Filmic Techniques in Raiders of the Lost Ark
             Indiana Jones :The Raiders of the Lost Ark is a Steven Spielberg film released in 1981. It is the tale of an Archeologist hired by the U.S. Government to find the Ark of the Covenant. In the paper I will dissect a sequence shot by shot, identifying different filimic techniques used throughout.
             The first shot opens with a shot of the golden sun. The characters enter the screen from the off screen space to the left of the camera. The first shot of the characters is a medium long-shot, showing them from their knees up. The camera then zooms into a medium-close up of Indy (Harrison Ford), which lights up his face. Shot two is a long shot of the Golden Idol, the camera zooms in a short distance. Shot three is a medium close-up of Indy. This shot uses three-point lighting.
             The fourth shot is a tail-on shot, showing the characters backs and a long shot of the Golden Idol in the background. There is a match on action technique used in the transition between the fourth and fifth shots. As the forth shot ends the characters begin to move this action is completed in the next shot. The fifth shot is a medium close-up of Indy, that pans right to include the other character.
             In the sixth shot, the characters are kneeling close to the ground, therefore the camera is position on the ground in order to capture their actions. The Golden Idol is in the background out of focus. In shot seven the camera is above the actors, making this a high angle shot. Shot eight is a low angle close-up. The eye-line match technique s used here to establish that the character is looking at the floor shown in the previous shot. Shot nine goes back to same high angle shot used in shot seven, with Indy pressing on the floor panel.
             Shot ten is a match on action with shot eleven. The statue shoots the arrow in shot ten, and the arrow is seen hitting its target in shot eleven. Shot eleven is al...