Bourne Identity Essay The Bourne Identity scene was set in a city, which is common in Thriller films.

This is because the business of the area allows the action that takes place to be realistic, but also follows the theme that extra-ordinary things happen to ordinary people, in ordinary places. This allows the audience to identify with the character, and causes them to want him to be safe, as he is someone they can identify with. The character is shown wearing jeans and a jumper, which is more appropriate for hiding his identity than a police uniform, which gives the impression that this character is ordinary. The setting is shown in a long shot of the city. The score that is played from the start of the scene is fast paced, sharp loud sounds. As the camera shows the character walking through the street, the score slowly builds, creating tension for the audience. The speed of the music and the short cuts between shots give the impression that the character is rushing, which causes anxiety to rise in the audience as the volume of the music increases. The camera switches between mid shots of the character walking to point of view shots of what he can see. One of these point of view shots is one of a parking attendant, taken with a handheld camera. The shakiness of the shot gives the impression that the person makes him nervous, causing the audience to feel that he is hiding from people in uniforms, or that there will be conflict with them in the future. This is continued when asynchronous sound of a siren is used, causing both the character and the audience to assume the Police are there to arrest the character. The sound perspective of the siren is manipulated so that the siren is much louder, showing the panic the character feels. After realizing its an ambulance, the ambient sound of the street lowers dramatically, implying relief. We gain insight to the characters personality through a mid shot of him crossing the road. In this shot, the character is prepared to risk his life by walking into the road to escape the people around him. This gives the impression that the character is experienced with danger and his impulse to blindly walk away shows he is brave and nervous of the people around him. The score builds to a peak as the character approaches an American Embassy. A point of view shot shows the camera tilting up as the camera stares at the American flag outside. In Thrillers American values are important as the country is meant to represent safety, and the flag a symbol of peace. The score suddenly cuts off as the character enters the Embassy, giving the audience relief as they believe he is safe. A close up shot of the character giving his passport to someone is used, which represents Identity, an important Code and Convention of the Thriller genre. Ambient sounds of the people in the embassy creates low level tension. The volume of this slowly increases, showing that the Embassy is no longer a safe and quiet environment. A example of conflict which is shown is the argument between a woman and a person working at the Embassy, as she doesnt have her visa. The director uses a point of view shot of the woman arguing, showing Bournes interest in the character and the cuts between shots become shorter to show that Jason is getting more worried. A point of view shot is also used to show him look at a camera, showing he believes he is being watched. This is an important convention in the Thriller genre, and shows the characters experience and his untrusting nature. Doing so makes the audience feel uncomfortable, as they share his view that he is not safe and must leave. As he is about to, however, he is told to freeze. When told to stay where he is, it appears that Bourne has been caught and is about to be arrested. A close up of the handcuffs held by the man who told Bourne to stop. At this point, a long shot of Bourne is taken, zooming in to show his facial features. Editing is used as Bourne puts his hands up, creating tension for the audience as they have to wait to see what is about to happen. A drumbeat is added which sounds like a heartbeat, which is used to show the panic of the character, and the consideration of what he is about to do.

After this shot, short quick shots are used from different angles to show the action as the character starts to fight the people around him. The pace of the shots match how quickly the character must think and act, engaging the audience by involving them in the characters thoughts. An Ariel shot is used where Bourne is in the centre, giving the audience a god like view, and including them in the action. Bournes quick transition from seeming normal to brutally fighting gives the impression that he has been trained for this situation, and was expecting this reaction. The sound perspective of the action is increased dramatically, contrasting the quieter background noise that was used a few seconds earlier. Bourne takes a gun from security and then flees the scene. The audience gets an insight to his experience in these situations as he throws the gun away instead of keeping it to defend himself, as most would. This is to hide his identity to avoid being caught, which is a important Thriller convention. He encounters a man on the stairs, attacks him, but then goes back to collect a map and a walkie-talkie, which he then uses to plan his escape route. This shows his intelligence and history as someone who wasnt used to these situations wouldnt risk their life to go back. The army is shown to be chasing after him on the stairs. The camera switches between mid shots of the army following him up the stairs, to him climbing alone. This shows that this character is extremely important in the eyes of the law, as so many people are needed to catch him. It gives the impression that hes wanted and theres nothing he cant do. The convention of stairs is a important convention in the Thriller genre as being chased mean that after he goes up them, he cant come back down. Bourne finally reaches a room that leads to the exit of the bulding. Despite a sign of the door entitled Danger, he opens the door to a balcony. A point of view shot is used to show the confined space in which he can escape through. When Bourne is climbing onto the ladder, the sound perspective of his surroundings in manipulated. The sound of the chains is increased in volume to add to the tension, as this reminds the audience how easy it would be for him to fall. A point of view shot is used to show the bag he was carrying, falling off the roof. The bag is red, which represents danger. This is shown through a Point of View shot to show the importance of the bag to the character, which tells the audience why he decides to climb down to retrieve it instead of climbing onto the roof to escape. The camera changes positions when showing him climbing down the building. A crane shot is used to film directly overhead to show how far the character has to fall if he slips, and to show his insignificant size compared to his surroundings. The score settles to piano keys as he takes small steps along the edge of the building, to draw attention to how careful he has to be and how slowly he must move. The audience is left holding their breath, anxious to see whether he will fall or not.