After the majority of the film's titles have been shown over a black background, the initial shot has a long duration to portray the idea of peace and tranquility in the situation. Straight away the audience are made aware that the relationship between the man and the boy is very close and paternally loving. This is shown by the composition between the two characters; they're closeness in proximity represents their closeness in relationship. This relationship is also shown by the performances from both characters, as they both seem happy and enjoying each other's company. The slight brown/grey tint on the shot, added post-production, make the footage seem authentic - as if it was taken in the past. This is due to the fact that older cameras possessed a strong brown/grey tint on their recordings. This implies that the scene was in the past rather than present day; which is later confirmed to be later on in the sequence.
The non-diegetic score in this sequence is uses string instruments to portray a sense of innocent and peace. This follows the theme of the visual footage, as all that has been revealed thus far to the audience is the idea that this man and his son have a very lovely relationship. The hyperbolic sounds of a child laughing reinforces this theme.
This theme of music drastically changes with the revelation of the sniper rifle in the fields above. The score transitions from being very string based and high pitch, to very low pitched and dark. This allows the audience to clearly identify the sniper as the antagonist. The sound of the cover being removed from the sniper is hyperbolic. This demonstrates how the theme of murder and assassination disrupts the much more gentle and peaceful idea of a father and son enjoying the ride.
The first appearance of the sniper shows him in a long shot to keep the character mysterious and unknown to the audience. The fact that this character is shown whilst the title is displayed indicates that this character has a lot of significance to the story.
The next shot continues to obscure the character from the audiences view by only showing sections of his face at one time. The use of the straw prop portrays the audience as being juvenile, as connotations of a straws usually link to children. However, when we only see his eye, we see that his expression is rather serious and concentrating. This could imply that there are two sides to this character, that he has a mixed personality, or that he is simply insane.
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The eye-line match between Cage's character looking through the scope and Travolta's character being seen through the scope demonstrates that Travolta is being targeted as a kill. Seeing the previously innocent setting of a man and his son on a ride through the lens of a sniper rifle gives the audience a new, darker perspective on the scenario.
The hyperbolic sounds of the sniper bullet being shot and the impact of the bullet on the man's chest emphasis the consequences of the action the sniper has just taken. After the sound of the gun shot, the ambient sound is most silent; demonstrating the idea of death being absolute.
The shot of the balloons drifting into the air illustrate the idea that the innocence of a young boy playing with his father (represented by the balloons) is lost. An alternative interpretation of this shot could be that the balloons represent the boy and that he is drifting up beyond the living world - implying that the character is dead, which is soon revealed to be.
The absence of the brown/grey filter in the first shot after the '6 years later' title shows how now the sequence is moved to present day. Travolta's character's expression suggests that he has not yet fully recovered over the trauma of losing his son.
The various awards and pictures on the wall tell the story of his life. The one below tells the audience that he is a successful policeman. This new information allows the audience to make assumptions about why the sequence of events in the prologue occurred.
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