Exam - Opening

The film ‘Exam’ is about eight candidates trying to be the last candidate standing in the exam room (to get the job), in which they are given a test that is simple, yet confusing. The opening of ‘Exam’ is very effective as it doesn’t give too much away to the audience watching, due to there not being too much dialogue, as the dialogue used is mostly when the examiner is explaining the exam to the candidates. The opening of ‘Exam’ is set in one setting (an exam room), in which there is a real focus on all the characters in the film.

In the opening of ‘Exam’, sound, mise-en-scene, camera and editing are used.

Sound is used to create tension in the opening of ‘Exam’, as the non-diegetic incidental music used creates tension. The incidental music is used throughout most of the opening of ‘Exam’, as there isn’t a lot of dialogue to give too much away to the audience. Moreover, there are many different diegetic sounds used to create realism, such as the sound of footsteps, the closing of a door and the dragging of a chair.

Mise-en-scene is used to create a sense of realism in the opening of ‘Exam’, as the basic setting of an exam room (location), the chairs, tables, papers, gun (the props used in ‘Exam’) and the smart clothing (costumes) used in the opening of ‘Exam’ are all realistic/simple aspects of mise-en-scene.

The different camera shots used in the opening of ‘Exam’, close-up shots (show what the characters are doing, and their facial expressions), medium shots (show more than one person in the shot, for example when they are walking into the exam room) and over the shoulder shots (shows the point of view of the individual) show what the characters are doing in the film.

Editing is used in the opening of ‘Exam’ to help the film flow, as jump cuts (from one scene to another, for example when all the different characters are shown at the beginning of the film) and shot-reverse-shots (from one character to another) are used in the film.