Reservoir Dogs

Use of Camera

At the start of Reservoir Dogs, the people are all static and not doing

much movement, as they are just sitting around a table having a

conversation. This creates movement from the camera to keep the

scene exciting and entice the audience, as it is vital to keep the

audience gripped at the opening sequence of a movie. To keep the

audience’s attention the camera moves around the table to each

individual character, as without the movement of the camera the

shot wouldn’t b e very intriguing and not be showing much more but

men sitting around a table, which is not a very exciting opening. The

movement of the camera is also extremely essential to us, as it

establishes all of the characters and gives the audience an insight of

each individual’s personality, for example, we are giving an indication

that Harvey Keitels character has authority, is confident and may be

a leader, as the camera angle is focused upon him when he speaks,

and does not move around a lot, like it does for characters, such as

Quentin Tarantino’s, who might not play a big role in the film. Even

though we have only seen five minutes of the film, the camera angle

helps us have an understanding of what the characters are going to

be like later in the movie.

Sound/Editing

At the very first second of the scene we hear the movement of

cutlery or plates, which gives us an idea that the scene is in a diner or

restaurant. There is not much other sound in the opening sequence

apart from lots of dialogue between the men on the table. The

dialogue is humorous and casual, which makes the audience feel

shocked, as the stereotype of a criminal is not talking about casual

things but to be planning the robbery. This makes the audience not

know that they are robbers and does not give them the indication

that they are going to commit a crime. After the cafe the scene cuts

to them walking as a group outside, with slow tempo and upbeat

music, which matches their style of walking and the posture of being

cool and composed. There is not much editing in the scene, as the

concentration is mainly on their dialogue and there is no need for

them to cut anything, as the director wants the audience to see how

normal these men are, making it seem strange for them to be

criminals.

Mise-en-scene

The scene begins in a cafe with conversation around a table full of

men. We are not aware of where the cafe is and we don’t have much

of an insight of what the characters are going to do. The enigma is

not shown and all we can see is them having a casual and humorous

conversation. All the characters are dressed the same in a black suit

with a black tie, making them seem like they are in some kind of cult

or group organisation. Only two of the characters are not wearing

the uniform, which makes them seem separate from the group or

they could have more authority than the others and make the

commands. All the characters are happy to leave a tip, apart from

one of them, which gives us an idea of what is character is like, which

is very selfish and thinks solemnly of himself before others. The cafe

scene cuts to outside, where we are introduced to all the characters

in more detail, as they walk in slow motion, which is essential in

showing the difference between all of them and their characteristics.