Guardians Of The Galaxy by Matthew Neale

In the first shot, we can see in the mise-en-scene as being space. We can tell this as the first shot is an establishing shot and we can see the stars and different planets. This tells me that the genre of the film will definitely have elements of sci-fi in it as science fiction films tend to elements of space. In addition, the first shot also contains a Dutch angle camera movement. This means that the camera is rotating as the shot is being filmed, this adds to the scene as since the camera is rotating, it gave me the feeling that the camera was trying to show us that there is no gravity in space so everything will just float and rotate around. This also adds to the idea of the film being a sci-fi.

To continue, the second shot was also an establishing shot. And what it showed me is that the world in which the star lord is currently landing on has been destroyed. We can tell this from the mise-en-scene as in the background we can see black clouds of smoke rising from the ground. This tends to be cause from large scale fires or either bombings. Also giving me the idea that the world he has gone to is a world that could currently be facing hard times, or even taking place in a war. In addition, this shot also shows us that the planet he is on is not earth, linking in to the genre being sci-fi, but also I can tell because of the huge rocky layout and the lack of civilization. This film and use of the sci-fi genre could also have been used to show us what the future for the human race could hold, which would categorize the film under the sub-genre dystopian.

The third shot introduces the first main character, star lord. We can see him slowly emerging from the mist from a high angle point of view, with low-key lighting. Because he emerges from the mist, the editor may have used a cross fade effect to make the character less visible at first, but allow the scene to look spookier as the star lord finally emerges. In addition the use of low-key lighting may have been used to also support the idea of big smoke filled clouds hovering above him blocking out the sunlight. Adding extra emphasis on the idea that the planet is at war, has suffered from a battle or maybe just in a bad state from natural causes, as low-key lighting tends to be used to represent something or someone as being bad or evil. Furthermore the high angle shot may have been used just to introduce the character and his surrounding, as it was an extreme long shot and a wide shot. But the angle may represent the idea that we are better than him, or above him as we are not alone. Whereas since the star lord was taken away from his family at a young age and now has no-one, he is alone. So the high angle camera gives me personally some information about his past.

In addition, the forth shot is also a long shot that gives us a tiny bit more information. As from the mise-en-scene I can tell that there is a lot of mist behind the star lord and even in front of him. This could be seen symbolic of his current state of mind and his plans for life. It shows me that the star lord has a misty past in which he can’t remember fully, and that he is not clear on where his life will take him in the future. Causing his mind to not care about anything and not be afraid to do something that could get him in trouble.