Storyboard scene- flashback scene

Flashback scene

American beauty review

American Beauty review
Romance, sexuality, repression, imprisonment, redemption, denial, materialism, absence and a whole lot of beauty are the many themes of American beauty.

 The film takes us the audience through a narrated representation of the American dream meltdown as it includes everything the dream selfishly holds. Instead of looking at the American dream from a stranger's point of view and pointing out all the positive obvious aspects, American beauty looks at it in a much more real way which is actually hidden by all the things which have been coloured in as what makes the dream.

A big house, a big garage, a perfect garden, a nice car and the 'perfect' nuclear family is everything that people assume the American dream is, and American Beauty actually shows that, but with a inch of reality which is the people that live in it and the affect it has on others and themselves. Lester Burnham (Spacey) lives in the American dream and somehow has 'made' it as some people would see it, but ironically the way he himself sees it is that he has not made it and actually failed somehow and wants to redeem himself. This is the same situation with his wife, Carolyn Burnham (Bening), as she too is deeply unhappy but instead of admitting it as her husband, she tries to disguise it with pretending to still be happy but we see her in many breakdowns.

 Along with adults being deeply unhappy, the youth in American beauty is also seen to be missing something. Jane, the daughter of Lester and Carolyn, seems to be disappointed with her appearance and her father. The reason for this is that Lester, being unhappy with himself has given up on most things, one which he hasn't realised, is giving his daughter the attention she desires. The other teenager in the film isn't as unhappy as the rest of the people in the film as he has found a portal in life to see beauty; by videoing natural beautiful things, and not being scared of death, but is also desperate for his dad's love and affection as his dad, Col. Fitts, is a furious homophobic. Another example of unhappiness is the daughter's friend Angela, as she disguises herself throughout the film as a slutty teenager who's had plenty of sex but really turns out to be a virgin who really is insecure about herself and how she is seen, as the worst thing she fears is to be ordinary.

 I think the main moral of the film is finding beauty within you. As Lester is asked how he feels from Angela, and he replies “it’s been a long time since anyone ever asked me that”, he is given the attention he deserves and was seeking for through the film. After just gaining the attention, he realises he has a wonderful family and wife, and whatever he wanted to do different or change as we see him as a rebel throughout the film, he doesn't really as he wants to keep everything the same. As Carolyn is convinced she wants to leave Lester as she practices how to tell him, she enters the house to find her husband dead. She completely breaks down and cries and hugs his clothes as she wants to hug his soul and feel his scent. The beauty she finds is her husband, that even though all the arguing and cheating happens in the film, the only man she really needs to live is him.

 The film is seen as a man who has been imprisoned in the materialistic and dominating world of his wife, suddenly breaks out with desire to win over the new, sexy, exciting friend of his daughter. By doing this he exercises, smokes drugs, quits his job, and somehow just wants to be normal, or younger. But the real meaning of the film is Lester's motive to find beauty in his life. He thinks the beauty is his daughter's friend, but really is the understanding and gratefulness of having a wonderful family as he does. This film teaches us that object, cars, houses and money doesn't gain happiness for life, maybe for a short extent of time, but what really matters is your own individual understanding and viewpoint of beauty. Lester's beauty is his family, Carolyn's beauty is her husband, Jane's beauty is parental affection, Angela's beauty is being unique, Ricky's beauty is nature, and Col. Fitts' beauty is coming out with who he really is. The film shows us that beauty can mean anything to anyone, and you can't really try to spot it or find as it is everywhere, you just have to wait until it's your time and when you do you will be at peace.

 “You have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure. But don't worry...you will someday”

 

Coursework 2 storyboard

Coursework 2
Creating a digital storyboard

The plot

genre- crime, thriller.

Matthew Bacall, living in a world of violence due to the downfall of the government and society in the great city of London, has had a change of mind when he accidentley murders his wife out of rage, and enters a rehabilitation cult which is supposed to cure him from his violent habbits.

The Idea

The idea for my storyboard came mostly from Stanley Kubrick's A clockwork orange as i liked the idea of a search to be cured from violence and especially at the ending when you don't really understand if the protagonist has been cured even if he states he has. Also Scorcese's Raging bull influenced my idea of the domestic flashback to be in black and white as the film is shot all through out in black and white and domestic violence was significant in the film aswell as is in my storyboard.

Identification of the key moment for storyboard

Matthew Bacall has just been released from the rehabilitation cult he was in to be cured from all his violent habbits, and stands opposite side of the Thames in direction of the House of Parlament to have a glance at the faliure of the society he lives in. He is reminiscing on an old marriage photo of him and Mrs. Bacall along with a rose. As he stares into the photo he has a horrid flashback of the life changing night. In the flashback him and his wife are arguing at the dining room table. She picks up the roses which were on the table to give them fresh water to change the conversation but is slapped by Matthew, roses fall on the floor and she runs out the room. He follows her and on the reflection of the mirror we see his back as he is covering her. The only bit we see of her is her hand on the wall as she tries to reach for help. Matthew then stands proud but unsure of what he done whilst he smells one of the roses which fell on the floor. An envelope with the words mr & mrs. Bacall divorce papers is seen on the floor. The flashback ends and Matthew is back at the side of the thames. His face is down but at the same time feels gracious that he has had the opportunity to change as he is no longer the violent man he once was. As soon as he seems to have redeemed himself and hopefully started at new life, a young beautiful woman walks past him. His face changes emotion as he stares at her. His smile of redemption turns into a perverted glance as his mind is being filled with violent and evil thoughts. Matthew Bacall is not cured after all and is back to his old violent habbits as  he smells the rose he had in his hand and his evil smile is the last thing on the screen.

Storyboard scene
We start off with a long shot of Matthew Bacall with his back towards us as he leans on a wall and looks infront as we see the house of Parliament. Camera slowly pans forwards.

Cut to over the shoulder shot of Matthew Bacall and we see he is holding his wedding photo and rose in his hand.

Cut to low angle shot mid shot to see his emotion, he looks sad.

Cut to close up of wedding photo, slowly zooms in.

