THE HURT LOCKER TECHNIQUE FLASHCARDS
What does ‘War is a drug’ represent? – the secret that some men love war
What do the shots of civilians through guns show? – How they are treated as suspects and
outsiders in their own country
How do we see how the army treat the Iraqi? – Reed tells someone to leave an Iraqi to die,
showing how he views them as collateral damage for their main goal
What is the impact of having Guy Pierce die at the beginning? – Increases the stakes as it shows
that anyone can die
How does it follow a cyclical structure? - James returns home and then goes back to war
How is masculinity represented? – Being a strong man by leaving your family to pursue your
interests
How is the scoring used? – Lack of traditional scoring as it is brutally naturalistic, and it works in
combination with the non-diegetic sound
How is war presented as a video game? – POV shot of the robot's camera, makes it feel addictive
and desensitises the war environment
How effective is the ending? – It’s effective in resolving the audience’s internal conflict towards
James as it shows how war is where he truly feels himself
How is a theme of rails created? - The rails breaking off the robot, the train track rails where
Eldridge shoots the sniper, James acting ‘off-the-rails’
How is a theme of voyeurism created? - ‘They’re watching me’, ‘they have a camera’
When are close-ups used? - When the soldiers are interacting, the soldiers’ hands moving the
robot, Eldridge’s face when he sees the man with the phone, the stones and rusted gun when the
bomb goes off
What is the impact of the close-ups? – Conveys information
When are aerial shots used? - Thompson walking to the bomb, when Eldridge says the place needs grass
What is the impact of aerial shots? – Convey a sense of scale or information
When are over-the-shoulder shots used? - When Thompson talks about the damage of the bomb,
Sanborn and Thompson towards each other
What is the impact of over-the-shoulder shots? – Shows distance and scale
When are handheld shots used? – Following the soldiers and civilians and manual zoom ins
What is the impact of handheld shots? – Makes it feel like a documentary
When are POV shots used towards civilians? – Of civilians through the gun lens
What is the impact of the POV shot towards the civilians? – Shows how they are suspects despite
them being the citizens of the country
When are POV shots used otherwise? – Thompson’s view as he walks over to the bomb
What is the impact of Thompson’s POV shot? – Creates a sense of immersion and intensity
When are long shots used? – When Thompson approaches the bomb
What is the impact of the long shot? – Highlights the danger and shows how we are taking a ‘safe
position’
When is a shot-reverse-shot used? – When Sanborn and Eldridge are joking around
What is the impact of the shot-reverse-shot? – Creates a sense of separation between them and is
symbolic of juxtaposition of fun and war
When is a pan shot used? – Of the bomb going up
What is the impact of the pan shot? – Shows the scale of the damage
When is a static shot used? – As we see Thompson die
What is the impact of the static shot? – Contrasts all the other hand-held shots and feels very
intense
When are flashes of light used? – The robot camera has constant flashes of light
What is the impact of the flashing lights? – Makes it feel very disorientating and intense
When are cuts used? – Zoom-ins to people running rapidly, Thompson looking around to his POV,
between soldiers + screen of the robot + robot, soldiers to civilians watching them,
Eldridge/Sanborn running + guy with phone + Thompson running, the bomb going off from
different angles
What is the impact of the cuts? – Creates a chaotic and intense feeling, creates a sense of
immersion, highlights the civilian’s importance, feels chaotic and heightens intensity, increases
impact
How is a fade used? – To section of the quote ‘war is a drug’ to set the tone and build the
atmosphere of the film
When is diegetic sound used? – Helicopters, Thompson’s breathing, no non-diegetic sound when
the civilian approaches Sanborn, of the stones falling back down after the bomb
What is the impact of the diegetic sound? – Creates a sense of immersion, creates an intense
feeling, highlights importance, emphasises impact
, When is thumping used? – When we see the quote, as the robot approaches something, when the
run towards man
What is the impact of the thumping? – Emphasises importance, creates a feeling of apprehension,
shows how Thompson’s time is running out
When is a droning sound used? – Starts with quote and gets louder with visuals, when Thompson
walks to the bomb
What is the impact of the droning? – Creates apprehension, emphasises intensity of the situation
When is a cacophony used? – Horns honking, people shouting, someone talking into a speaker,
and sirens
What is the impact of the cacophony? – Creates a feeling of chaos
How is a woodwind score used? – When Eldridge sees guy with phone, and it feels very unpleasant
to hear
How is silence used? – After the bomb goes off which juxtaposes the chaotic noises before
What quote shows their disregard for the civilians life? – ‘If they're going to leave a bomb on the
side of the road for us, we're going to blow up their little road.'
What quote shows their relaxation? – ‘I’m craving a burger, is that strange?'
