The film opens on a extreme long shot which shows how vast nature is in contrast to the insignificance of man. The next shot is a long shot of the mans silhouette which can highlight the ambiguity of the character and adds to his mystique.
The next scene features low key lighting to add to the feeling of being unsafe in the wild, a jump cut is used in this scene to condence time and to speed up the progression of the situation. There is a close up on the meat on the campfire then the male character is then sick behind a close rock, this shows the audience the reason of his illness. Two new characters join the shot upon seeing them approach the man behind the rock chooses to stay hidden which highlights the danger of these new characters. They come on the back of a horse which could show their power and control over the other men, also they are all wearing black which could signify they are not to be trusted. When the other men join the scene the men who were already there become uneasy this could show that they were deserters trying to hide their identity.
When the deserters play their song one of the officers appears to have an emotional connection to the song because he sings along to the end, this could show he has an inner turmoil of some sort but the audience would be unsure to what it is from this sequence due to the lack of context, which may become more obvious as the film progresses.
We felt that this scene was emotionally the strongest, the framing shows the two characters standing close to one another. One of the characters is oblivious to what is happening(right), shown by the emotion on his face, in contrast with the other character (left) and the audience, who all can predict what is about to happen. We felt empathy for the characters, but one in particular. The character on the right hand side of the screenshot holds very childlike characteristics, with the other male character acting almost fatherlike. The audience anticipates that something extreme is about to happen, the cuts quicken slightly and flick between the characters that are present. The lack of non-diegetic sound adds to the anticipation. The two characters are then executed, making us, the audience, sympathise.
After the shooting, there is a jump cut used, to the following day. Low key lighting changes to high key, helping the audience to understand that the action is over and the part that we anticipated is finished. The warmness of the camp fire that had previously illuminated the faces of the characters during the last scene is contrasted with this scene, which focuses on the coldness of the weather and the presence of snow. The women in this scene are both blonde, presenting connotations of innocence possibly. The camera swaps between both female characters as they are conversing, at one point, the older female is seen behind 'bars'. Without context of the films narrative it's difficult to understand why, but it adds to the mise-en-scene and could be foreshadowing that this character isn't actually innocent, and may foreshadow that she is not to be trusted, or possibly in confinement of some sort.
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