Extreme close up of the two couples' happy faces in the photo.

Quick cut to a black and white long shot of the dining room. The wedding photo is on focus on a table as it is the foreground. In the background we see Mr. Bacall and Mrs. Bacall sitting down at the dining table unfocused.

Cut to wide shot of the dining room now closer than before as Matthew Bacall sits with his back towards us we only see his big shoulders as his wife sits on the right.

Cut to close up of  whiskey glass along with the bottle and an ashtray with a cigar.

Cut to close up of a wine glass with red lipstick printed on it.

Cut to close up of roses in a vase.

Cut to mid shot of Matthew Bacall holding an envelope and shouting at his wife.

Cut to mid shot of his wife's reaction as she looks forward at the roses upset.

Cut to mid shot of Matthew Bacall as he is standing up again holding the envelope but has his other hand raised up closed fist.

Cut to mid shot of his wife holding the roses and looking down at them.

Cut to close up of fist banging on the table.

Cut to close up of roses on the floor as his wife dropped them out of frightness of her husbands bangning on the table.

Cut to mid shot of his wife running towards the door with her face turnt towards us as she is scared.

Cut to mid shot of Matthew as he walks towards his wife with an evil face.

Cut to a mid shot of the mirror on the wall. In the mirror we see Matthew's back standing over his wife as she is on the floor.

Cut to close up of the wife's hand flat on the wall as it is the last we see of her.

Cut to mid shot of Matthew as he stands proud with blood on his hand as he smells one of the roses which were on the floor.

Cut to close up of the envelope on the floor as it reads "Mr & Mrs. Bacall's divorce papers".

EXIT flahback and return to close up of Matthew as he looks more than upset.

Cut to mid shot of Matthew as he looks down at the photo again.

A young woman dressed in black dress walks in the shot, We can see Matthews eyes catch her.

Cut to mid shot of the woman walking whilst Matthew is seen in the background gazing with perverted eyes.

Cut to close up of Matthew Bacall smelling the rose and smiling ever so evily.

Cut to EX close up of Matthew's evil and violent eyes. Fade out.

Characters

Matthew Bacall is like any other man living by the philosophy of violence in the great underworld of London. He is incredibly violent in every way as he leads London's top gang in self success. Robbery, assuallt and vandalism is a part of every day for Mr. Bacall. He is roughly 40 years old, as he stands by the thames he wears a black trench coat, suit and fedora hat to show he is a dark man. In the flashback he wears a white vest and black shorts to show he is casual at home.
Mrs. Bacall is Matthew Bacall's wife and is a desperate woman as Matthew leads his gang to no good. As disapointed with him and the useless society she lives in, theres little she can do than wish things would change. In the flashback she wears flowery home dress to show she is a housewife.

Daisy is the young woman who inspires Matthew Bacall to resume his old violent urges as she walks past him at the end. She wears a black dress as it appeals to our protagonist.

Locations
Exterior of central London, Southbank where house of parliament on the opposite side of the Thames.
Interior of ordinary house hold, my house.

Props
Thames scene
Protagonist's suit, black trench coat, fedora hat, marriage photo and a rose.
flashback scene
Bottle of whiskey and glass, ashtray with cigar, bunch of roses, protagonist's vest and shorts, the wife's home dress, and mirror on wall.

Production schedule
This week (starting from the 14th) im going to gather all the props and establish all the needed locations and clothing and decide on what lighting to use.

Next week start taking the photos, exterior London ones and domestic ones. During the week edit them on photoshop to add effects such as black and white.

The following week write about each shot, e.g - shot number, edit, camera angle...


The following

Apocalypse now finished

In what way does the opening scene of Apocalypse now use mis-en-scene, sound-editing and performance to engage and construct meaning?

 

Micro elements such as mis-en-scene, editing and performance are all significant in films as they are essential in creating emotion and meaning to the audience. Within the first 10 seconds of a scene, if the micro elements are used correctly the audience can get a first impression of the characters, setting, and atmosphere and also feel emotion. In this essay i will analyse how these micro elements construct meaning and provoke response from the audience in the opening scene of Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Apocalypse now. The film is an American war epic set during the Vietnam War starring Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen and Robert Duvall. The film follows the central character, U.S. Army special operation officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard (Martin Sheen), of MACV-SOG, on a mission to kill the renegade and presumed insane U.S Army Special Forces Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando). The scene I am focusing on is the opening scene of the film where Captain Benjamin L. Willard is staying in the hotel room in Saigon and eventually has a nervous breakdown.

The scene fades in with a wide shot of coconut trees to establish to the audience that the setting is in a tropical location so the audience are straight away entered in a sensation of green, calmness, peace, pristine and full of life. Also by using the wide shot, the audience get a sense of the enormity of the situation. A faded smoke start to rise up from the camera as The Doors “the end” intro is played. The smoke gives an impression of mystery to the audience as they don't know where the smoke is coming from and what it’s from. Also the psychedelic guitar playing of the song adds on to the mystery as it is very calm, like the coconut trees, but very suspicious because it seems as if its leading up to something so the audience is not really convinced with the chilled out atmosphere. The psychedelic music also adds another dimension in that reality might be manipulated as people in this setting might feel trapped. As more smoke rises from the bottom when the guitar playing gets louder, the audience feel more uneasy because they really don't know what is going to happen but are interested to find out. The rise of the volume as more smoke rises creates more tension because the music is very suspicious and tense so it just adds on to the audience's feeling of questioning and not knowing what is happening. Along with the smoke and non-diegetic sound of the song, helicopter propellers are heard from a distance as they sound as if they are coming closer because they are getting louder and louder. This complements the music and smoke, everything seems more intense and out of control, suggesting a problem is imminent.

