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Film Narrative and Structure

This immediately sets the scene as the down and outs' sit around looking soulless just a shell like the building they in habit. The camera pan gently draws the audience deeper into the Headquarters' and the mood starting to stray from pity to a dark sleazy atmosphere, this is mirrored by a considerable slowing down of the pan drawing Jim and another junkie' into the centre of the shot, framing the scene. The shot rests with the two in conversation - the unknown' reciting his experience with the church. .
             The speed of the camera work is an important factor in the build-up to this conversation. The initial establishing shot is a quick pan but when the mood drops as I have previously mentioned there is a considerable slowing down of the pan and is a surveying pan as it slowly searches the screen gently building up an interest in the story that seems to be being told to Jim by the unknown junkie. This camera technique plays on our human instinct of curiosity. Once we have been drawn into the story, when he claims and then it hit me' a cut to a mid shot of the junkie snapping the audience into the tale and primarily focussing on what is being said. The next cut is also to alert the viewer, when the junkie says really primo dope' it cuts to a head shot of Jim the reference to drugs stirs interest in him as it is intended for the viewer. The following shots of this combine in a small montage cutting between the junkie and his preparation of heroin building into his love for the ritual' that I will refer to again in this discussion.
             The lighting in this scene is instrumental in our acceptance and understanding of the characters and social representations being offered in this film. The main source of light for the scene is a spotlight that's almost pointing directly at Jim as he appears to be bathed in light while the junkie is shrouded in darkness with a slight icy blue haze and in the mid-shots his face is almost completely blacked out by the shadows.


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