TV Show Analysis- Hawaii Five O (2010 ver.)

For the past year or so, I've been watching a TV Show called "Hawaii Five O" which I'm sure many people would know what it is. This series got me attached from the very first episode.   What got be attached to the series was the pilot episode of Season 1, the very first episode can be described as interesting and epic, with action based drama through out the episode.

The episode starts off with the main character, "Steven McGarrett" a US Navy Seal, in a convoy transporting his arch enemy, a terrorist by the name of Anton Hesse. Anton's brother, Victor kidnaps Steven's father and calls Steven, demanding the release of his brother or his father will be executed. Steven won't let the prisoner go, and his father says the same thing. Suddenly the convoy is attacked by a UH-1H Helicopter fitted with side machine guns and rocket pods. The helicopter blows up the leading Humvee in the convoy forcing the 2 vehicles behind to come to a complete stop. Steven and soldiers supporting him (U.S. Army Military Policemen) dis-embarks from the vehicles, firing on the mercenary. Mercenaries start roping down from the Huey as they blow up another humvee, killing more soldiers. Both side exchange gun-fire but the mercenarys being better trained/experienced kills most of the US Army MPs, leaving Steven and only one MP left alive. However Steven with his Navy Seal skills, takes out all of the Mercenaries. Anton, desperate to escape, grabs a M9 Beretta from a dead US Army MP, and aims it at Steven. Steven shouts for him to drop the weapon, however he is forced to shoot Anton. Anton's body-armor is pierced by Steven's bullet, killing him. After killing Anton, Victor calls Steven. Realizing his brother is dead, he aims his gun at Steven's father, and proceeds to shoot him in the head. That is only the intro of the first episode.

Scenes from the intro:

A mercenary aims his G36C at Steven during the ambush.

A US Army MP takes cover as a mercenary fires on him.

A mercenary shoots a US Army MP as he moves in the way of Steven and the mercenary saving Steven's life.

The UH-1H Helicopter fitted with side machine guns and a rocket pod, uses a rocket to blow up the leading humvee of the 3 vehicle convoy.

Anton gets shot by Steven after grabbing a handgun from a dead US Army MP and aiming it, forcing Steven to shoot him.

HEAT- CAMERA WORK

HEAT- CAMERA WORK

This “Over The Shoulder Shot” follows Detective Hanna as he fires his FN FNC-80 Rifle at one of the bank robbers, (Shiherlis) as he climbs aboard the getaway vehicle. This OTS Shot follows up a gunfight between the bank robbers and the police detectives, they both where exchange gun-fire. Through this OTS the audience can see the environment/surrounding that the Detective is seeing as he fires at the Robber. It gives us a chaotic feeling of what is going on.

This shot is known as a “2 Shot”. There are 2 people in this shot, Sergeant Drucker with his Mossberg 590 Shotgun and Detective Casals with his M16A1 (fitted with a M16A2 Handguard)  aiming at the bank robbers. This shot shows the 2 detectives clearly aiming their weapons at the getaway car, it creates a feeling of excitement and anxiety on what’s going to happen next. This shot follows the 2 detective as they run, following the getaway car and shooting at it.

This shot is the “Shallow Depth Of Field”. It isolates the LAPD Officer who’s aiming his Beretta 92FS Handgun at the bank robbers. He is the centre of attention in this shot. Since he is the only one in this shot, it focuses on his facial expressions and the feeling of not knowing what is going to happen next, is he going to get shot or not. He seems scared and focused at the same time. The shot exemplifies that feeling.

The shot in this snap is the “Big Close-Up”. It shows a close up on one of the bank robbers (Shiherlis) wielding his Colt Model 733. The shot zooms in on the robber as he exits the banks and fires on 2 FBI Detectives advancing on him. He looks calm and steady as he aims, he doesn’t rush or hurries his actions, and he simply does this by instinct. The facial expression on this man’s face is like of a cold blooded killer, he doesn’t express anything on his face has he pulls the trigger. It gives an audience a sense of fear. If you were on the other side of the gun getting aimed at by this man, who has no fear, no emotions on his face, just a blank expression, wouldn’t you be scared?

This shot is known as the “Bird’s Eye View.” In this scene, one of the bank robbers (Michael Cheritto) wields his IMI Gaili ARM as he aims at the hostages trying to get them on the floor. It is used to show some of the aspects of the environment such as the hostages and the Robber. It shows the power between the both of them and who is in-charged.  It gives a wider view of what is happening inside the bank and specifically targets on (Michael Cheritto) and the hostages.

This shot is called “Very Low Angle”. In this snapshot, the leader of the bank robbers (McCauley) gets up onto the stands. Since this is shot at a location where (McCauley) is higher than the horizon of the camera, it signifies that he is in power while the people below are powered by him (powerless). It gives a sense that he is now in control of people’s lives below him.

This shot is the “Long Shot”. This is often used in scenes where the character, in this case Detective Hanna, tries to intercept the 2 surviving bank robbers who are trying to flee the scene. His body language is easily seen and he looks serious and cautious as he moves towards the robbers, rifle in hand. It increases the tension and anxiety in the scenes to come.

This shot is commonly known as the “Point of View” or POV for short. This shot is a POV because it is take from the bank robber’s pov, inside their now shot up getaway car. It shows the audience what’s ahead of the bank robbers as the car skids un-controllably towards the parked cars and the police roadblock ahead. It gives the audience a sense of fear as the scene continues to go POV and inches closer to the parked cars, resulting in a crash. This are one of the scenes that makes the audiences jolt back, it creates a nervous/scared effect for the audience.

1 Minute Short Film Challenge.

THE 1 MINUTE HEIST

We created and finished the whole project in 3 days. One day for filming, the other for editing. I worked on the project with Ryu and Richy. The 2 Rs are really professional and mature to work with and I'll definitely work with them again.

First, we planned the camera angles, the shots, props, story-line during the first day. We then started filming in the 2nd day and finished it by the end of the day. The third day, we left Ryu with the footage he filmed, to edit and finalize it. We did not have any re-takes after the filming day is completed. I took care of the props, richy took care most of the storyline and Ryu did the filming and camera angle.