Maze Runner Opening Analysis

Maze Runner

In the opening scenes of Maze Runner, a boy wakes up in a box with no memory of his past, other than that his name is Thomas. When the elevator doors open, he is pulled into a Glade by a group of teenage boys who also have no memories besides their name. All the characters are wearing old, dirty, torn clothes which suggests they have little hygiene and other clothes but also tells the reader they are not afraid to get their hands work with physical exercise and work.

At the start of the first scene, we have a black screen for the first 10-15 seconds where we hear a metal door locking, the buzzing/humming of an elevator and then hear Thomas waking up and panting heavily. We can see the sweat dripping off of his forehead as he lays in the cage. As the cage shoots up the elevator shaft, we can see the lights on the walls. These lights shine into the cage as it has grid walls. The light is visible for a short time until the cage goes past it and is plunged into darkness briefly until the next light is next to the cage. This makes the cage seem mysterious and dangerous as the audience does not know everything that is happening and is being 'left in the dark' about what is happening in between the times when the lights are not shining into the cage.

As the elevator flies upwards we hear Thomas start to breathe heavier and then him nearly being sick. We also hear the sound of a metal elevator throughout the whole time the elevator is moving. The metal clinking from the elevator sounds like the elevator could break at any point. This heightens the drama as the audience can tell there is a danger to Thomas. In the cage with Thomas are bags, rope, and barrels with W C K D on them and a cage covered over. Thomas crawls towards the cage that seems to be making noises. When he pulls back the cover the animal makes a loud noise and frightens Thomas and the audience. This also suggests an increase in danger despite it being a small animal as it can fit in a small box.

Then Thomas stands up and cries for help. He looks really scared, worried and confused just as he did when he woke up. When Thomas stands up we see a long shot from the top of the cage showing the top of the elevator shaft. This causes tension with the audience, as we are about to find out where Thomas is heading and find out why. At this point we still don't know who the person is, why they are in there and who put them in there and at the end of the elevator shaft, these questions may be revealed. This creates suspense for the audience. The time in the elevator includes lots of little cuts, which seems to make it a little scarier as the audience has less time to think about what is happening. It causes mystery among the audience, as they don't see everything that is going on.

When the elevator reaches the top, the lights in the elevator turn red and then green before turning off completely. When the light turns green the audience instantly knows the elevator is ready to be opened from the top. This increases the drama, as the audience is about to have all the questions they have thought of answered. When the lights go off we hear the cage being opened and then sunlight beaming down into the cage. Thomas covers his face to stop the sun blinding him and he looks incredibly scared, worried and confused. Thomas is sat down and leaning backwards as if he is retreating away from the other characters. The camera is all shaky as its handheld. This shows the roughness of the Glade and also foreshadows that Thomas will have a shaky start in getting along with the other members of the Glade. The other characters crowd around the elevator with one standing further forward than all the others. We first see the other characters from a low angle shot from Thomas' perspective, which suggests the other characters are quite dominant over new comers to the Glade.

One of the other main characters in the film, Gally, jumps into the cage with Thomas to pull him out. As Gally jumps into the cage, it goes from a medium shot to an extreme close-up of his face. Gally grabs Thomas by the collar of his ripped top. Gally looks really aggressive and scary as he goes very close to Thomas trying to intimidate him. Gally tugs Thomas' collar out pulls him out of the elevator before throwing him violently onto the floor. When on the floor all the other characters crowd around him very fast. Once again Thomas is on the floor below all the other characters looking very vulnerable and also scared. The camera pans around all the other characters and gets faster as it moves around the characters. Thomas starts to pant heavy again whilst on the floor, and we can hear people talking and laughing as well as the sound of crickets. As the camera moves faster, the noises get louder and louder until Thomas cracks and runs away. As he stands up from the crowd and starts running, someone  shouts, “Ay we got a runna!” This foreshadows that Thomas will become a runner in the maze later on in the film. As he runs away from the group we can hear deep panting from Thomas as he runs away as well as a non-diegetic sound of deep notes like a heartbeat as Thomas runs. We al so get a medium shot of Thomas' legs as he runs away from the other Gladers. The camera doesn't quite focus on purpose to show that his legs are moving incredibly fast. The deep heartbeat notes get quicker and quicker as Thomas runs until he trips over and the non-diegetic sound stops. All the other Gladers cheer and laugh loudly making fun of Thomas. When Thomas stands up the camera pans vertically and in circles around him in the opposite direction to the direction Thomas is spinning. This makes the audience feel lost as well as telling the audience that Thomas feels lost and confused. As the camera pans around Thomas it also zooms out into a long shot and then an extreme long shot show all the huge walls of the maze that surround him. Then we hear non-diegetic sound of big, heavy footsteps that are quite fast and start to get faster as he stands up. He starts to pant heavily as he starts to realize his surroundings. Then the screen goes black for the title to be displayed on the screen in big letters that look like concrete, which represents the walls of the maze.

