Wallander

1. Image one tracks along green fields, the colours are dull and could reflect the dark subject matter of the episode. The tracking later cuts to an image of the girls, an edit is made using the sound of a 'zoom' which creates the idea that the camera has zoomed in on girls from a distance although it has not.

2. The second image is a well composed shot of the two girls from behind. The girls take up both sides of the frame but the background takes central position and we see tyre tracks and a tree in the distance, the still could connote many ideas. As we watch further we understand the tyre tracks were those of a taxi driver.

3. The scarlet blood on the window connotes the idea of death and as we know it also mirrors the denotation as the man in the car does die and we see his taxi identity card on the right side of the frame. This allows the audience to identify and empathise with the character on a more personal level as they can appreciate the man who has died as a human like themselves. The image of the girls in the background suggests to the audience that they have a connection to what has happened with the man in the car, the fact that they out of focus may connote that they feel no remorse or guilt for what they have done, no clear, focused emotion.

4. The fourth image confirms what we took from the previous shot as we see the girl holding the bloodied knife in her hand taking central position within the frame, this later is used in match on action with image 6, the Wallander theme tune, which replicates the image of a blade using triangles.



The opening scene shows the tracking of an establishing shot across vast green land and fields, this cuts to a shot of two girls walking. The use of a 'zooming' noise sound bridge between the two shots gives the impression of zooming from the establishing shot to the mid-shot.


In terms of mise-en-scene, the girls are dressed typically in teenage style clothes so the audience can instantly identify, their faces and hands are covered in blood and one of them (the more dominant character) holds a knife. When we see the murdered taxi driver, there is a close up shot of his twitching hand, an identity badge and a photo of him and his son which evokes pathos from the viewer as we see the character as a person rather than just an object on screen.


The girls are breathing heavily, a non-diegetic low resonant sound connotes the fear and danger of what is happening. When the girl drops the knife a hyperbolic blade noise is sounded.


As well as this, when the knife is dropped the triangular shape of the blade is reconstructed within the opening credits (visible in the image above) which is an example of match on action. The shots of Wallander, the main character, are half in light and half in darkness which connotes his two sided character