The scene above is from Titanic (1997), after Rose and Jack were chased by Cal down into the lower deck, which was flooding, and suddenly the door burst opened with water. The two of them had to escape from the water coming along the hallway.
The mise on scène and camera techniques used in this sequence are significant, in order to bring out the mood and atmosphere of the scene, as well as the characters’ feelings.
The most significant would be the lighting of the scene. The lighting was dark and even noir. The low-key lighting creates high contrast images, which brings a horrific moment to both the characters and audience. Lights were flashing in the scene as well, which constantly shifts audience’s attention by focusing on the coming water and the characters’ facial expression.
In terms of the setting of the scene, the hallway was narrow and low that the water could cover the whole hallway in only a couple of seconds. This creates a sense of oppression and stress towards the characters that they should find a way out as fast as possible.
And lastly, considering the camera framing, the camera often focused and closed-up on the characters’ face, showing their frightened and intense facial expressions. Also, the camera was hand-held to create the sense of urgency. Last but not least, shooting a long shot and from a high angle both demonstrated the quickly rising of the water level.
No comments:
Post a Comment