The diegetic sound of the helicopters gives the hint to the audience that the setting, although very tropical might be affected by war, or in the middle of a war zone but the smoke and the music just prepare the audience to think the worst. Above the calm but suspicious palm trees, the bottom of a helicopter is seen flying by the screen. As soon as the audience view the helicopter they know they are in the war zone they have been thinking they were in, as if they are now in the terrible location they knew they were in but didn’t want to be. As soon as Jim Morrison sings the lyrics "this is the end", napalm is released on the trees causing them to burst in fire and completely destroying them. The audience by now are completely shocked because they didn’t expect the trees to completely go up in flames but although were expecting something bad to happen, although the juxtaposition of the tropical relaxed trees to the explosions of fire interests the audience because it is something original and new so they can expect more of that in the film. The editing of the sound with the trees is essential because as soon as Morrison says "this is the end", the trees go up in flames, the audience could believe that Morrison is talking about the trees reaching their end or even the end in general, as the napalm and burst of fire could represent the apocalypse which refers back to the title of the film.

The use and editing of the non-diegetic song "the end" by The doors is crucial because it fits in with the main objective of the film which is referring to the Vietnam War as the apocalypse because it was one of the most horrific wars in the history. But also because The doors were very famous and important in the time the Vietnam War was about which was the mid-60s and that is when the film is set. Also The door's main singer, Jim Morrison, experimented with a lot of drugs such as LSD, heroin and maruijna, as many other singers in the 60s did so most of his songs were very psychedelic and hallucinogenic which relates to the American soldiers in the war because they also took drugs as such to help them survive the horrors of the Vietnam war and to escape a brutal reality they were living and stuck in. Coppola’s choreography is masterful in creating some kind of poetry out of destruction.

The lyrics that Morrison continues to sing are quite strange as they don't consist of what is happening on the screen such as, "beautiful friend, this is the end, my only friend, the end". This confuses the audience because they don't understand what Morrison is trying to tell them, but it also intrigues them as they want to know or try to guess what they mean. As the fire and trees continue to burn and dirty brown orange smoke cover the screen, more helicopters are seen flying past the wide shot. This could suggest to the audience that helicopters are significant in the film, as they were significant in the Vietnam War as they were used by American soldiers to get around. Also the helicopters could be seen as an icon of the Vietnam War and initially in the film because they are seen a lot and referred to a lot later on in film. An upside down faded face appears on the screen with the burnt trees still on the screen, this gives the slight hint to the audience that the man could be the protagonist of the film as he is the first character they actually see.  Initial expression of Sheen’s performance captures our and the soldiers confusion and terror. Also his face is in a close up shot which could back up that he is the protagonist but also shows his importance as the director wants the audience to really get to see his face and facial expressions as they might be significant to what is happening in the background. By putting a close up of his face in the middle of the wide shot of the burnt trees and smoke, could suggest that he was a part of it and is remembering or having some sort of flashback about it. This helps the audience understand more about his character and where he is from because it gives them a hint that he might of been a soldier in Vietnam, but also shows the audience that he isn't so pleased about remembering the past by his facial expressions which are quite blunt and as his face is sweaty which could connote he is feeling uncomfortable.

As his face is still on the screen, the burnt trees in the background fade into a ceiling fan spinning around which could show to the audience that he is in a room but also could refer to the helicopter propellers as they make the same movement, this shows us that once again helicopters are very significant. The fan fades out and the trees fades in again but this time with a red and orange background which darkens the trees, with leaves and branches falling from the sky. The colours and the shaded black trees gives the audience a feeling of danger as they view very negative images, but also indulges them into an atmosphere which could resemble hell as the colours orange and red are stereotypically known to be involved with death, fire and the whole picture of hell. Also referring back to the title of the film, the images of this hell land clarify to the audience that the Vietnam war was really like an apocalypse as the images also seem as the end of world because of the fire, the smoke and branches falling from the sky, which initially looks like massive mayhem. Also the colours sort of glow that the audience somehow can feel the heat of the burning and the fire as does the man remembering the horrors he was involved in, which drags them in to the film more as they start to build emotion for the character because they feel pity on him because they are now also experiencing the same horrors as him. The close up captures his eyes wander around as if he is paranoid as he takes drags of his cigarette which tells the audience more about his character that he is slightly insecure and so much frightened about his past that he's eyes wander around to make sure he doesn't meet his horrors again and somehow make sure he is not there
A Cambodian statue fades in on the right of the screen along with furious bursts of fire. The random statue confuses the audience as they don't know why they are being shown this but maybe by being shown this at the start of the film it could hint that it is significant and perhaps will see more of them later on the film. The statue could also represent the man as they both haven't got speech and both are empty inside whilst the bursts of fire on the screen and the whole war has sucked the life out of them. As the statue is being shown, Morrison says the lyrics, "desperately in need of some strangers’ hand, in a desperate land". Morrison talks a lot about desperation and strangeness whilst the statue is on the screen, this could give the hint to the audience that the Cambodian statue is in the "desperate land" which the man will have to travel to in later on the film and desperation could refer to the man overall as he is desperate to forget his past and stop this hallucinations about it as well. The man takes one long drag on his cigarette and as he does his close up fades into the burnt trees with helicopters flying past. This could be seen by the audience that he is inhaling death itself as he disappears when he takes the drag and the burnt trees once again fades back in which represent death and hell. The non-diegetic propeller sounds of the helicopter's volume is raised, as the ceiling fan fades in and out of the screen. This shows the audience that again the man can’t escape his past and sees the horrors everywhere even in his room, but also the volume rise of the non-diegetic propeller sound builds up tension as the sound is quite annoying and repetitive which makes the audience feel uneasy along with the non-diegetic music of "the end", which reaches a very psychedelic guitar solo.

The man fades in again but this time in a mid-shot with the background of the trees as well. We can see the man is lying in his bed as his top is off and we can see his white bed sheets. The camera moves slowly around him from a high angle which shows the audience that he is incredibly thinking about the war and the horrors and that he can’t sleep because if what’s on his mind, and also that he must of seen a lot of horrors because they are haunting him even when he is in his most relaxed place, his bed, and he still can’t sleep, as if his mind is still in the war zone of Vietnam. By having the camera from a high angle and moving around the mid shot of the man, allows Sheen's performance to be the centre of attention, which reinforces the audience's idea that he might be the main protagonist. The man once again fades away leaving only the background of the burnt trees with helicopters still flying past. The use of the fading images and the fading in and out of the man clarifies to the audience that the man is haunted by these hallucinations of his horrified past as if he fades out of his mind for a while and the audience sees the horrifying stuff he has seen, and then he fades back in to his mind and the audience sees his reaction. This makes the audience more excited as they can see the horrors from the protagonist's eyes, but also lets them feel the sort of heavy dizziness the man feels as the audience are bombarded with fading images, psycadelic music and slow movement of the camera, as he is bombarded by horrific unforgettable memories.

