Analysis of 'Fellowship of the Ring' - Ring Wraith Scene

Cinematography – Analysis of ‘Fellowship of the Ring’ 

In the opening section of this scene, the director uses a wide shot in order to establish the setting and thus confines the Hobbits to such a small section of the frame to which they are trapped until the climax of the scene. The Hobbits are made to look small and vulnerable, and because they only take up a small fraction of the frame, there is a lot of free space to which the director positions the audiences attention and creates suspense while the audience is waiting for something to fill it.

This frame tracks back and swoops down to create a low angle shot and allows the Ring Wraith to enter into the space, which the director previously left unoccupied. By placing the camera close to the ground at the end of the tracking, the director is placing the audience closer to the Hobbits than the Ring Wraith and thus certifies that the audience should be supporting the Hobbits and also empathising with their fear. The Rider, in his jet-black attire, juxtaposes with the Hobbits soft and bright clothes, and is depicted as the bigger, stronger character; the low camera angle looking up at him asserts this description.

Following this, the close up shot of Frodo looking up in anticipation of the Ring Wraith works to confirm Frodo’s position as the protagonist and also establishes the running theme that Frodo (despite his ‘Fellowship’) is truly alone in his quest to destroy the ring as he is the one most affected by the Rings power. This shot changes to an extreme close up of Frodo’s eyes between the roots of the tree and gives the audience the knowledge that Frodo is truly confined with nowhere to go. The director shows Frodo’s eyes as to portray the fear that he is feeling directly to the audience by having Frodo look at the camera.

As the Ring Wraith dismounts his horse, the director uses a selection of cut in shots in order to piece together the audience’s perception of the Nazgûl. By doing this, the tension surrounding the Ring Wraith and builds up a sense of fear that spreads through the Hobbits and the audience as one. The slow motion movement at the moment of the dismount, combined with the whinnying of the horse places the importance on the threat to the Hobbits and works to assure the audiences belief that this creature is unnatural.

After the Nazgûl dismounts, he moves over the place where the Hobbits are hiding and looks over into the ditch where they lay crouched. During this, the camera sits at a low, skewed angle, which further advances the audience’s belief that the Ring Wraith is the more powerful in the scene and the skewed angle portrays the sense that something is not right as it is an unusual style of filming and would not sit right with the spectators of the scene. Also, as the Ring Wraith looks over in search of Frodo and his company, the director has granted the Nazgûl the majority of space in the frame and next to him you can see the sky and overhanging trees whereas the Hobbits are hunched down and squashed into the very bottom of the frame, with this the director has shown that the Ring Wraith truly is overbearing and is in control but at the same time confirming the audience’s beliefs that the Hobbits are in a vulnerable position and have nowhere to go.

Suddenly, the Ring Wraith grabs hold of the tree root just next to Frodo’s head and the camera focuses in on Frodo’s face to show a look of dread.  The high angle of the shot from the Nazgûl’s perspective makes it possible to see that he is almost smothering Frodo; this works well with the rest of the scene so far as the Rider has been working his way closer and closer to Frodo and is nearing the climax. The sharp edges of his gauntlet are juxtaposed with the homely attire of the Hobbits and their soft features.

Resulting from the Ring Wraith touching the root, the camera shows cut in shots of nearby nature. However, the nature that is shown is nature that would qualify as creepy and by doing this the director is further instilling the audience with panic and making them feel tense as the Nazgûl is making creatures such as spiders, one of many peoples biggest fears, panic and frenzy. This advances the audience’s belief that the Ring Wraith is unnatural.

Finally, the scene ends with an extreme close up of Frodo with cut in shots of the Ring as it attempts to control Frodo to make him put it on and be seen by the Nazgûl. The director does this to establish Frodo and the struggle with the power of the Ring as a recurrent theme for the rest of the film. The panic and feeling of tenseness builds up and reaches its climax here until Frodo drops the Ring and the Nazgûl is distracted and leaves to chase a sack thrown by one of Frodo’s company.