Editing

Gladiator

The pace of editing at the beginning of this clip is very slow paced. The clip starts with a close up of Maximus however the camera spends fifteen seconds just on Maximus, despite another character speaking. This is done to emphasise the importance of the protagonist. This is then followed by two shots of gladiators Maximus is working with, they are both close ups. From this we can infer that these two characters, along with the protagonist, play a slightly larger role in the plot and from the use of close ups we can infer that an emotional connection is trying to be made with these characters specifically. A straight cut is then used to move the shot from Maximus to Cassius. The shot of Cassius is a low-angle shot, this shows the audience that he has more power in comparison to the gladiators below.

An eyeline match is then used when the chariot comes out from beyond the gate. First there is a shot of the gladiators looking to the left then there is a shot of where there are looking. From here the pace of the transitions begin to speed up. There are a lot of transitions now that they have started fighting. A dolly shot is also used, the camera moves around the Coliseum from the perspective of multiple audience members from what seems to be the second row. 

Straight cuts are used at a fast pace during the fighting. The transitions are moving from the gladiators to who they are fighting and the shots are mostly close ups. There is also juxtaposition used at one point where a man was just killed then a shot of the emperor smiling and laughing is shown. The shot of the emperor is after the man that was killed, this allows the audience to make the link that he his enjoying the thrill of gladiators killing. The majority of the clip is fast paced straight cuts during the fighting scene to help heighten the feel of the scene, creating more action. As the battle dies down the number and pace of transitions slow down dramatically so that the audience knows the battle is almost over. 

 

Cinematography

The clip I have chosen is the opening scene to the first movie of the Lord of the rings trilogy, The fellowship of the ring. There are a lot of interesting shots, angles and movements used in this clip, some standing out more then others. Firstly when the three elves inspect their rings a wide range shot of all three of them is taken. When it shows the seven dwarves receiving their rings the shot starts with an birds eye view of the rings which then slowly zooms out, as they reach in. Then it shows a close up of a dwarf holding a ring. It then pans to another shot of another dwarf holding the ring in the same way, also in a close up. When all seven dwarves hold up their rings a crane shot is used to move away from that scene. 

Slightly further along the clip there is a shot of Sauron forging the one ring of power. The shot of him is a low-angle shot, this creates a psychological effect that makes him look strong and powerful. Soon after this shot there is a zoom in on the ring of power as the inscription in Black speech appears. The extreme close up on the ring adds emphasis to its power and also tells the viewer that this ring will play an important role in the story. The next few shots are done in a unique way. To begin with there is a map of Middle Earth, which then becomes semi-transparent. The camera moves along the map while there are visible scenes of fighting behind the map. From this we are able to infer that different areas shown on the map have been under attack, over time.

During the battle scene there are very fast paced camera movements, this shows that the current scene is full of action. When Sauron appears a powerful shot is taken. Sauron is currently wearing the one ring of power so a high-angle shot is taken from almost the point of view of Sauron, while he is looking down on the Elf and Human soldiers. Next there is a extreme close up on the ring of power, while Sauron is wearing it, right before he takes down multiple soldiers with ease, from this we can easily infer that the source of his power is the ring. 

Towards the end of the clip Saurons fingers are chopped off by the kings son, using a broken sword. This shot is a low-angle shot from the point of view from the kings son to show that Sauron is more powerful. The camera is partially focused on the ring and the colour of the ring against everything else in this shot makes the ring really stand out. This almost forces the audience to focus on the ring as it clearly tells them that Sauron has lost his source of power.

Sound Task

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The clip I have chosen is from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, in this specific scene a dementor intercepts the train Harry is on. The scene opens with non-diegetic sound in the form of what sounds like violins. The use of the eerie high pitch violins connotes a feeling of fear within the viewer. Later on in the clip Ron places his hand on the trains window, it then starts freezing. The sound effect of the glass freezing is diegetic, this is made clear by the fact Ron looks at the window before the visual effect is within his peripheral vision. Next the train jerks and non-diegetic sound plays to break the silence for a few seconds. It then almost immediately comes to stop and what seems to be diegetic wind blows as the dementor emerges from around the corner. Similarly to the violins it is very eerie and creepy. When the dementor begins to open the train compartment, non-diegetic music starts playing and as the door to the compartment opens further the volume starts to escalate. The sound of the dementors hand on the door of the train compartment may also cause the viewer to feel anxious as the dementor has a bony hand which is similar to how most people view "the grim reaper", so the sound connotes fear based on this.

The fear of the characters in this scene is conveyed to the viewer in several ways, one being sound. When the dementor enters the train compartment Hermione takes a gasp, then her cat hisses at the dementor and then finally Rons rat squeaks at the dementor. As Harry passes out the sound of a train whistle is heard. There is one short whistle which is followed by a long whistle. The one short, one long whistle pattern has a code which means inspect the train. However to most viewers who do not know the code for train whistles their initial thought would be a journey has come to a end, which also leaves them anxious. Finally near the end of the clip a sound bridge is used. While the screen is still black from Harry passing out Hermione calls out his name before he regains consciousnesses.