lord of the rings analysis

The first shot is a wide shot. The characters appear small and they look trapped because they are surrounded by a small space. The space in the shot suggests something will soon fill the space.

In the second shot the audience is positioned to look at the shot so they are distanced from the Ring Wraith and are closer to the hobbits. This is a wide, high angle shot. The purpose of this shot is to make the hobbits seem more vulnerable, weaker and smaller. Because of this the Ring Wraith looks larger, superior and dominant.

The next shot is a close up on a slightly low angle. This shot is to focus on his scared facial expression. As he is alone and isolated he is established as the main character and therefore the most important.

This next shot is obscured as we can only see part of his face. He is only taking up a small part of the frame. This emphasises that the hobbits are trapped and have to where to move. He is in focus while his surroundings are out of focus. This indicates he is still the most important. The shot is an extreme close up.

The next three shots are of the Ring Wraith. Each shot is an extreme close up to focus on a specific feature. This not only builds tension but also adds to the hobbits and the audiences fears as we don’t know the Ring wraiths true scale or what he looks like as we have only seen the areas that attention has been drawn too. Black is used a lot for this character connoting evil and darkness. This also establishes him as a villain.

In this shot the Ring Wraith is framed so he looks bigger and fills up the frame. The hobbits take up a small part of the frame. This makes them appear smaller and more vulnerable. This is a mid shot. This scene is also shot in a high angle making the Ring Wraith appear even larger.