Colombiana

Colombiana

Colombiana is an action thriller film starring Zoe Saldana. In this clip it shows a woman (Zoe Saldana) in a prison cell who escapes her cell to kill another inmate and then gets back into her cell so that nobody suspects it was her. One of the first camera technique we see in this clip is a low angle on a prison guard which is done to show that they are supposed to be in charge of the prisoners and are powerful over them. Throughout the clip there is low lighting which creates a scary or tense atmosphere which is enhanced by the non-diegetic music, added at certain points in the clip, which also adds suspense. We see the main character put on a black cat suit which could show colour being used to symbolise death and mystery as in the clip she kills another prisoner and she is sneaking around the jail whilst the guards are unaware of what is going on. The clip has many cuts which make it seem more fast paced and the parallel editing shows what is happening in different locations. It shows that what the woman does affects what happens in the other scenes, e.g. when she turns the cctv camera around, this makes the police officer watching the cctv react and think that something must be wrong. There are also many close ups used, for example there is a close up of a warning sign for a room with electrical equipment and the woman goes in there with a cup of water so you can guess what she is going to do. Then there is a close up of the water slowly dripping into the machine which is done to show how much time the woman has got to carry out her plan and makes it more intense. When the machine short circuits we hear diegetic noise of it shutting down and this lets the audience know that her plan to turn the machine off so that she can crawl through the fan has worked. In the scene where she is climbing through the giant fan/propeller there is parallel editing done where in the other part there is a guard going to turn it back on after her trick with the water made the machine short circuit. This is done because it adds tension as you do not know whether she is going to get through on time. At one point in the clip, the woman jumps off a roof and grabs on to the ledge so that she doesn't fall. This scene is edited in slow motion which makes us focus on the action and makes it look more exciting or dangerous. After this she is hanging off the edge and there is a low angle on a prison guard who is looking for her over the roof. This is done to emphasise how close they are but she is still not seen. As the action in the film increases, the music gets faster and louder which makes it more fast paced and like she is running out of time to get back to her cell before she gets caught. When she is climbing back over the ledge there is close ups on her feet as she is slipping and struggling to get back up the building, however she manages to do it which shows her strength. The close up is done so that we concentrate on her feet so we think she is going to fall but then you feel a sense of relief when she manages to gain control and get back onto the roof. Throughout the clip there is parallel cuts and this is done to show us how the main characters actions are affecting the actions of the other characters in the parallel scenes. For example when she kills another prisoner, there are parallel scenes to show her trying to get back to her cell without being caught and the prison guards running around frantically as they are clueless as to how and who killed the prisoner. Before she kills the other prisoner there is a close up on her gun. This is done to show the audience what is going to happen and so we can’t see anything else, so that we focus on the gun. There is also a point of view shot where she has got back in to her prison cell on time and the guards are going round making sure all other prisoners are still in their cells. We see what the guards see, which is the woman lying down on her bed with her normal clothes back on.