Bourne Identity essay

In the Bourne Identity film, the 4 technical elements of Camera work, Editing, Mis-en-scene and sound is used to construct meaning. The Bourne identity is an Action Thriller as it uses physical action and contains a lot of guns, snippers, fighting, and physical action all put together to create suspense. The Bourne identity Film has a continuous theme of identity and is all about Jason Bourne and him finding himself and his identity by searching deep into his past. Jason Bourne's name is symbolic in which it relates to the thought of being reborn or finding his identity. This contrasts to the movies name 'Bourne Identity' where Jason Bourne finds his Identity. 

Firstly Camera work was used capture a lot of different angles, movements and shots to show full effect of the movie. From these we know that Jason Bourne is the main character from the minute we were introduced to him. The first shot is an establishing shot of the boats and ocean which sets the scene for this short part of the film. This is where Bourne exists the boat wearing a red jacket which is a symbolic colour which means new life or new identity. A wide shot is used to show Bourne move closer to the camera  until he is standing in a mid-shot where we are able to visualise the confusion on his face as he looks around to find the next place to walk to. Another establishing shot is used of a moving train. A close-up of Bourne looking at his reflection in a window on the train, his facial expressions are shown as he looks deeper to find a deeper meaning or who he is. In this Close-up we can also see that Bourne is obviously very confused with the 'new' environment he is not accustomed to. Although Bourne's actions show that this is correct he uses very little speech which implies that we actually don't know what he is thinking and keeping it all to himself. This relates to his identity as he doesn't know himself or anyone so he cant trust anyone. A mid shot is used to show Bourne look into the distance of where he has been travelling from on foot. This shot allows to audience to not only see Bourne but his footsteps engraved into the snow and a blue hue. This dark cold blue lighting gives the audience a feel of suspense and danger as he is all alone with no one to go to or to trust. The camera angle used with this mid shot was a high angle shot which also captures the image of not just Bourne's footprints but also other peoples footprints who Bourne wouldn't know. This imagery puts Bourne into a vulnerable position where he cant rely on anyone but himself. Plenty of wide shots and close up shots were used to show the fight scene between Bourne and the police. At this point in the film, Bourne has no idea what is happening and is nothing but confused. All we knew from this scene is that Bourne knew how to defend himself and knew how to fight like he had been professionally trained in his 'past' life. Lots of angles were used to show Jason Bourne overcome the police with his skills and talent. This scene is very symbolic and important to Bourne because he has just found out something about himself, that he can fight and take on more people than himself. However, this scene makes both himself and the audience more hungry to see what will happen next and what other surprises will shock Bourne. This scene links to the beginning of the Film where Bourne realises he has muscle memory instead of physical and mental memory. 

Editing is used in Bourne Identity to cut from shot to shot and create effects, for example a rushed more suspenseful shot or a slow and more relaxing shot. Editing was used in the beginning of this short clip where Bourne disappears after a car has passed him. This edit makes the scene more mysterious and suspenseful because the editing has made him suddenly disappear with the use of obstruction to make it more natural. This jump cut effect creates an effect of imagery and gives off the mood as creepy as it happened so suddenly, it's almost like he's a ghost of his past. Editing was also used to perfectly map out his silhouette into the snow which was casted as a shadow. In the Bourne Identity a lot of continuity editing. This editing creates a story in which it involves suspense and a fast pace to the point where the audience knows that the story line is progressing and we are moving further into the film. Continuity editing in this film aims ti create a sense of reality and Tim e moving forward. Near the end of the Bourne Identity movie there is a flashback which shows Bourne on his mission before he was shot and lost all memory. This editing is key in the Bourne Identity because without it the audience would have never understood the plot and content. A lot of jump cuts are used in this short film to show Bourne travelling from one spot to another which creates discontinuity. This contrasts to Bournes confusion. The jump cuts bringing discontinuity and Bourne bringing confusion relates to the audience as in many parts of the film we have no idea what is happening. Match on action is a shot that emphasises continuity of space and time by matching the action of the preceding shot with the continuation of the action. In the Bourne Identity short clip, match on action has been used in the scene where Bourne is fighting back to the police officers. This keeps the audience focused on what is happening and gives us a clear image of what is happening. This match on action has helped the audience see a link to his past life as we now know that he can fight and defend himself with physical abilities not many people are capable of. 

Sound has been used in the Bourne Identity film to create different moods for each scene The sound or music chosen for the scenes are very important as music and sound helps the audience identity what type of scene it is wether its fast toned sound or slow toned sound we can tell the difference. Non-diegetic sound is used of soft music which creates a sinister feeling. As the scene progresses the music slowing turns louder and louder which foreshadows danger and suspense in the upcoming scenes.Right before a fight scene takes place between Bourne and the police, a beating drum is added to the sound (non-diegetic) and progressively becomes louder and stronger. This all adds to the mood and tone of the scene which allows the Audience to identify that this scene is intense and suspenseful. This scene create anticipation keeping the viewers on their toes which gets them focused and alert to what is taking place. The sound effect is added which sounds like punching which ultimately gives the fight scene more reality and character as they are Normal sounds you would expect to hear in a fight scene. It also makes the audience imagine pain the characters would feel and also emphasises the fact that Bourne has the physically ability to fight. The music slowly dies down as Bourne realises what he's done and looks confused as to why, a few more cliquey sounds are used as Bourne un-cocks the gun and drops it down to the ground. There is diegetic sound of a zip that brings attention to him ripping off his jacket and loud footsteps as he runs away from what he's done. This is in contrast to his past. Its like he is running more away from his past but in reality he is coming more closer to it. 

Mis-en-scene is used in the film to refer to everything put into the frame of the shoot. This all comes down to props, costumes, lighting, and symbolic colours etc. Bourne Identity holds a lot of iconography. Bourne Identity was set in the winter season, we know this because of the cool hues puffer jackets along with the snow. There is a lot of snow which makes people and nature seem vulnerable in contrast to the trees without leaves. The train has two important colours of the movie which is red as seen on the seats and blue, seen on the outside of the train. The two colours are symbolic fro representing Bournes past and future. Red represents new life and new identity which the blue represents Bournes past life and authority. We see the blue colour used in a finger print scanner and the Blue colour used as the colour of his jacket and his bag which contains his many passports and stacks of cash. The train is seen traveling through a tunnel which is a symbol of darkness and mystery. Bourne sits in the train while flashing lights that create a flickering effect on his reflection that relates his confusion and memories ‘flickering’ past him. This is ironic because we know that he suffers from amnesia. Iconography is used a lot to represent a gun win the movie as the main weapon used. This weapon gives us a sense of security that Bourne and Mary have something to protect them from the lies of Bournes past. When Bourne is asleep on the bench at night the low lighting represents that he cant understand his situation. The low lighting creates darkness which relates to eternity and foreshadows to Bourne later on when he uses his skills and talents to fight. In the film when two police walk over to him sleeping on the bench we can see that Bourne is vulnerable and in a position where he is not in authority but the policemen in blue are in authority.