Argo Opening SceneAnalysis

Location and SettingThe opening scene takes place in Iran, where we see an angry mob outside the American embassy. They’re there because America have give the Zha asylum because he is dying from cancer. The people of Iran want him to come back to be tried and hung for his crimes. The setting is very typical of thriller films because they’re outside an embassy which is a political building. Politics more often then not place a part in thrillers and you see it in Argo from the very beginning. At the start of the OTS we see storyboards, this gives us an indication of what is to come in the film, which is people pretending to make a film.

Lighting and Colour There’s not an awful lot to say about the lighting and colour in this opening scene. The main reason being that a lot of it is animated. It is also difficult because the film makers have integrated animation with footage of real events which took place in Iran, so clearly the people that would have been filming this would not have been taking the lighting and colour into serious consideration. Though saying this, the idea of using old footage which is grainy and not particularly well lit is very typical of the thriller genre because it shows that the conflict has been happening for a long time.

Props and CostumesThe props and costumes in this opening scene are incredible typical of the geographical location of the film (Iran). This means a lot of the extras are wearing things such as Burkas and Hijabs. This isn’t necessarily typical of a thriller film but it makes it very easy to understand what the film will entail.One of the only props used in the opening scene is the burning flag. This very much suggests thriller. The fire shows that there’s a vast amount of anger within the country and shows that the people of Iran are ready to go to war with America. One of the other props is the man filming in a tree. This shows that he knows that this event is important and most likely should be documented, this is very similar to what would have actually happened.

Camera and Sounds

There are some very interesting shots within this opening scene. There is an establishing shot which is not typical of thrillers but is needed in this instance. Because it’s based on a true story the audience need to know what's been happening up until the point of the film starts. The film makers also make use of a crane panning shot in the scene to show the crowd outside the embassy. This would have been used to show that it wasn’t just a small crowd outside more of a vast mob. There isn’t any music in this scene which is unusual for any film, instead there’s a voice over of a woman who is explaining what’s happened prior to the riots. There are also a lot of shouts and screams which is very typical of the thriller genre. It gives you an idea of whats going to be happening in the film.