Clip 6
This shot runs for less that 6 seconds and is seen from the German snipers point of view. We see the US army arriving on the beaches being shot down by the gun men. The shot is wide on the US soldiers dirtied heavily by German soldiers as the camera passes behind them and the machine guns.
The silhouette make the German Soldiers appear more vicious as their faces are not seen this allows you to feel a greater hatred to them and feel more pity/sorrow for the US Army. The outline of the bullets and the speed that they go through the gun emphasises this feeling. The whole shot has very little colour compared to what we have seen on the beach and is almost black and white. The only colour is from the gunfire, this emphasises the malicious attack on the beach. The high shot shooting down to the soldiers is historically accurate and the angle that we are shown creates an impression of superiority. We see only three German soldiers, none of whom die in this shot but in most of the shots down on the beach a US Soldier dies horrifically. Now we have a greater feeling of disgust at their unfair advantage.
The wide of the beach follows the rule of thirds where the beach meets the water line is the bottom third, the boats fill the middle third and the top is empty sea. This framing is kept throughout the shot but the German soldier silhouettes mask areas as the camera moves.
Photograph 18
The guns are kept to the left or right of frame creating a natural start and end to the move. Tracking passed a soldier and ammunition belt keep the shot interesting and creating a tense atmosphere as the silhouette of machine guns fill the frame. They have refrained from using a steady cam for this shot to let you “feel” the impact from the firing of the guns. It works well as a point of view shot from their bunker it makes it a much more brutal attack.