3 minutes later into the clip we are obliged, as the audience, to enter the mayhem of Captain Willard's insanity as we view him losing control in his room. The man is in green war paint with huge wide eyes getting closer to the camera again in a martial arts pose, as he is doing this before killing someone; the audience are scared that they might actually witness him killing someone or perhaps himself. His eyes again tells a different story to the audience, this time they are more provocative and shows some kind of vengeance that he may be after. The background is pitch black but some sort of fire is shown which again resembles death and danger as he is so close to it that he either doesn't care any more, or that he actually is danger and evil. The mid shot fades away and an extreme close up of his eyes fade in as they stare into fire which is shown in the reflection of his eyes. This could show to the audience that his eyes have seen so much horror and evil that the reflected fire is actually a scar of all the horrors he has seen with his eyes. His eyes which are so easy to sense emotion are the ones that have actually been through the hell that they describe.

The audience feel respect for the man for the pain and hurt that he had to go through when seeing all the horrors but they are still frightened by the violent fire reflecting on his eyes as if it is burning him. The fire then fades into the burnt trees we once started with, they also reflect onto his eyes. The audience now can really see the pain he went to as it is actually printed on his eyes, which again helps them interact with the character and are much more excited by seeing it through his eyes because it is far more intense. Morrison continues to let out screams, grunts and strange vocal sounds as the shot fades out and we return back to the room to a long shot of the room with the man standing behind his bed. Sheen creates martial arts poses but in more solid and hysterical manor as he moves his head a lot and holds his hands in a very strange position, symbolising that something has taken him over, he appears to the viewer as a possessed soul reminding us of intertextuality of horror's purest moments. Coppola creates sympathy for him as he is obviously having a nervous breakdown and there is no one there to help him, and in some way the audience feel bad about themselves because they have to witness him losing control.

Sheen suddenly turns to the mirror and punches it, completely smashing it and cutting his hand. The audience questions his motive because he didn't like his reflection and the way he had become, he hated himself so much he wanted to get rid of the view of himself. The enigma is created. The audience's emotion towards him is only sorrow as he is really unhappy and the audience can really feel his unhappiness and negativity as it flows through his body and face. We cut to him rolling over the bed and staring at his bleeding hand as if he had never seen blood before, or that he had seen so much blood in his past that it had brought some unhappy memories again. The audience are disgusted when he rubs the blood on his face because its as if they can feel the blood being spread about on their face as well. But as he rubs the blood on his face the audience realise that he has reached the top level of insanity, and also as he rubs it he has a sort of relief facial expression as if it somehow feels good, like some sort of sadistic pleasure.

We cut to him picking up the bottle of whiskey, as the audience see it as his friend, and empties it all in his mouth as if he thinks it will make him feel better or somehow satisfy him even more. We cut to him on the floor of his bed, naked and embarrassed as he pulls the white bed sheet now covered in blood over his body to not be seen. He cries in agony and desperation but he cannot be heard because of the loud non-diegetic music. The audience could see this as his prayers, of a desperate man with no support, which is representative as the 'unknown soldier', as no one hears him, or he is finally trying to reach for help but is not heard. The audience feel shocked about how much the scene escalated into this final nervous breakdown of a man who seemed was just empty and depressed when really he was full of pain, agony, trouble and visually scars that no one else could imagine.

The audience by now would have felt a lot of various different emotions in the first 6 minutes just because mis-en-scene, editing and performance were used in a way to reach out to them and help them feel more comfortable in feeling emotions towards the characters, setting and context of the film. Also by using such graphic images in the opening scene of the film helps the audience remember it more as if it were some kind of icon they will remember from the film. The scene fades to black and leaves us in limbo with a whole mass of questions: who is he? What is wrong? how does he relate to the narrative and therefore Francis Ford Coppola has achieved his aim.

Apocalypse now draft

Apocalypse now - Opening scene.

Micro elements such as mis-en-scene, editing and performance are all significant in films as they are essential in creating emotion and meaning to the audience. Within the first 10 seconds of a scene, if the micro elements are used correctly the audience can get a first impression of the characters, setting, atmosphere and also feel emotion. In this essay i will analyse how these micro elements construct meaning and provoke response from the audience in the opening scene of Francis Ford Coppella's  1979 Apocalypse now. The film is an american war epic set during the Vietnam war starring Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen and Robert Duvall. The film follows the central character, U.S. Army special operation officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard (Martin Sheen), of MACV-SOG, on a mission to kill the renegade and persumed insane U.S Army special Forces Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando). The scene i am focusing on is the opening scene of the film where Captain Benjamin L. Willard is staying in the hotel room in Saigon and eventually has a nervous breakdown.