What quote shows their difference in morals? – Sanborn shouting 'Burn him' vs Eldridge shouting
'Put it down'
What is the symbolism of the robot camera? – Shows an isolated environment and mirrors job of
bomb disposal
How are behaviours used? - Sanborn laughs/jokes with Thompson, civilians chased out by
American soldiers, Thompson laughs when Sanborn says ‘you are now in the kill zone’
What is the symbolism of the behaviours? – Familial and relaxed, state of country, desensitisation
to war
When are colours used? – Colourful cars vs the beige truck sets them apart
What is the symbolism of the butcher? – Mirrors the violent tone of the film
When are aerial shots used in intro to James scene? – James pulling up the bombs
What is the impact of the aerial shot? – Shows the scale of how small he is compared to the bombs
When are close-up shots used? – Taxi drivers face, him and the gun at his head, James’ hands
detonating the bomb
What is the impact of the close-ups? – Shows how he is just a civilian, enhances intensity
When are shot-reverse-shots used? – Sanborn and James talking in his room
What is the impact of the shot-reverse-shots? – Shows the separation between the two
When are pan shots used? – POV of the soldiers looking for something, Sanborn looking at man
and then a cut to him
What is the impact of the pan shots? – Creates a tense feeling as we don’t know what they are
looking for, symbolises his importance
When are cuts used? – Of James in a dark room, the number of soldiers aiming to shoot the driver
What is the impact of the cuts? – Creates an edgy and reckless feeling, shows the intensity of the
situation
How is a montage edit used? – Of the tank, the civilians, cats, cars to create a sense of chaos
When are droning sounds used? – When James holds the gun at the taxi driver’s head, fades out
when he reverses
What is the impact of the droning sound? – Makes the situation feel intense and then diffused
What is the impact of the rock music? – Plays in his room and juxtaposes the silence of the
previous scene
When is colouring used? – Man from the balcony is shown with red background, dark lighting as he
runs down steps
What is the impact of the colouring? – Signals danger, feels intense because we can’t really see
him
How is an over-the-shoulder shot used in bomb in car scene? – Creates a feeling that someone is
watching Eldridge
When is a close-up used? – To show James sweating
What is the impact of the close-up shot? – Shows the intensity of the situation
When is silence used? – When Reed says ‘he’s not going to make it’, as James tries to find the
initiating system
What is the impact of the silence? – Creates a sad atmosphere, makes it feel intense
How is cacophony used? - Air raid sirens, people shouting, someone talking on a speaker creates a
sense of chaos
When is pounding music used? – When the men communicate with the camera man
What is the impact of the pounding music? – Makes us feel like something bad is about to happen
How is expression used? – Sanborn’s expression is angry symbolising how selfish James was being
What does ‘War is a drug’ represent? – the secret that some men love war
What do the shots of civilians through guns show? – How they are treated as suspects and
outsiders in their own country
How do we see how the army treat the Iraqi? – Reed tells someone to leave an Iraqi to die,
showing how he views them as collateral damage for their main goal
What is the impact of having Guy Pierce die at the beginning? – Increases the stakes as it shows
that anyone can die
How does it follow a cyclical structure? - James returns home and then goes back to war
How is masculinity represented? – Being a strong man by leaving your family to pursue your
interests
How is the scoring used? – Lack of traditional scoring as it is brutally naturalistic, and it works in
combination with the non-diegetic sound
How is war presented as a video game? – POV shot of the robot's camera, makes it feel addictive
and desensitises the war environment
How effective is the ending? – It’s effective in resolving the audience’s internal conflict towards
James as it shows how war is where he truly feels himself
How is a theme of rails created? - The rails breaking off the robot, the train track rails where
Eldridge shoots the sniper, James acting ‘off-the-rails’
How is a theme of voyeurism created? - ‘They’re watching me’, ‘they have a camera’
When are close-ups used? - When the soldiers are interacting, the soldiers’ hands moving the
robot, Eldridge’s face when he sees the man with the phone, the stones and rusted gun when the
bomb goes off
What is the impact of the close-ups? – Conveys information
When are aerial shots used? - Thompson walking to the bomb, when Eldridge says the place needs grass
What is the impact of aerial shots? – Convey a sense of scale or information
When are over-the-shoulder shots used? - When Thompson talks about the damage of the bomb,
Sanborn and Thompson towards each other
What is the impact of over-the-shoulder shots? – Shows distance and scale
When are handheld shots used? – Following the soldiers and civilians and manual zoom ins
What is the impact of handheld shots? – Makes it feel like a documentary
When are POV shots used towards civilians? – Of civilians through the gun lens
What is the impact of the POV shot towards the civilians? – Shows how they are suspects despite
them being the citizens of the country
When are POV shots used otherwise? – Thompson’s view as he walks over to the bomb
What is the impact of Thompson’s POV shot? – Creates a sense of immersion and intensity
When are long shots used? – When Thompson approaches the bomb
What is the impact of the long shot? – Highlights the danger and shows how we are taking a ‘safe
