Hurtlocker Introduction Analysis

narrative, sound, mise en scene and special effects.
The Hurt Locker conveys its unconventional practices straight away. Usually, you would see opening credits at the very start of the film, whereas the hurt locker gets straight into the action with no on screen text. This benefits the viewer because they can then focus purely on what is happening in the film.




The sound used in The Hurt Locker's introduction is used to emphasise the intensity of the situation. The only non-diegetic sound used is the music at the start, after that, all sound is diegetic (you hear what the character can hear). The music used is very eerie and long, this really helps to complement the intensity of the situation. Also, the diegetic sound helps to make the viewer feel as though he/she is there, for example, the eerie silence makes the viewer think like the characters do by thinking that someone is going to set off a bomb etc. In my opinion, the most important diegetic sound is when the bomb goes off and you hear the rocks crashing down on the floor, this makes the situation a reality for the viewer.


The mise en scene in The Hurt Locker shows how rural the area is, the film is filmed like a documentary. Foe example, it shows the locals hanging around with the abandoned shops in the background. Also, the film is filmed in a documentary-style way when the bomb goes off and the camera begins to shake, this once again makes the viewer feel as though they are there. The dry desert environment gives the viewer an idea that the soldiers are in the middle east, which is backed up by the darker skinned locals living there.


Finally, the lack of special effects is very poignant because it emphasises how plain and boring the environment is, this gives the viewer a false sense of security before the bomb goes off. One of the only special effects is the use of an old fashioned camera, this is to give the effect that everything is being filmed by a go-pro from one of the soldiers' helmets.