The scene fades in with a wide shot of cocount trees to establish to the audience that the setting is in a tropical location so the audience are straight away entered in a sensation of green, calmness, peace, pristine and full of life. Also by using the wide shot, the audience get a sence of the enormity of the situation. Faded smoke starts to rise up from the camera as The Doors "the end" intro is played. The smoke gives an impression of mystery to the audience as they don't know where the smoke is comming from and what its from. Also the psychedelic guitar playing of the song adds on to the mystery as it is very calm, like the coconut trees, but very suspicous because it seems as if its leading up to something so the audience is not really convinced with the chilled out atmosphere. As more smoke rises from the bottom when the guitar playing gets louder, the audience feel more uneasy because they really don't know what is going to happen but are intrested to find out. The rise of the volume as more smoke rises creates more tension because the music is very suspicious and tense so it just adds on to the audience's feeling of suspicion and not knowing what is happening. Along with the smoke and non-diegetic sound of the song, helicopter propellers are heard from a distance as they sound as if they are comming closer bcause they are getting louder and louder. This complements the music and smoke as everything seems to get louder and closer to what the audience is waiting for as if something not so good is going to happen. The diegtic sound of the hellicopters gives the hint to the audience that the setting, although very tropical might be affected by war, or in the middle of a ware zone because hellicopters are usually used in war, but the smoke and the music just prepare the audience to think the worst. Above the calm but suspicous coconut trees, the bottom of a hellicopter is seen flying by the screen. As soon as the audience view the hellicopter they know they are in the war zone they have been thinking they were in, as if they are now in the terrible location they knew they were in but didnt want to be. As soon as Jim Morrison sings the lyrics "this is the end", napalm is released on the trees causing them to burst in fire and completely destroying them. The audience by now are completely shocked because they didnt expect the trees to completely go up in flames but altough were expecting something bad to happen, although the juxtaposition of the tropical relaxed trees to the explosions of fire interests the audience because it is something original and new so they can expect more of that in the film. The editing of the sound with the trees is essential because as soon as Morrison says "this is the end", the trees go up in flames, the audience could believe that Morrison is talking about the trees reaching their end or even the end in general, as the napalm and burst of fire could represnt the apocalypse which refers back to the title of the film, Apocalypse now. The use of the non-diegtic song "the end" by The doors is crucial because it fits in with the main objective of the film which is refering to the Vietnam war as the apocalypse because it was one of the most horrific wars in the history. But also because The doors were very famous and important in the time the Vietnam war was about which was the mid 60s and that is when the film is set. Also The door's main singer, Jim Morrison, experimented with a lot of drugs such as LSD, heroin and maruijna, as many other singers in the 60s did so most of his songs were very psychedelic and hallucinogenic which relates to the american soldiers in the war because they also took drugs as such to help them survive the horrors of the Vietnam war and to escape a brutial reality they were living and stuck in.

The lyrics that Morrison continues to sing are quite strange as they don't consist of what is happening on the screen such as, "beautiful friend, this is the end, my only friend, the end". This confuses the audience because they don't understand what Morrison is trying to tell them, but it also intrigues  them as they want to know or try to guess what they mean. As the fire and trees continue to burn, and dirty brown orange smoke cover the screen, more helicopters are seen flying past the wide shot. This could suggest to the audience that helicopters are significant in the film, as they were significant in the Vietnam war as they were used by American soldiers to get around. Also the helicopters could be seen as an icon of the Vietnam war and initially in the film because they are seen a lot and referred to a lot later on in film.  A upside down faded face appears on the screen with the burnt trees still on the screen, This gives the slight hint to the audience that the man could be the protagonist of the film as he is the first character they actually see. Also his face is in a close up shot which could back up that he is the protagonist but also shows his importance as the director wants the audience to really get to see his face and facial expressions as they might be significant to what is happening in the background. By putting a close up of his face in the middle of the wide shot of the burnt trees and smoke, could suggest that he was a part of it and is remembering or having some sort of flashback about it. This helps the audience understand more about his character and where he is from because it gives them a hint that he might of been a soldier in Vietnam, but also shows the audience that he isn't so pleased about remembering the past by his facial expressions which are quite blunt and as his face is sweaty which could connotate he is feeling uncomfortable. As his face is still on the screen, the burnt trees in the background fade into a ceiling fan  spinning around which could show to the audience that he is in a room but  also could refer to the helicopter propellers as they make the same movement, this shows us that once again helicopters are very significant. The fan fades out and the trees fades in again but this time with a red and orange background which darkens the trees, with leaves and branches falling from the sky. The colours and the shaded black trees gives the audience a feeling of danger as they view very negative images, but also indulges them into an atmosphere which could resemble hell as the colours orange and red are stereotypically  known to be involved with death, fire and the whole picture of hell. Also referring back to the title of the film, the images of this hell land clarify to the audience that the Vietnam war was really like an apocalypse as the images also seem as the end of world because of the fire, the smoke and branches falling from the sky, which  initially looks like massive mayhem. Also the colours sort of glow that the audience somehow can feel the heat of the burning and the fire as does the man remembering the horrors he was involved in, which drags them in to the film more as they start to build emotion for the character because they feel pity on him because they are now also experiencing the same horrors as him. His eyes wander around as if he is paranoid as he takes drags of his cigarette which tells the audience more about his character that he is slightly insecure and so much frightened about his past that he's eyes wander around to make sure he doesn't meet his horrors again and some how make sure he is not there.        

