Sequence Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK10Z9avoYw


This scene starts off with a medium shot of the antagonist (Denzel Washington) at a table with his peers and the next shot cuts to the waitress serving food to their table. An edit that, to me, establishes that they are at a diner just enjoying a calm meal together but with Washington's tone and words, shows that he is above the others and is a leader of some sort to those that sit around him. As he sees someone out the window, the shot cuts to a point of view of the character (Idris Elba) and the shot lingers on him. This is continuity editing to show who exactly Washington is looking at, and with the shot lingering for a bit, it shows that Washington has ties to this person in one way or another. As the shot cuts to a shot of Washington pouring salt from the salt glass onto a plate, it raises questions as to what he's going to do with the glass, and this question is raised by an extreme close-up of the shot, accentuating its importance for a reason that will be explained (visually) towards the end of the scene. As the next shot is of a closeup of Washington's face as he exits the diner to presumably talk to the Elba's character, we see a stern look on his face and his rushed dialogue, which shows that there is an assumption that maybe Idris's character owes him something or has done something wrong to him that he hasn't talked to Washington's character about yet.