Individual Task : Dirty Harry

The film that I will be analysing for my individual task is Dirty Harry, starring Clint Eastwood ,and being a crime thriller is the same genre as the film we are making.

At the start of the film there is an extreme close up shot of the gun used by the assassin ,with the assassins face blanked out. In the following scene this changes to a point of view shot from behind the gun itself ,showing us what the killer is looking at. This then changes again to a zoomed out shot of the area that the assassin was looking at ,prior to the first two shots. Giving us an overall establishing shot of the surrounding area, but still not giving us a view of the assassin. The scene then repeats the same sequence, however this time he shoots the weapon killing a female character. This firing of the gun is done from a match on action shot, showing the assassin firing the weapon and then the consequences of this action.

The next scene now shows the main character Clint Eastwood entering the scene. This is done through many shots. First there is a shot from the top of the stairs that introduces us to the main character .This appears to show him as a figure of authority, and more important than the other characters in the scene. We can also assess his importance in relation to the scene, as there is a long close up shot of the characters face.

This shot then pans around to shown not only the scenery and other extras ,but then finally to the female character ,that has been killed. A low angle shot is then used showing the main character bent down and the victim. Also from this angle the audience and the main character(Clint Eastwood) presume that the killer made the hit from the building as it is at the centre of the shot and given most attention by the camera also Clint Eastwood as looks up at the building showing it to be of some importance. Throughout this scene the opening titles role and Non-diegetic sound starts.

This then leads into the next scene ,this is a long shot from a street in San Francisco. The scene contains many extras, however in the scene the main character stands out above them all ,appearing the centre of attention. When Eastwood gets closer to the camera we then pan to the right, and then using a low angle and a tilt the camera moves up to see the large building emphasising the size of the building and that this is where character is moving towards.

The next scene is introduced through cross cutting ,showing a shaft (presumably where the assassin made his escape) this then cross cuts again to Clint Eastwood ,who was standing at the top of the shaft staring down .We then pan round to him walking to the ladders. He then stops ,and from his point of view we see the air conditioning unit start to work with sound effects. The camera then tilts to him climbing up the ladders. low angle shot is now used of the character walking across the top of the air-conditioning unit and this then continues tracking the character across a metal walkway. The next scene is introduced though a jump cut, this scene is an establishing shot from the roof of the building , panning around and then tracking Eastwood to show the view from the rooftop and where the assassin was at the start of the opening titles. Eastwood then stops and we see a zoomed in shot , then an over the shoulder shot at this moment.

This then changes to point of view shot ,and eye-line match of what Eastwood was looking at, which is a shot of the swimming pool where the woman was killed. This shot pans across showing the woman been taken away on a stretcher presumably dead or badly injured. This then cross cuts to a close up of Eastwood turning ,and then bending down to see a gun cartridge on the floor seen though a tilt by the camera. An extreme close up is now used of what he has been looking at as well match of action is also used when he picks the cartridge up.

A low angle is then used to give the best shot when Eastwood puts the envelope containing the cartridge in his pocket ,but also when the camera pans to the note left by the killer . We now see a close up shot of the note and Eastwood to give us the best view of what he has been looking at. Also at the start of the shot cross cutting is shown for transition from the last shot to this one making the shot seem smooth and seamless.