The Matrix Texual Analysis: Media Language

This scene shows two police officers in a dark, dreary building holding torches. Then they all approach a door which leads them to a room where the camera shot shows a young woman sitting at a desk which various types of technology eg. computers. The police then shout at her "lift your hands behind your head." to which she does that very action. It then shows a vertical panning shot that goes down a building (to reveal they are in a hotel) to then show a group of officers waiting outside in their vehicles. A car then pulls up to the area and out comes three men all dressed in suits. 

There is a close up of what appears to be the head of these three men, as he is the one who then talks to the Lieutenant. The lieutenant and he have a conversation where they are discussing what the police force has done wrong. The agent then walks away with the line "lieutenant, your men are already dead." It then goes back to the previous location where the police and the woman are. It shows a conflict happening with the girl and the men (clearly showing the woman is Superior). It features a bullet time photography of the girls high jump whilst then panning round as it’s frozen. 

It then goes on to show a conversation with trinity and her clear ally. Followed by that is a chase scene with the agents and trinity which features a point of view shot of the men running. As the chase scene continues, Trinity takes a giant leap across the roofs in slow motion, which then is followed by one of the agents. The scene ends with a close up of trinity hiding.

Mise-En Scene 

Trinity in the hotel

The first show of clear separation between these two is the mise-en scene feature of costumes. The agents are wearing clothes much like there expressions, serious, plain and identical whilst being blocked in a formation. This shows that they are a group of people, which helps us to associate them as villains as they are all the same. Trinity however, is wearing a tight leather suite and is an individual, this portrays her as a daring and attractive woman which helps us to see her as the heroine. 

Lighting is also used to create an effect. The darkness of the scene by using low key side lighting creates shadows and darkness in the camera shot. This creates suspense for the audience watching as well as helping us get to know that trinity is an agent that is working behind the light therefore must be wanted for something or causing something that people would see as trouble.

Editing

The cross cutting of the scene where Trinity is being caught by the officers to where the Agents are arriving creates a suspense of what is happening to trinity. It is almost a distraction to what is happening to her to make the next sequence even more thrilling. It also helps add information to the scene so the viewers know what is happening. 

One of the agents

The editing of pace when trinity is jumping over the roof tops creates suspense for the audience as to what will happen. It also shows a more clear shot of what she is jumping over to emphasis the point of how agile she is. The changes of scene with different pace shows the different personalities, such as when the agents are talking it is very slow and calm but when the cross cut comes in to a much fast paced fight between Trinity and the policemen it shows the contrast and reflects their personalities. 

Soundtrack

The sound is used effectively in this sequence, the eerie music starts and creates a build-up of tension throughout certain scenes, and for example the music builds during the chase until there is a point of silence while trinity jumps. This adds the excitement of the scene and add to the way trinity and the audience are feeling.it also shows that she is scared as the climax resembles that and the audience should resemble that too.

The dialogue in the scene can bring information to the scene, for example when the agent says "those instructions where for your safety" this shows us that trinity could be a deadly character whose unafraid to hurt people and use violence. It shows that people know she’s dangerous and have an experience with her.

Camerawork

Trinity's Bullet Time Photography

In the scene where Trinity is fighting off the officers there is a bullet time shot of her high jump and kick whilst then panning round in a frozen time to show you in more depth what it looks like. This is a spectacle of the shot as it is adding to the point that she is a super human which informs the audience of what her character is like. 

There is a focus pull from the phone ringing, which is to suggest to the audience that it is a crucial moment to the film. it then pulls on to Trinity's face who is watching the phone in urgency which again is emphasizing about how important this call is and that she needs to get it soon or straight away. 

In conclusion, the media language elements are used in this sequence to create suspense for the viewers to make the scene more thrilling and exciting, whilst also getting information across to the viewers.