Lord Of The Rings

Lord Of The Rings – Fellowship Of The Ring 

Opening Scene Analysis

The opening of the 7-minute scene begins with a black screen. In the background we hear a non-diegetic narration of the story of the creation of the rings, this narration is continuous throughout the scene, and helps us develop understanding of the effects of the ring. This scene is vital to all 3 of the films as it teaches audience about the consequences and drama associated with the rings, and also it introduces us to some of the vital characters of who play the most important roles in the films. Not only do we hear non-diegetic narration we also hear non-diegetic music, which changes pace tone and volume throughout the scene, depending on what type of action is happening, this informs audience of the severity of the issues in the scene, and also evokes emotion.

The first thing we see on screen is the title of the film, which is faded in whilst non diegetic narration begins the story. ‘ Lord Of The Rings’ then fades out and we fade into our first shot of fire, this scene shows us how the rings are made, we see flames, which immediately contrasts the use of black at the beginning of the scene, and the old equipment that is used is a visual signifier that it is a different, older time period. Peter Jackson uses the fire at the beginning of the film to connect the idea of flames and danger with the ring, throughout the film, we associate the power of the ring with fire, if not literal fire, we see the ring glowing like a flame, and the colour of the ring, red, yellow and orange we associate with fire, these colours connote danger, therefore at  the very beginning of the film we already sense danger, the opening shots foreshadow the events that occur throughout the film.

After we have seen how the rings are created, the shot cuts to a P.O.V of the 3 rings on the elves hands, this is the first use of graphic match associated with the rings, the elves hands are centre shot, and they are all placed opposite each other like a circle, this implies a unity, the elves work as one. The lighting in this scene portrays to the audience, information about the elves characters, the bright lighting used on the hands implies they are good characters, however the dim lighting used behind the hands, connotes that beyond the elves there is danger, and darkness. We next cut to a medium close up of one of the female elves she is wearing all white, has a pale face, and long white hair, this connotes purity, and presents her as angelic, Jackson uses a key light on her face to make her features more defined, so shes more feminine. The other 2 elves are blurred out in the Background, this suggests they have less importance in the plot of the film. The next shot cuts to a spinning Medium close up of the seven rings for the dwarf lords, this again is graphic match as the rings are presented on a table in a circle, also the spinning high shot of the camera emphasises the circle, this implies that the whole story is centred around the ring. This shot contrasts with the previous shot of the elves, this scene is much darker, which suggests the dwarf lords play a much darker role in the film, they wear armour, and dark clothing, which again implies a more sinister role they play, it connotes that they need to wear armour as they are at war.

A close up of one dwarf pans, we then see another, this is to show the emotion on their faces as they see the rings, to show audience, how the rings effect the characters emotionally. Next we see a shot of the dwarf lords, standing in a circle holding up the rings, another graphic match to the ring, the dwarfs holding up the rings presents the idea that the rings are of a greater power than anyone in middle earth. This then cuts to 9 men, who take up the whole of the frame, this suggests their domineering nature, or importance. The lighting on the men is brightest at the front, however it slowly fades out into blackness, this has 2 meanings, its suggests that the brightest character is important, however, it also suggests the effect of the ring, the mise-en-scene also suggests these effects due to the fact that the men are wearing, black clothing to imply evil and darkness, however they are in bright light, this may mean that the ring is seen on the surface as bright and good, however underneath the brightness we see its dark and evil nature. At this point, the non diegetic music becomes more sinister, and the shot fades slowly out until we only see one of the men’s face, this suggests to an audience that he is an important character, but also that he may be the darkest character of all.

The scene then cuts back into a panning shot of a map of middle earth, here the music becomes more foreboding to present the idea that something evil lies ahead, the map is faded out, and the cut is repeated, however this time we see a shot of mordor, and then quickly its cuts to mount doom, this is a visual signifier that there is a connection between the two places.

The next shot is an establishing shot of mount doom, the setting id dismal and dark, and we can only see the vast landscape, the only colour in this shot is the red lava, which connotes danger, and blood, the music instantly changes when we see this setting, its a lot darker, and bolder, whereas before it was softer, this creates a sense of tension to the scene because we know there is danger, however we are unaware as to what that danger is. The next thing we see is an extreme close up of Sauron, we see him wearing metal clothing, and his head is spiked like a crown, this use of mise-en-secene makes us associate Sauron with war and fighting, and because he is alone in most of the shots, we see he is potentially the most important character in the story of the ring. The camera tracks forward until he is engulfed in flames, this is the first use of diegetic sound as we here the crackling and burning of the fire as it emerges on screen. Next the camera cuts to a shot of Souron to the left of the frame, this is used purposely so we can see he is surrounded by flames, this framing is used he is immediately connected to evil and danger, the fire then wipes across the screen, and we see a close up of the ring falling, centre frame, with fire around it, again linking the ring with flames. We dietetically hear the sound of the whisper from the ring as its falling, and then fire wipes across the screen again to a frame tracking forward, in the frame is a shot of saurons hand with the final ring on it.

The shot then cuts to the map of Middle Earth again, however this time it becomes a more sinister way of informing the audience, the use of colour spreading across the map is a visual signifier that that land is being destroyed by the power of sauron, dissolved shots of screaming, crying people are added over the map, this is to evoke emotion out of the audience, its also used to connote the desperation of the scared people in the places being overruled by the power of the ring.

In the same shot, we hear diegetic screaming, also the lighting ad very morbid, this implies impending doom, fear, and even death. The screen fades out to black and then fades back in to a wide shot of an army marching, the diegetic sound we hear mirrors the pace of a heartbeat to imply that the army are very dominant, also by always using the same sound for the army, we subconsciously link the two things together for the rest of the film when we hear a similar sound. This also makes the army seem like a union, like they are a heart that works together. The Big gap in the centre frame implies the massive difference between the two rivals, and highlights contrasts not only in costume, but in nature. The setting is dark and morbid, however there are cracks of light in the cloud which could be seen as a beam of hope, even through the darkness for the soldiers going to war. The next shot is an establishing shot of mount doom, this is used in-between the battle scene cuts to show the audience where the soldiers are intending to go.