Kelly's Heroes Opening Scene

Opening Scene:
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA9581o27uA

In the opening scene of Kelly's Heroes, the camera is pointing towards a stationary jeep, as German soldiers walk past. The camera is at eye level which gives the audience a sense that they are there because they are the same height as the actors.

The camera then starts to zoom in on the jeep. The actors are still walking past the screen until the camera has zoomed right up close to the jeep, to show its occupants.

The camera is then placed inside the jeep to show the audience who the occupants are. The camera starts by focusing on the German officer on the left hand side of the screen and then pans across the jeep, showing two American soldiers in the back and another one who is driving.

Once the camera has reached the right hand side of the jeep, it then focuses on the driver, who is the main character of the film. Text then appears which says, "Kelly's Heroes". I like this because it has the name of the film next to the main character and it helps the audience know who he is.

This shot is taken from just outside the jeep. The camera is at an eye level height, which makes the audience the same height of the actors. Also, because the actors are walking away from the camera, it gives the audience the sense that they are part of the film and that they are the people inside the stationary jeep.

This is a good shot because it is looking at the jeep as well as the German Military Policeman. This shot is interesting because both items, i.e. the jeep and the soldier are not in the middle of the screen but in fact on different sides of the screen. This is important because people find things more interesting if the actors are not in the centre of the camera.

This shot is taken from inside the driver's seat inside the jeep. It is a Point Of View shot because the driver is not seen yet the audience can see what the driver is seeing. It is also a match-on action shot because in the previous shot, the German MP was turning around and in this scene the audience sees him finishing his turn.

In the next scene the camera is on the bonnet of the jeep and facing the driver. This is a bit like a shot reverse- shot because the camera goes from one perspective to another in a few seconds. It is not a POV shot because the actor is not looking directly towards the camera but instead his eyes are looking off-screen to the left. 

The camera is then in the back of the jeep with the two American soldiers. This is a POV shot because it is from the perspective of one of the soldiers and what he sees when he looks out of the jeep.

In this scene the camera is placed on the bonnet of the jeep and is pointed in towards the occupants. This shows the audience what is happening inside the jeep whilst it is driving.