Assessment

The opening scene of the maze runner has many techniques used either in the camera
movements, editing, mise-end-scenes and sound effects which engage the audience to
continue watching and make a vague impact in the scene.

The main character in the scene started off in a trapped, unpleasant place under the
ground. The mise-end-scenes had a huge vague, therefore the colours, surroundings,
lighting and décor used in the scene makes it more interesting to watch. At the
beginning of the scene there was a use of low key lighting and dark colours. The low-
key lighting is used to make the audience ready for a jump-scare in the scene. It also
gives the audience connotations of what genre is the movie, either or horror or thriller.
The dark colours in the scene were mainly black, little bit of grey and dark blue. Usually
the colour black might symbolize elegance however, in this scene it could be death.
Grey is a dull colour and it can represent the feeling of being depressed or unhappy. On
the other hand, the lighting in the scene keeps changing. At the start the lighting was
low-key and when the character got out of the place he was trapped in, it changed to
high-key lighting ad bright colours. Usually when the lighting changes from dark to bright
is because something overwhelming happened.

Building on, as the character was trapped under the ground, the camera took a close-
up-shot of his face. The facial expression of the character shows that he’s nervous. By
the way he’s staring and moving around he also seems insecure.

Not only that, the costume the character was wearing was very casual but dirty at the
same time. Which is because of the place he was located in, or maybe he was gone
through bad situations which made him last in this trapped, dark place. The effects the
director uses such as dark and creepy settings might give a hint to the audience of what
the story line might hold.

The camera in this scene moved in many different angles and had different techniques.
There is the close-up shot when it comes to the character’s face, it showed his facial
expression and what emotions the character is feeling. He looked very negative and not
pleased about what’s happening to him and what he’s going through. As soon as the
character opened the door, the bright sparkling sun blazed on him. When the character
opened his eyes there was a worm’s eyes shot. The people were all crowded on top of
the character, while he was still laying down. Another shot was used, which is the
tracking shot. This is when the character left the creepy place, he started running very
fast wanting to escape and feels free after he was trapped under the ground for a long
time. So, as soon as he started running the camera was tracking. Adding on, at the end
of the scene there was a wide shot taken. This is to show the place clearly and the
location of the scene. Wide shots are also used to show the crowd of people at the
scene. Last but not least, before the scene ends the camera moved 360 around the
location to show the place clearly and where exactly was the character.
The beginning of the maze runner scene uses various different horror conception to
create an atmosphere of tension and fear. By the sound effects they use. There were
loud sounds of electricity at the background of people’s voices. This sound is non-
diegetic because the audience only can hear it however, there is also the sounds of
metals hitting into each other when the character was trapped under the ground. This is
diegetic because the character can hear what’s happening while he’s filmed. The sound
effects used shocks the audience and gives them a feeling of fear. Not only that, there’s
also sound effects used when the door was opened for the character from underground.
Usually sound effects are used for explosions and slamming doors which is interesting
to use. One more sound effect I have noticed is the sound of the alert which was ringing
very loud at some point when he was underground. This can be demonstrated as a
warning to the character or something might happen.

In addition, at the start of the scene there was a fade in black used more than one time.
There was also text of the movie name that appeared as soon as the opening scene
ended. Moving on, when the character was trapped under the ground two flash lights
appeared, one is the red flash and the other one is the green flash. The red flash may
be used to warn the character. However, the green flash can be used as contrast.
Those editing techniques can have a vague impact towards the audience that are
watching the scene.

Another thing that I have recognised is difference of colours at the start of the scene
and how they tend to change at the end of the scene. At the start the colours were dark
and dull, which are used to create a horrifying atmosphere. However, at the end of the
scene the colours changed to bright, for example the yellows and greens. Green is for
the nature surrounding the character and yellow would be happiness. This is because
the character would feel free and excited after what happened to him. Not only that, the
lighting also changed to show the feelings of different situations.

In conclusion, the scene was well put together and the techniques used were organised
very well which makes it interesting to watch. The sound effects, camera movements
and settings were all combined together very nicely. This is how the audience will be
engaged to know more about what’s going to happen next.