In The Maze Runner the audience are set up for an action packed film that is very intense and suspenseful. The opening scenes hook the audience into the story line as both the characters and the audience want to know the reason they've been put into the maze and who put them there. The unique mixture of characters and the amazing use of sound and lighting makes the opening scenes of The Maze Runner phenomenal and sets up a truly great film.

Camera Angles

•    Close-up of Thomas' face showing sweat

•    Close-up of hand as he moved the sheet off the box with the pig

•    Long shot as the camera looks up from the cage's point of view and shows the top of the elevator shaft

•    Close-up of the doors opening and then a close-up on Thomas' face

•    Camera is all shaky (hand held) when the doors open

•    Low angle shot from Thomas' perspective as people walk towards the cage

•    As Gally jumps into the cage, it goes from a medium shot to an extreme close-up of his face

•    Pans the crowd surrounding Thomas

•    Tracking shot of Thomas as he runs away, camera follows him from his side

•    Close-up of Thomas' face as he runs, then a close-up of his legs

•    Over the should looks around to show all four of the giant walls

•    Camera rotates around Thomas fast and in the opposite direction that he is spinning. Shows confusion and a sense of being lost

•    Camera zooms out slowly into a long shot showing Thomas and the surrounding walls

Sound

•    Gate unlocking loudly

•    Elevator moving fast

•    Thomas nearly being sick

•    Shouting “HEY” and “HELP ME” as he stands in the cage

•    Heavy panting when at the top of the elevator shaft

•    Loud mechanical noises as roof above cage get opened

•    Laughter as the people see Thomas

•    Cage makes a bang when Gally jumps in to pick up Thomas

•    Gally says to Thomas “Day one greenie, rise and shine”

•    Hear Thomas being thrown into the ground

•    Thomas starts to pant heavy again whilst on the floor, can hear people talking and the sound of crickets

•    Non-diegetic sound of someone holding their breath and then breathing out synchronized with Thomas running

•    When Thomas gets up someone shouts “Ay we got a runna”

•    Deep panting from Thomas as he runs

•    Non-diegetic sound, deep notes like a heartbeat as Thomas runs

•    Big cheers and laughs as Thomas falls over

•    Non-diegetic panting as Thomas stands up

•    Everyone else cheers and claps at Thomas

•    Non-diegetic sound of big, heavy footsteps that are quite fast and getting faster

Editing

•    Lots of little cuts to create intensity

•    Very quick cuts when everyone is gathered around Thomas when he's on the floor. Cuts go from Thomas to people to Thomas to people to Thomas.

Mise En Scene

•    Black screen for 10 seconds

•    Grid of a cage

•    Barrels with W C K D on them and a box in the cage with Thomas

•    Moved the cover over box off, and a pig squealed loudly

•    Rope and lots of it

•    A couple of full bags

•    Lots of shadows in the cage from people on the surface

Setting

•    The fast moving cage with music creates an intense scene and makes the audience expect that Thomas is heading towards danger

Character Positioning

•    Centre of screen

•    Falls over as cage is going so fast

•    Thomas jumped away scared when he heard the animal

•    Sparling across the cage into the corner away from the pig

•    Stands up and starts to punch the roof of the cage

•    Sees the top of the elevator shaft and lays on the floor

•    Sat on the floor as the roof opens

•    Everyone stands around the cage, Gally stand further forward

•    Grabbed by the collar of the top and thrown into the ground by Gally

•    Everyone is crowded round Thomas when he is on the grass

•    Centre of the screen as the camera revolves around Thomas

Costume, Hair and Make-up

•    Thomas' t-shirt is wet around the collar and chest

•    When all the characters are stood around Thomas, all their clothes are dirty, ripped and look old, shows they make do with what they have got.

Facial Expressions and Body Language

•    Thomas nearly being sick

•    Scared when the pig squealed loudly

•    Taking deep breathes

•    Thomas looks really angry

•    Covering eyes from sun with his arm

•    Looks petrified and clueless as gate opens

•    We see Thomas' legs moving really fast as he runs showing that he is really scared

•    Falls over whilst running and looks hurt

•    Looks around to see walls, looks scared, confused, distraught, worried and lost

•    Shoulders slumped but neck stretched as he understands his location where he is

•    Slow movements as he turns around

•    Steps back as he is intimidated by the huge walls

Lighting

•    Very dark – mysterious

•    Lights on wall of elevator walls show every few seconds as cage has gridded walls (complete darkness briefly every other second)

•    Lights in elevator shaft becomes red when at the top and then change to green to show its done/ready

•    Lights go off when the elevator is at the top

•    When the door was opened the sunlight was very bright