Positioning

Jim Phelps is sitting facing the front of the airplane. This builds tension, anticipating what will happen next.

Lighting

the light is predominantly on Jim’s face giving the audience a clear visual of who is the most important character in the scene, drawing the attention of the audience straight to him.

Acting

The facial expressions suggest boredom and indicates tiredness. This suggests that he is on a long journey and the studying of the paper in front of him suggests the flight is an important one, leaving the audience asking questions.

Costume

the suit/business wear suggests again that the flight is of importance and also suggests to the audience that the man is an important character.

Hair/makeup

the combing back of the hair suggests the business he is attending to is important so he needs to look presentable.

Expression

From the picture we get the impression that he is bored this is signified through the lighting of the cigarette showing he is trying to keep himself occupied after watching the video player. The cigarette also is a way of hiding the smoke from the video player that is self-destructing. Suggesting he is trying to hide something from the audience.

Setting

The opening scene is set in the first class section of a commercial plane. This suggests that Jim is an important person and that he is on business. With the scene being set on a plane suggests there will be a climax after the plane has landed.

Props

some of the props included are a cassette player and a video player for the cassette player. These props are important in this scene as the video player explains a key part of the plot and begins to unfold the mystery of the story, as well as unlocking many questions for the audience.