At first, we see dark, run down, bordered up shops. It looks scruffy, deserted, eerie. The establishing shot is a long tracking shot. The further into the shops we see, the darker it gets, and the main character is walking from the warm light of the exterior, to the darkness of the interior, like he is walking into danger. It also looks like it’s getting narrower the further he walks, giving quite a claustrophobic feeling, and scary. We hear non diegetic music, and it is very ominous and threatening, showing he is again walking into danger. There is good use of rule of thirds, as the two shops that create the entrance fall on the two horizontal lines. There is also a light over the main characters head, like a halo, he is good and innocent. The main character is wearing black pants and a grey jacket, which are typical clothes for a teenager, he is a regular person, just like one of us. He walks with his hands in his pockets, connoting he is quite casual and laid back.
Then we have a match on action and we are at eye-level with the main character, this way we can associate with him, he is a regular person and could be any one of us. The match on action is as soon as he has stepped into the interior, as though now it’s too late for him, so now we are seeing him from the view of the darkness. We can hear his footsteps, but no one elses and no other footsteps, it seems like he is all on his own, which adds to the fear. We continue to see shots of the main character walking, and slowly the lighting becomes darker, more dangerous. He stops walking when he see’s two people, and then we cut to a long shot of those two people, which is possibly a point of view shot, so we see this from the main characters perspective and relate to him.
There is a sound spike when we see the two other characters, connoting that they are dangerous. The character with his back to the main character is wearing dark clothing, and is stood with his legs slightly apart, making him look strong and masculine. He is also wearing a scarf and balaclava, so we can’t see his face creating and enigma, a common convention of thrillers. We know this is the villain. The second character is shorter than the dark character, showing he is inferior to him. He is wearing a black coat and hat, still covered up but his identity isn’t as hidden as the dark character, as his face is fully visible. Then we cut to a medium shot of one of the characters leaning over and noticing the main character, showing his expression and letting the audience know this character does not want anyone to witness what is about to happen by facial expressions.
We cut back to the main character, and we see he is looking nervous, he clearly doesn’t want to be there but is staying there, perhaps he knows that a crime could be committed and he should witness it. We then cut to a shot of the main character with his back to the wall looking the opposite way of the other two characters, searching for a way out of there. There is no sound, matching the fact that the main character is trying to be silent. We can see the other two characters looking suspicious and glancing around the corner of where the main character was a second before. They clearly don’t want to be seen, suggesting a crime is about to be committed. We can’t see the character with their back to the main character, creating enigma as to who this person is. He is also dressed in dark colours, suggesting a dark character. There is a match on action as the dark character passes the other character a CD, and we see a close up of the CD, showing the audience the importance of it, and suggesting that they need to remember it as it will be important.
There is also a slight ticking sound, suggesting now that the character has received the CD his time is running out. There is then a shot reverse shot of the two characters nodding at each other, as they are not talking to each other, it is clear that what they have just done is bad. There is a medium shot of the second character walking away, and then a close up on his shoulder as the dark character grabs it, this shocks the audience in a similar way as it would shock the second character. There is a two medium shot as the dark character punches the second character, and then another point of view from the main character, this conforms to conventions of thrillers as we don’t see the violence close up, and we also see no blood. There is a medium close up of the main character holding on to the wall, for stability after what he has just seen. He looks even more worried. We cut to a high angle shot of the second character on the floor, showing he is weak in comparison to the dark character, who is dominant over him.
There is a match on action as the dark character takes the CD off the second character and unzips his jacket, putting the CD back. We cut to a close up on his head as it turns to the main character, and we can see the main character in the background in full focus, we know he has been caught and he is now in real danger. There is another sound spike enhancing the fact that the main character is now in a lot of danger. There are a lot of fast paced match on actions as the two characters run through the shopping center, keeps the audience interested and matches the speed of the chase. We hear drum sounds with the chase, which are quite tribal, associate with Africa and carnivores chasing herbivores, mirroring the chase that is occurring here. We end with a shot of the dark character stopping running and taking out his phone to call someone, we know the main character is now in even more danger.
We hear fuzzy noises, and the titles are flashing on and off, making them seem disturbed, like one of the characters could be. The titles are in black and white, a common binary opposition for thrillers. It cuts from full screen titles to close ups of someone with the CD, we can’t see their face, perhaps someone else also has the CD, this creates enigma and is common of thrillers. The use of lots of close ups adds to the feeling of claustrophobia and disturbance. The titles overlay in the corners. Then we cut to a long shot of outside, but it has been edited to look like CCTV, as there is the words “CAM 07” in the corner, and it is in black and white, which also connotes realism, seems like what we are about to see really happened. We know this is what is on the CD. The footage is jumpy as one character is wrestled to the floor, making it again seem like CCTV and keeps the audience on edge. The speech is also very distorted, which enhances the effects of the jumpy footage. The screen then fades from black to white, which is again a binary opposition, and the title “Eye Witness” fades in from the middle.
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