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.
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