LOTR | The Fellowship Of The Ring - Cinematography Analysis

Lord Of The Rings, collectively, is a story of both the loss and gain of power. The cinematography throughout the film reflects this theme. In this essay, I will analyse the cinematography in one particular scene, with the introduction of the Ring Wraith.

Right from the outset of the scene, we can already determine who will be the dominant hand and who will be left vulnerable. The introductory shot is a long shot, showing the Hobbits confining themselves to a small space in the frame. The surrounding area of the shot is left empty, showing a large environment around our protagonists, and the small space they are seemingly trapped inside of. This is an effective way of representing how they have backed themselves into a corner, even though we are yet to see what they are hiding from. This mass of space around the characters leaves us anticipating the arrival of another entity, allowing the audience to feel this feeling of apprehension that the Hobbits would feel during that situation. 

This long shot moves into a low angle of the Hobbits, without the use of a cut in editing. The camera moves in-sync with the arrival of the Ring Wraith; an almost silhouetted creature on horse back. With the help from the low angle, we see how foreboding this creature actually is. It insinuates the significant amount of power that the Ring Wraith has in comparison to the main characters, who have now resorted to cowering away underneath the root-bark of a large tree. The use of tracking the Ring Wraith as opposed to just cutting to a closer angle allows us to feel as close to the characters as it is, which enhances the tension, which is gradually being developed.

We are then faced with a low angle – close up of Frodo’s face. The low angle, in this context, hints at the fact that he is the ring bearer of the four hobbits, ergo has more power by default. Although he is not more powerful than the Ring Wraith (hence why he is hiding), he is used to being the most powerful out of those around him. This shot is used to represent this sudden shift from power to weakness.

This cuts to a high angle of Frodo, from what we are left to assume is the perspective of the Ring Wraith. This not only conveys this aforementioned switch to vulnerability, but the blocking in the shot shows how confined he is. He is only visible through a small cutting in the root, and is in centre frame, restricting how much space in the frame he takes up. This is significant as it says a lot about the given circumstance, subconsciously, allowing the audience to grasp the panic.

Following this is a sequence of close up cut in shots of the Ring Wraith. These shots are edited in a specific way to emphasise the surrealism that the beast seems to emit. Each individual shot is a close up of a specific part of the Wraith, the first being the hoof of the horse which is coated in a rusted metal, the next being a close up of the horses mouth (which in itself looks unnatural from its colour and composure), and the final being a shot of the Wraith’s foot, once again coated in metal, much like the horse’s hoof. The actions in these shots are slowed down in editing, as a way of building tension as the situation unravels.

The shots are also directed in a certain way, in that we never see the Ring Wraith in its entirety. Much like the aforementioned high angle of Frodo, our vision is restricted, and we are only allowed to see the most overwhelming features. In turn, this makes the Wraith look potentially larger than it actually is.

The next shot is a low angle, once again, on a skewed angle from beneath the root. We are, once again, faced with this sensation of vulnerability as we see our protagonists cowering beneath the tree, the Ring Wraith looming over. The restriction of vision is used as a vantage point once again here, as the Ring Wraith takes up much more of the frame than the Hobbits do. This isn’t necessarily due to the size difference, but is more down to the fact that the size the Hobbits are in the frame is the size that they feel, which is significantly smaller than the Ring Wraith. We are shown that there is no escape, and that some kind of deadly event is inevitable.

The shot after this is practically a reverse shot. We see Frodo from a high angle, with the Ring Wraith’s hand close to his face. This shot is the opposite of its previous and is used to show weakness from Frodo’s part, and power from the Wraith’s part. Frodo is more in focus in this shot, which means that, although he is more vulnerable, he is more important to carry the narrative along.



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