Saw opening analysisBy James Power

• The film opens with a close up shot of an unconscious man in dark water in this part of the scene the director is able to build a tense atmosphere due to the lack of lighting hiding the mans face making the audience wonder what has happened to him and if he Is still alive due to the sinister connotations of darkness such as death. The director also makes excellent use of sound as this part of the scene mostly lacks any diegetic or non diegetic sound apart from the diegetic rippling of the water which is a common sound associated with drowning this along with the brief non diegetic sting in the soundtrack serve to further intensify the sinister atmosphere of the scene.

• The film then shows the mans eyes opening revealing him to be alive which is made even more dramatic due to the loud non diegetic sting. Once again the director uses sound to effectively create tension such as the exaggerated diegetic sounds of the man gasping for air and splashing about to try and get free which is made even more tense due to the use of rapid editing to help the audience emphasize with the mans fear and desperation to get out. During the fast editing sequence the camera briefly cuts to an object going down the drain foreshadowing the props importance and creating a mystery of the props purpose.

• As the man escapes from the bath the film cuts to a long short in order to show the audience a small part of the setting which like the bath is almost completely dark establishing the location as mysterious and possibly dangerous due to the sinister connotations associated with darkness such as evil. As the man tries to move we can hear the diegetic sound of chains rattling inform the audience that the man is trapped this is quickly followed up the diegetic sound of something moving suggesting that there is someone in there with him this unknown possibility builds tension within in the audience due to the possible causes of the sound such as the killer.

• A voice then speaks to the man showing that there is indeed someone in there with the man but in contrast to the mans loud panicked tone the voice speaks in a calm yet defeated tone which suggests that the voice has been trapped there a long time and has given up escape. The lights then come on with an exaggerated diegetic sound making the reveal of the setting an even more powerful moment. The setting is revealed to be a dirty bathroom the rust on the pipes and tiles suggesting that it has been abandoned for a long time conforming to the popular trope of abandoned locations in thriller films.

• With the lights now on we can use mise on scene to learn more about the characters for example the character behind the voice is shown wearing a formal blue shirt suggesting that he had high status in society as opposed to the other mans casually opened shirt suggesting a less mature nature and a lower status in society. The camera then cuts to a shot of the older man pointing at something with a horrified facial expression then to a shot of the younger man investigating keeping it out of the audience view to build suspense and mystery along with the increasing tone of the non diegetic soundtrack as the camera slowly pans over to reveal a bloody corpse a moment made more powerful with the sting of the soundtrack the camera then briefly cuts to the tape and gun he was holding suggesting they play some importance in the film opening the film with the sinister mystery of if those two men will survive and how they ended up there keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.