In the first part of the film. The first part of the credits it is written ‘Paramount Pictures Presents’ in the middle of the screen with big bold writing. The credits are in white and the background is in black. After this, the names of the actors appear where the font is bigger. The credits are extremely affective in the way it is laid out because of the contrast between the two colours. I think the director used opposite colours because throughout the film things were opposite. I think the director done this because he is giving a clue to the viewers and also he is foreshadowing the events that are to come later in the film.
The film moves from the credits to an image where there is countryside with green wheat blowing in the winds. I think the image in the beginning is appropriate because most of the film is based around the countryside where the Amish community lives. The Amish community are very simple and non-violent country people.
As the film develops, the Amish people are introduced to the film but they are distanced so the viewers cannot see exactly what they are like. I think the director does this because he’s trying to tell the viewers that the Amish community is far away from the western world. The director is trying to create the affect that the Amish people are very secretive and very independent.
As the story moves on the Amish people walk towards the camera gradually. Also the director shows the viewers the type of transport that the Amish community use which is horses and carriages.
The music at the beginning of the film is very slow and also it is not very loud. The music is very mysterious and the effect it gives to me is curiosity. Also the music is very smooth and calm. Then the music starts to get louder and more instruments get introduced for example, the trumpet. I think the trumpet made the music very different because the music got deeper. I think the music is appropriate to the Amish because they are mysterious towards the western world.
In this paragraph I will be writing about the murder at Philadelphia Station. At Philadelphia Station when Rachel’s told that her train has been delayed. The director makes a close up shot of Samuel playing and exploring the water fountain. Samuel is very excited to see things like this because he had never seen anything like it. The scene at the beginning when Rachel and Samuel make their way towards the waiting area the camera angle is low, this makes Rachel and Samuel stand out. I think the director did this because Rachael and Samuel are the main characters in the film. Samuel then goes off on a walkabout to explore the station.
The camera’s angle is at samuel’s height and everything around him is very big. It makes Samuel look significant. As he walks up to a man and looks up at him, the man looks very big to him. This also makes Samuel look very significant. Samuel carries on walking around the station and he lays his eyes on an angel holding a lifeless body. The camera shot being used was an over the shoulder shot. This is an example of foreshadowing because later on in the film someone dies, also it suggests that Samuel will be in great danger later on in the film. Then there was a camera shot from the angle onto Samuel suggesting that the angel would help him and it also suggests that Samuel is very small.
When Samuel goes to the toilet the director gives a shot showing Rachel and Samuel. Also it shows that Samuel is isolated as he walks towards the toilet alone. This builds up the tension as he walks away. As he walks away Samuel gets smaller and smaller, this makes him look more vulnerable and this builds up the tension even more. Also there are no people around at Philadelphia Station. When Samuel gets to the toilet the volume of the water drops and footsteps get louder and this builds up the tension.
The murder scene, I think was filmed brilliantly because when one of the murderers took the knife out, the music started at a fast pace. This makes the viewers very interested in the film. Then the camera takes an extreme close up Samuel’s eye. Samuel’s eye was the most important part of the film because he saw the murder, he witnessed it. If this did not happen he could not have been the witness. This is how it is linked to the title ‘Witness’. Samuel witnesses more than one thing. He sees a police officer being killed and he also gets to know how the outside world acts.
I think the search for Samuel was also filmed well because when Samuel made a noise, Mc Fee hears it and starts to check the toilets. The camera focuses on Samuel every time the door opens and closes. He does not lock the door, but eventually he does it in time. As Mc Fee gets closer and closer Samuel gets more and more scared. The music used for this scene is very good for this scene because the music is very fast and also very dramatic. Also as Samuel makes a quick escape the music gets slower and the tension builds up. The music used for the murder scene creates the effect of suspense. I think if the director had not used the music, the murder scene would not have been as interesting or as dramatic as it was portrayed.
The Amish community are very unique and unlike the modern world. The Amish community call the outsider the ‘English’. The Amish community are very different. They would not use phones or modern technology like the modern world. The Amish community are very independent, they are also very plain in the clothes they wear and they would not wear clothes with buttons on them. Another weird factor about the Amish community is that an Amish man who is married would have to keep a beard and the men who are not married would have to shave their beards.
The Amish community do not like to mix with people from the outside world. They think that all modern things would bring evil upon the Amish community. If a person breaks a Amish rule they would be shunned from the community. There are many conflicts between the Amish community and the modern world.
I think that the film ‘Witness’ is very good because the storyline is very interesting, also the acting is very good and the filming was brilliant. I think that the best part of the film was the quality of the filming. However, I think the film was a bit slow at the beginning, but overall the film was exciting and entertaining.
