Clip analysis - Fast Five

Within the clip from Fast Five the characters stealing the vault are portrayed as reckless and as causing an emergency for the bank from which they are stealing it from.

One of the main microelements that creates this sense of recklessness is the use of sound. It shows their disregard for their surroundings and that they are simply going to do whatever it takes to get the vault from the bank. For example the sound of glass breaking and rubble falling shows that they are being destructive towards their environment in order to get what they need. This shows the characters stealing from the vault as people with a disregard for authority and the people around them. Another aspect of sound that helps build upon the scene is the sounds of gunshots and police sirens. The gunshots show the viewer that the police are on alert and that the nature of their crime is serious and is being dealt with in that way. Additionally the ambient sound of the police sirens creates the idea that they are being chased and have caused a state of emergency for the bank. This again shows their disregard for the authoritative figures of the bank and the police and shows that they have no fear.

Another microelement that helps build a representation of the criminals within the scene is the use of the camera. It adds to the pace of the scene and reflects the panic they are causing upon to the viewer. The unsteady camera shots throughout the scene, due to a handheld camera technique, has a jarring effect upon the viewer and help you understand that this is a high intensity scene. Furthermore it also reiterates the sense of emergency that they have caused. Within the scene there are shots of police and bank officials rushing around and it shows that they have caused panic among them.

A character in the clip that is similar to a character within ours is Mia. She is shown with the prop of a laptop with what looks like a road map and she gives directions to the characters. This could be similar to the character of the hacker from our own clip. The use of the prop of a laptop creates the idea that they are mobile with their operations and private with what they do. Furthermore the use of setting for her character is dark and hides part of her surroundings. This reiterates the private feeling of what she is doing and also creates the impression that she wants to be hidden. Within my clip I feel that borrowing this idea of the dark room would be something that is very effective for our hacker character.