[0:00] Our sequence begins with an ECU of the train. this signifies the fact that the characters will be going on a metaphorical journey as well as a physical one. The angle and resulting level of sound is a shocking opening shot for the audience, so we used a quick fade in to reduce this slightly, while still making it an attention-grabbing opening shot. This cuts into Julek on the train. The extended duration together with the close angle gives the audience a chance to study the protagonist, enabling them to empathise with him. Over these shots, we placed the institutional information.
This then flashes back (using a conventional white-out) to Julek in his house, before the incident. His makeup and costume have changed to a more stereotypical child. The editing pace changes to reflect his more innocent character, with a series of invisible continuity (often match-on) edits. Here we put in the title, to represent his ownership of the 'going'; that it is his metaphysical journey.
Then, we are introduced to his mother. She is dressed in an apron and fussing over a stove (see props/costume posts), using the mise-en scene to immediately establish her characterisation using archetypal features.
During the dialogue, we used a conventional series of shot-reverse-shots, while also encompassing a range of OTS and CU shots. from the perspective of the protagonist. (See other post for explanation of why we chose to use Polish.)
Now, the audience is introduced to the antagonist. It is an over-the-shoulder shot with Julek walking past in the background (juxtaposed in the frame by the cigarette), which represents his danger to the child; especially by not showing his face. Here, as the kidnapper's face is shown, the tense music begins.
[0:50] The forest scene begins with a canted angle shot, with the kidnapper following Julek into the frame in a sinister way, mirroring the malevolent way he enters the child's life. After this, there is a series of OTS shots from each of the kidnapper's and the boy's perspective. Alternating usage of high and low angles are used to show power and vulnerability respectively, while the pace of editing increase to create tension. The changes in the soundtrack reflect this, together with the dynamic camera work. The lack of stable tripod shots contrasts the rest of the very controlled, static opening sequence.
For the kidnapping itself, we used a discontinuous editing style to heighten the fragmentation of his world, while the slightly slowed down shots enable the audience to experiance the physicality of the kidnapping in a very graphic way. The sequence ends with a fadeout, creating an anticlimactic tension as to what happened next (narrative enigma).
[1:18] The Waterloo scene begins with a return to a shot of the train, reminding the audience of the tranquil opening two shots. This returning nature is emphasised by the use of the diegetic noise (like station announcements and high ambient noise). The two characters are then reintroduced, emerging through the crowd holding hands, juxtaposing the last way they were shown to the audience.
Our second use of dialogue is a one way exchange from the kidnapper, representing his control and authority in the relationship, represented through the extremely low angle shot, with Julek in the side of the frame.
We then slow down the pace of anxiety and tension with two, drawn out shots of Julek on his own. This again allows the audience to relate with the protagonist and empathise in a more powerful way, particularly with the use of the OTS shot showing the audience exactly what he his seeing.
[1:40] Our sequence ends with the kidnapper returning to his victim, again using a high angle to show his power. The final shot is a MCU of the feet of the two characters leaving the location, leaving many aspects of the narrative ambiguous, creating intrigue to draw the audience truly into the life of Julek.
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