position’
When is a shot-reverse-shot used? – When Sanborn and Eldridge are joking around
What is the impact of the shot-reverse-shot? – Creates a sense of separation between them and is
symbolic of juxtaposition of fun and war
When is a pan shot used? – Of the bomb going up
What is the impact of the pan shot? – Shows the scale of the damage
When is a static shot used? – As we see Thompson die
What is the impact of the static shot? – Contrasts all the other hand-held shots and feels very
intense
When are flashes of light used? – The robot camera has constant flashes of light
What is the impact of the flashing lights? – Makes it feel very disorientating and intense
When are cuts used? – Zoom-ins to people running rapidly, Thompson looking around to his POV,
between soldiers + screen of the robot + robot, soldiers to civilians watching them,
Eldridge/Sanborn running + guy with phone + Thompson running, the bomb going off from
different angles
What is the impact of the cuts? – Creates a chaotic and intense feeling, creates a sense of
immersion, highlights the civilian’s importance, feels chaotic and heightens intensity, increases
impact
How is a fade used? – To section of the quote ‘war is a drug’ to set the tone and build the
atmosphere of the film
When is diegetic sound used? – Helicopters, Thompson’s breathing, no non-diegetic sound when
the civilian approaches Sanborn, of the stones falling back down after the bomb
What is the impact of the diegetic sound? – Creates a sense of immersion, creates an intense
feeling, highlights importance, emphasises impact
, When is thumping used? – When we see the quote, as the robot approaches something, when the
run towards man
What is the impact of the thumping? – Emphasises importance, creates a feeling of apprehension,
shows how Thompson’s time is running out
When is a droning sound used? – Starts with quote and gets louder with visuals, when Thompson
walks to the bomb
What is the impact of the droning? – Creates apprehension, emphasises intensity of the situation
When is a cacophony used? – Horns honking, people shouting, someone talking into a speaker,
and sirens
What is the impact of the cacophony? – Creates a feeling of chaos
How is a woodwind score used? – When Eldridge sees guy with phone, and it feels very unpleasant
to hear
How is silence used? – After the bomb goes off which juxtaposes the chaotic noises before
What quote shows their disregard for the civilians life? – ‘If they're going to leave a bomb on the
side of the road for us, we're going to blow up their little road.'
What quote shows their relaxation? – ‘I’m craving a burger, is that strange?'
What quote shows their difference in morals? – Sanborn shouting 'Burn him' vs Eldridge shouting
'Put it down'
What is the symbolism of the robot camera? – Shows an isolated environment and mirrors job of
bomb disposal
How are behaviours used? - Sanborn laughs/jokes with Thompson, civilians chased out by
American soldiers, Thompson laughs when Sanborn says ‘you are now in the kill zone’
What is the symbolism of the behaviours? – Familial and relaxed, state of country, desensitisation
to war
When are colours used? – Colourful cars vs the beige truck sets them apart
What is the symbolism of the butcher? – Mirrors the violent tone of the film
When are aerial shots used in intro to James scene? – James pulling up the bombs
What is the impact of the aerial shot? – Shows the scale of how small he is compared to the bombs
When are close-up shots used? – Taxi drivers face, him and the gun at his head, James’ hands
detonating the bomb
What is the impact of the close-ups? – Shows how he is just a civilian, enhances intensity
When are shot-reverse-shots used? – Sanborn and James talking in his room
What is the impact of the shot-reverse-shots? – Shows the separation between the two
When are pan shots used? – POV of the soldiers looking for something, Sanborn looking at man
and then a cut to him
What is the impact of the pan shots? – Creates a tense feeling as we don’t know what they are
looking for, symbolises his importance
When are cuts used? – Of James in a dark room, the number of soldiers aiming to shoot the driver
What is the impact of the cuts? – Creates an edgy and reckless feeling, shows the intensity of the
situation
How is a montage edit used? – Of the tank, the civilians, cats, cars to create a sense of chaos
When are droning sounds used? – When James holds the gun at the taxi driver’s head, fades out
when he reverses
What is the impact of the droning sound? – Makes the situation feel intense and then diffused
What is the impact of the rock music? – Plays in his room and juxtaposes the silence of the
previous scene
When is colouring used? – Man from the balcony is shown with red background, dark lighting as he
runs down steps
What is the impact of the colouring? – Signals danger, feels intense because we can’t really see
him
How is an over-the-shoulder shot used in bomb in car scene? – Creates a feeling that someone is
watching Eldridge
When is a close-up used? – To show James sweating
What is the impact of the close-up shot? – Shows the intensity of the situation
When is silence used? – When Reed says ‘he’s not going to make it’, as James tries to find the
initiating system
What is the impact of the silence? – Creates a sad atmosphere, makes it feel intense
How is cacophony used? - Air raid sirens, people shouting, someone talking on a speaker creates a
sense of chaos
When is pounding music used? – When the men communicate with the camera man
What is the impact of the pounding music? – Makes us feel like something bad is about to happen
How is expression used? – Sanborn’s expression is angry symbolising how selfish James was being