A Cambodian statue fades in on the right of the screen along with furious bursts of fire. The random statue confuses the audience as they don't know why they are being shown this but maybe by being shown this at the start of the film it could hint that it is significant and perhaps will  see more of them later on the film. The statue could also represent the man as they both haven't got speech and both are empty inside whilst the bursts of fire on the screen and the whole war has sucked the life out of them. As the statue is being shown, Morrison says the lyrics, "desperately in need of some strangers hand, in a desperate land". Morrison talks a lot about desperation and strangeness whilst the statue is on the screen, this could give the hint to the audience that the Cambodian statue is in the "desperate land" which the man will have to travel to in later on the film and desperation could refer to the man overall as he is desperate to forget his past and stop this hallucinations about it as well. The man takes one long drag on his cigarette and as he does his close up fades into the burnt trees with helicopters flying past. This could be seen by the audience that he is inhaling death itself as he disappears when he takes the drag and the burnt trees once again fades back in which represent death and hell. The  non-diegetic propeller sounds of the helicopters get louder as the celling fan fades in and out of the screen. This shows the audience that again  the man cant escape his past and sees the horrors everywhere even in his room, but also the volume rise of the non-diegetic propeller sound builds up tension as the sound is quite annoying and repetitive which makes the audience feel uneasy  along with the non-diegetic music of "the end", which reaches a very psychedelic guitar solo. The man fades in again but this time in a mid-shot with the background of the trees as well. We can see the man is lying in his bed as his top is off and we can see his white bed sheets. The camera moves slowly around him from a high angle which shows the audience that he is incredibly thinking about the war and the horrors and that he cant sleep becuase if whats on his mind, and also that he must of seen a lot of horrors because they are haunting him even when he is in his most relaxed place, his bed, and he still cant sleep, as if his mind is still in the war zone of Vietnam. By having the camera from a high angle and moving around the mid shot of the man, shows his importance as he is the center of attention, which reinforces the audience's idea that he might be the main protagonist. The man once again fades away leaving only the background of the burnt trees with helicopters still flying past. The use of the fading images and the fading in and out of the man clarifies to the audience that the man is haunted by these hallucinations of his horrified past as if he fades out of his mind for a while and the audience sees the horrifying stuff he has seen, and then he fades back in to his mind and the audience sees his reaction. This makes the audience more excited as they can see the horrors from the protagonist's eyes, but also lets them feel the sort of heavy dizziness the man feels as the audience are bombarded with fading images, psycadelic music and slow movement of the camera, as he is bombarded by horrific unforgettable memories.  
A close up of the man's desk fades in and the camera slowly moves to right to capture the whole desk. We see a chain, a dog tag, which gives a stronger hint to the audience that he is in fact a soldier of the Vietnam war. A couple of files, books, an ID card, papers and a black and white photograph of a smiling woman. The audience would guess that the woman is the man's wife or girlfriend or some sort of lover, which shows that the man although up until now has been shown to be empty and just full of horrible memories, actually still has a private life of his own. We also see a letter and mail envelope which could give the hint that the letter is from the woman or from the man directed to the woman as it is next to the photograph. The objects and everything on the desk is placed very untidy as if they were thrown and left how they were, which could give the audience the impression that the man is very careless and doesn't care for his possessions, which gives the audience a bit more clarification of his personality that he might be unhappy with his personal life and perhaps doesn't care if something goes missing or where and how it is placed. The camera continues to move to right as we see a close up of the man who seems to be in a coma by his facial expressions. His eyes are finally closed and his mouth is open as if he is in a deep profound dream, this shows the audience exactly how empty the man is but also that he sometimes is able to fall asleep but is always awaken by his horrible nightmares. As his eyes remain closed, helicopters still fly past in the close up with the trees in the background which could suggest that he is actually dreaming what the audience is seeing, which again helps them see things through his eyes, which helps them be more interactive with the film and character. As the camera doesn't fail to stop moving to the right, once again the man's  face fades out and we get a close up of his bedside table. A pack of cigarettes and a lighter are shown, along with an old telephone and a glass of whiskey with the bottle. The old telephone reminds the audience that they are in another time and age as they are now virtually in the mid 60's where the Vietnam war was held. This helps the audience be a part of the film as they view all the different props that were used in the 60s which actually makes it exciting for them because it makes them feel as if they are in the scene surrounded by these old objects as well. Also all the objects on the table are things that are most common with a person of solitude, such as the whiskey, which could give the audience the impression that he is trying to forget his troubled and scared past by drinking and burning his memories away as he will not hold em for nostalgia.
A close up of the man's hand holding a lit cigarette through his fingers fades in as the rest fades out and as the camera continues  to move right, the same non-diegetic sound of the helicopter propeller is heard again with an inceased volume rise. The audience are no stranger to this sound as they always here it when tension starts to build, so by hearing the sound again it could prepare them for something bad. We get a close up of a pistol on the bed next to his hand. The audience would guess that the pistol is there because he is a soldier, given by all the hints leading up to this, but then the audience would question themselves what is his gun doing on his bed and why has he kept it. It could give the impression that the gun is there to protect him as he obviously doesn't feel safe and has very strong feelings of paranoia. The audience would guess that he actually wants protection from his nightmares and flashbacks of his time in the war, as they would now know that the man is very unstable because he is using a firearm to protect himself from actually himself. This could also give the impression that he is a bit insane and is also backed up by lyrics of the song as Morrison sings, "and all the children are insane". The use of showing the close up of the gun whilst Morrison said the word "insane" actually tells the audience that the man has gone a bit insane, which puts the audience again in an uneasy position as now knowing he could be insane, he could also be dangerous. The music starts to slowly fade as the non-diegetic sound of the propeller increases heavily, and the gun fades into a close up of the man and the ceiling fan. The man has his eyes closed as he could still be sleeping, and the audience could think that he is dreaming about his past as the sound of the propellers are loud which could be what he is hearing in his mind. This again lets the audience feel the same emotion as the character which drags them into the film much more as they are fascinated by this character. Jim Morrison's voice echo's as  the man's eyes shoot open as if he was awaken from a terrible nightmare. He blinks a few times to make sure he still isn't trapped in his horrific cage of his mind.
The music by now is faded away and the only noise is the non-diegetic sound of the famous propeller furiously spinning as we get a POV from a low angle  where the man is laying down of just the ceiling fan also furiously spinning. The editing with the sound of the propeller and the shot of the fan on the ceiling makes it as if the fan is making the propeller noise as they are much alike but very different in reality. This shows the audience in a very simple way how desperate the man is and how he is reminded by his troubled past in the war zone by anything he sees, even as normal and innocent as a ceiling fan. This shows the audience that there really isn't running away from his past for the man as he is literally reminded every second as if he has to carry an enormous heavy carriage of guilt as some sort of punishment everywhere he goes. But the use of the ceiling fan was good because it relates to the same movement and concept as a helicopter propeller which makes it easier for the man to mistaken it for a helicopter. This also shows to the audience that in reality American soldiers from Vietnam couldn't forget what they had seen and they always somehow found a bit of Vietnam everywhere they were even if they weren't there, as the man in the film finds a bit of Vietnam in his room. The POV shot turns straight from its previous low angle to half of the darken room and focuses on the only source of natural light which is received from the window. We quick cut to a close up of the man's face who looks towards the window and then cut again to the POV of the room and window. The man slowly makes his way towards the window as the POV shot moves closer to the window. This again boosts the audience's intrest as they can see things from the protagonist's eyes which is much more exciting as they are a part of it. It also makes it exciting for the audience as they don't know what is outside of the window and by moving slowly it adds suspense. As the man gets closer to the window, the non-diegetic sound of helicopters become louder, which gives the audience the hint that the helicopter is outside and that the man might still be in Vietnam but not directly in the war zone. We get to the window which is covered with half open blinds and as the man opens one of the shutters of the blind we get a wide shot of what is outside. A road with buildings and cars with army trucks are what is seen from the window.
We cut to a mid close up of him. "Saigon......shit" are the first words we hear from the man's V.O as he comments on what he sees outside of the window. By saying Saigon, it clarifies to the audience where the man is which is in fact Vietnam but the busy hospital and communications city and not the war zone place. By saying the word "shit" the audience understand that he is not pleased that he is in Saigon. This is followed by when he says, "im still only in Saigon" which makes the audience think that maybe he wants to be somewhere else and perhaps the war zone as he uses the words "only in Saigon" which shows that he is not challenged enough in Saigon as there are no missions or battles. He finishes his whiskey and says "every time I think I'm going to wake up in the jungle". The audience now understand why he came across as a very troubled and paranoid guy earlier on because he thinks he is going to wake up in the "jungle" which is the war zone of Vietnam, so he has trouble sleeping because he cant recover from the horrors of the "jungle". We cut to another mid close up of him sitting up against his wall just staring into space, in nothing in particular his eyes are focused but seem empty as the audience see he sometimes has empty moments were his mind is spinning around with all the horrors and things he has seen where it gets to the point its too much. We then again cut to a side shot of the bed where he is laying and looking up to the ceiling with despair. The use of cutting to shot to shot of him sitting down or laying gives the obvious message to the audience that his life is now empty as the war has sucked all his youth and life away and that now he is just a man of troubled memories. By showing more than one scene of him being empty shows the audience the enormity of the situation and how serious of a problem the war's effect on the soldiers who witnessed it is. On his bed side table the same messy objects such as the photograph of the woman, files, books, dog tags and the chain are seen by also a Vietnamese beer bottle is shown, which reinforces the audience's idea that he drinks to forget. Non-diegetic sounds of birds chirping are heard whilst he lays which kind of juxtapositions the fact that he is living in hell in his room and even outside which is still Vietnam birds are chirping, this is a mixture of good and evil which somehow the audience find interesting and funny. The man suddenly  flinches at his pillow thinking there was something there, this shows the audience how sharp his reflex's are and how paranoid he now is from coming back from the war. This also shows how the war has changed his and other soldier's mind and somehow made them feel prepared for anything, even at the comfort of their own home. He reaches out for the photograph of the woman and holds it infront of him. This gives the audience the hint that she might be significant in his life as he reaches out for the photograph which is sort of him trying to reach out for her comfort in these moments of mental agony. "I hardly said a word to my wife until i said yes to a divorce", the man says as he still holds the photograph infront of him. The audience now know that it is his recentley ex wife who is in the photograph. He then puts his cigarette in his mouth and puts a hole in the photograph. The audience wouldn't expect him to do that because the photograph is the only source of evidence that proves he has a private life because otherwise everything else is stuff without no meaning which again reinforces him being empty. But the audience understand his not so compassionate feelings towards her as they are now divorced.
We again cut to a mid close up of the man as he is sitting down with another glass of whiskey. The constant showing of whiskey could suggest that alcohol is the only source of love he has as it helps him forget the pain he is feeling, and maybe it's the only way out in the hell is living. The audience feel pity on him as he has no other choice to not drink because it is the only thing he has left. "I'm here a week now, waiting for a mission" the man says as he stares at the floor with a desperate glare, he's eyes somehow look empty but can be seen screaming for help, for any type of salvation. The audience understand that he wants to go back to battle because it is the only thing he can do as he cannot return to ordinary life, and in some way his home belongs in the jungle. The ceiling fan spinning once again slightly fades in as his glare becomes much more intense, the birds chirping are much more louder now as is a non-diegetic soft magnetic noises are heard.  The use of the ceiling fan again shows the audience that it is significant as it is an object that reminds him about his time in the jungle but also sends his mind to a whole different place. The magnetic non-diegetic noise adds to the suspense as they are very creepy and un pleasurable for the audience to hear creating a tense atmosphere for the audience. The audience can feel the man's weakness as he says "getting softer" because they cant tell by his facial expressions that he is not strong any more and his memories are making him mentally and physically weak. The audience again feels pity for him as they don't want to see him in a very weak and desperate state. The man's close up fades out and a high angled shot looking down at the man in a corner of the room fades in. The room is fairly dark as the only light is from a lamp, the room is quite messy but doesn't consist of many objects to actually make it look messy. This illustrates to the audience that the man hasn't got a lot of objects and doesn't actually own many possessions as he is metaphorically empty like his room. The use of not much lighting adds on to the tense atmosphere which is being slowly created because it sets the scene and mood in a very dark state, and this has a powerful effect on the audience as they will prepare themselves for something either dangerous to happen. The man in the corner is squatted down with his hands in his hair in a ball shape, which shows the audience that he is slowly building up to something as well, as if being on the floor is preparing him self for something that he doesn't even know. Or he could be in a shape of a ball because he is frightened of something and is trying to hide himself, although he cannot hide from his past. This shows the audience that the man needs help as he mentally scared by his past, this makes the audience feel bad for him as he cannot seek help but also scared because he can turn insane any minute. "Every minute i stay in this room i get weaker" he says. This shows the audience that he is feeling suffocated by his problems and troubled past that he cannot stay in the room longer as he is getting more weaker and weaker. This makes the audience feel suffocated as well because they start to feel his weakness as it is so powerful that it flows beyond the screen, as if it were contagious.

