van Diesel’s character shows how the Second World War affected the Jewish community. The camera sways as he sits and he begins to cry and we are shown he is feeling distressed by his facial expressions.
We are also shown that it is set in France after one of soldiers puts in some earth into a tin labelled France.
The next shot is of the captain’s hand shaking again and he takes a drink, similarly to the earlier shot of him in the U-boat. The screams and gunfire sounds stop and soft melodic music begins. This shot is also similar to another shot from the last scene of a close up of the olds mans eyes and the sound of the waves in the background. The camera zooms up on Tom Hank’s character’s eyes while there are sounds of the waves crashing over the music. It suggests that the next shot of the beach is what the captain has seen from what he has just witnessed.
The next shot is an overview of all the soldiers shot down on the beach, not many colours are used again but red from the blood in the sea and on the bodies of the soldiers. Everywhere you look is death, even the fish are dead.
The camera begins to zoom up on one certain body which implies that this soldier has some relevance to the rest of the film. We are also told his name is S. Ryan which is mentioned further on in the film. This is the last shot of the opening, which works when it goes on to explain the relevance of this soldier.
I think overall that the techniques and effects that Spielberg used works well.
The first part of the introduction to the film uses bright colours and lighting unlike the scene on the beach. The dull and dismal colours and lighting from the scene on the beach contrast dramatically with the two very dominant colours used to signify danger and hazard is effective as it relates to the fighting on the beach.
The scene in the graveyard has a sense of calmness, since it moves slowly and the music is soft and melodic. However, this differed from the scene on the beach which is very chaotic as it has short quick shots with loud screams, shouts and gunfire in the background.
Spielberg successfully use’s the techniques to show a significant contrast of the past and the present, going from calm scene to chaotic one. The way in which he portrays the introduction is very realistic and never seems to be exaggerated. I think it sets out to lead the audience to feel sympathy for all the American troops that died, but not the German troops. The film gives the sense of it being pro-American and a somewhat anti-war film.