The first shot is a long shot/establishing shot of the desert from a slightly high angle. The camera will slowly zoom in slightly to the small dark silhouettes which lie just before the horizon, these are the dead bodies, but the viewer does not know this and is therefore left confused and curious. The burred heat effect, as seen in the second image, will be edited into the desert shot in order to emphasise the heat and its oppressive nature in the shot. Everything will be still and silent as the shot appears on screen but when the camera starts to zoom in slightly the non-diegetic sound of faint breathing will be edited in. It will first start soft, and then the volume will build as the camera zooms in and the viewer becomes more clued in to what the silhouettes might be. The effect of this shot allows the viewer to understand the environment and its conditions and places them in a context. The viewer is also left wondering what is happening and is therefore intrigued to learn more about what is happening. The shot is also slightly discoloured and saturated in order to add and ominous mise-en-scene. The pace of this shot is slow, which helps to build tension as contrast to the next shots.
STILL ONE
STILL TWO (sequence)
The next few shots are very quick and contain fast cuts in between. The first shot is a birds eye view close up of a vulture's wing; this aims to tell the viewer that something may have died but do to the fast pace and partial view of the wing, the viewer is still left confused and intrigued. The vultures wing covers the silhouettes, so all that can be seen is desert sand; this is to keep the mystery of what is going on consistent. The synchronise caw sound that the vulture makes will be added to the non-synchronise breathing track. This builds tension by confusing the viewer's senses, as what they are seeing does not match what they are hearing. The fact that there is no music also helps to emphasise the sounds that the viewer is hearing.
The next cut is an eye level close up of a fly in blood on the desert sand. The pool of blood will slowly be expanding as the fly lands in it. This confirms the viewers previous thought that death has happened, but the viewer is still left clueless as to what has dies and how. This intricate shot reminds the viewer of the conditions of the harsh and barren environment while also belittling death by adding a fly, which usually feeds on dirt and is now feeding on blood, making blood equivalent to dirt. The synchronised sound of the fly buzzing is also now added to the sound track, once again creating more tension and confusion.
The third cut is of the sun's glare, which is harsh on the viewers eyes. This once again emphasis the oppressive heat conditions and the effect they have. In this long angle long shot of the sun the camera pans slowly so that the sun moves from the top of the screen to the bottom. The soundtrack remains the same. These things allow for some of the tension...