The door's the end's most psychedelic music bit starts to fade in as the man says "each time I looked around, the walls moved in a little tighter". This helps the audience feel the suffocation that the man is feeling as they imagine what it feels like to be in a room with walls beginning to tighten. The man obviously doesn't fell comfortable or safe in his room so he needs to somehow escape. The shot of the cornered man fades out as the music gets louder and  a wide shot of the room fades in with the man standing on the left side  next to the bed. The non-diegetic  music really send the audience into ecstasy as they are now on the full point of mayhem and strangeness. The man starts to slowly do some sort of martial arts poses and moves as if he is imagining himself fighting in the jungle. He doesn't face the camera which adds some suspense as you can't tell what he's thinking, and also he is in his underwear which shows he is turning a bit insane but in some way is comfortable in his own way. The way he slowly moves along with his martial arts poses is as if the music is flowing through his bones and directing him, this shows us how important the music is to adding the spark to the tension which isn't the stereotypical sort of suspense in other films, its more of not knowing what he is capable of doing because the audience have only seen him upset whilst thinking, but now it's as if he has woken up and we have not seen that side of him. Due to this, the audience feels really uncomfortable as they don't want to see any sort of evil from the protagonist as they have been feeling emotions of pity and sorrow for him up until now. The shot slowly fades out and a mid close up of the man leaning towards the camera staring at the floor fades in. The shot is very dark as the only source of emotion we can get of the man is from his left eye which is the only one which isn't in the shade. His eye is slightly bloodshot and full of hatred, as he stares into the floor its as if he is unleashing all his anger and all his fury that he has been holding on to and now it is his time to let it free finally. The audience are quite frightened because they did actually expect to see him like this because he was on the verge of going insane any minute, but they don't actually want to see him like his because his character has changed very vastly as if he was bi polar and the audience can't recognise him any more. Jim Morrison feels his own horrors and chills as he grunts in the non-diegetic song along with other noises, as the man suddenly switches from staring at the floor to staring at the camera. The audience are shocked because his eye is so powerful that it almost stings their own eyes, he's not looking at us, he's looking through us. This really helps the audience to interact with the film as they feel various different emotions all on one scene.  The ceiling fan can be seen in the background again spinning around, and the audience are not surprised to see it as it symbolises his time in the war zone as he is remembered every time he sees it. The audience could see the fan as a symbol of evil, as the man's actually innocent despite his emptiness and the only evil in his body is his past in the war. This shot like the others fades out and another mid close up of the man fades in. This time the man is not in his room, but is actually in the last scene of the film as he is covered in green war paint and ready to assassinate someone. The non-linear narrative is where the story in the film is told without any linear directions or in order. This gets the audience more interested as they get to see a bit of the ending of the film which gets them excited because they want to then carry on watching with extreme focus to understand how the character got to that place.


