What the opening to 'Collateral' achieves
Tom Cruise
Blurry people in foreground, but just Cruise in focus. This brings our attention to Tom Cruise and shows him as an important character.
He wears sunglasses and very little is said about what is going on in the film - this gives enigma to draw in the audience
Establishes him as professional, serious, we get the idea that what's in his suitcase is very important/undercover/illegal?
Jamie Foxx
Establishes he's a taxi driver
The photo of a holiday shows he has a dream which humanises him
We see a group of taxi drives watching football but we see just Jamie Foxx not watching it and he does a Sudoku instead - this shows he likes solitude and is clever and likes puzzles.
He fixes the position of the photo and wipes down his dashboard - shows he's a perfectionist and does his job well - this also shows him as a good guy
Camera
There is cross cutting between the two character's setup - this shows the stories are linked
There are lots of varied shots to draw the audience in - semi-pov shot - following him - mystery/danger - makes us suspicious of him
Shot pans up from very low down shot when the
gaps in the filming also engages us as the audiences has to write in the gaps of the story
The montage - series of shots of the world Foxx is part of - establishes the atmosphere - shows his busy chaotic life
Music
Lots of overlapping noise from outside world - very busy and chaotic life
The music has a pulse/beat/ monotus rift - gets you engaged as it is very repetitive- if it kept changing we would lose track and feel lost
doesn't lose energy
fast rhythm - builds tension
Music cuts quitter when the taxi driver slams the door shut and he's inside - shows he feel he's in his own world.
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