The man is in green war paint  with huge wide eyes getting closer to the camera again in a martial arts pose, as he is doing this before killing someone, the audience are scared that they might actually witness him killing someone or perhaps himself. His eyes again tells a different story to the audience, this time they are more provocative and shows some kind of vengeance that he may be after. The background is pitch black but some sort of fire is shown which again resembles death and danger as he is so close to it that he either doesn't care any more, or that he actually is danger and evil. The mid shot fades away and an extreme close up of his eyes fade in as they stare into fire which is shown in the reflection of his eyes. This could show to the audience that his eyes have seen so much horror and evil that the reflected fire is actually a scar of all the horrors he has seen with his eyes. His eyes which are so easy to sense emotion are the ones that have actually been through the hell that they describe. The audience feel respect for the man for the pain and hurt that he had to go through when seeing all the horrors but they are still frightened by the violent fire reflecting on his eyes as if it is burning him. The fire then fades into the burnt trees we once started with, they also reflect onto his eyes. The audience now can really see the pain he went to as it is actually printed on his eyes, which again helps them interact with the character and are much more excited by seeing it through his eyes because it is far more intense. Morrison continues to let out screams, grunts and strange vocal sounds as the shot fades out and we return back to the room to a long shot of the room with the man standing behind his bed. The man continues to do his martial arts poses but in more solid and hysterical manor as he moves his head a lot and holds his hands in a very strange position. The audience once again feels bad for him as he is obviously having a nervous breakdown and there is noone there to help him, and in some way the audience feel bad about themselves because they have to witness him loosing control of his mind without helping him.

He suddenly turns to the mirror and punches it, completely smashing it and cutting his hand. The audience could say that he punched the mirror because he didn't like his reflection and the way he had become, he hated himself so much he wanted to get rid of the view of himself. The audience's emotion towards him is only sorrow as he is really unhappy and the audience can really feel his unhappiness and negativity as it flows through his body and face. We cut to him rolling over the bed and staring at his bleeding hand as if he had never seen blood before, or that he had seen so much blood in his past that it had brought some unhappy memories again. The audience are disgusted when he rubs the blood on his face because its as if they can feel the blood being spread about on their face as well. But as he rubs the blood on his face the audience realise that he has reached the top level of insanity, and also as he rubs it he has a sort of relief facial expression as if it somehow feels good, like some sort of sadistic pleasure. We cut to him picking up the bottle of whiskey, as the audience see it as his friend, and empties it all in his mouth as if he thinks it will make him feel better or somehow satisfy him even more. We cut to him on the floor of his bed, naked and embarrassed as he pulls the white bed sheet now covered in blood over his body to not be seen. He cries in agony and desperation but he cannot be heard because of the loud non-diegetic music. The audience could see this as his prayers don't get answered as no one hears him, or he is finally trying to reach for help but is not heard. The audience feel shocked about how much the scene escalated into this final nervous breakdown of a man who seemed was just empty and depressed when really he was full of pain, agony, trouble and visually scars that no one else could imagine. The audience by now would have felt a lot of various different emotions in the first 6 minutes just because mis-en-scene, editing and performance were used in a way to reach out to them and help them feel more comfortable in feeling emotions towards the characters, setting and context of the film. Also by using such graphic images in the opening scene of the film helps the audience remember it more as if it were some kind of icon they will remember from the film. The scene fades to black as it has opened the audience to the rest of the film where they can expect very familiar scenes of which they have scene and plenty more of the protagonist.