Editing:
Title sequence- CGI because it is text that has been inserted through the
editing suite. Text explains the historical background to the conflict in the
Roman Period. It is about the Barbarians in Germania trying to resist the
German conquest. It is there because it is useful. It provides background
information to the audience regarding the plot of the film. This is a
convention in historical and documentary films. This is a historical AA film.
Sound: We
hear orchestral music that sounds ancient and foreign with a chorus singing
wordlessly. The mood of this is melancholy and romantic. It is mingled with
what appears to be ambient sound- the gentle laughter of children. The combined
effect of the sounds evokes the protagonist’s home-life, which is far away from
the battlefield.
Mise-en-scene:
There is a man walking through a cornfield, brushing his hand through them,
fondling them. He is romanticizing home as he runs his hand over the golden
corn. He is thinking about his more personal side. In his mind, he wants to be
running his hand through the cornfields, but he can’t as he is on the
battlefield. The music is slow and it matches both the protagonist’s feelings
and the pace at which he is walking through the field
Editing: A
straight cut takes us to reality- the battlefield. It is like waking up from a
dream. There is a close up on the protagonist’s face to show the emotions he is
feeling in this particular scene. There is a deliberate contrast between the
soft, vibrant atmosphere of the cornfield, and the extremely grey, violent,
fearful atmosphere of the battlefield. The cornfield is full of growing life,
whereas the battlefield is full of life being taken away.
Sound: There
is a sound bridge between the cornfield and the battlefield in which the sound
and music from the hopeful, gentle domestic scene, shifts over to the next
scene, which is tense and grey. The protagonist then turns to see a bird fly
away, and smiles when he looks at it. This is contrast to the current setting
as it is depicting life and innocence on the battlefield, but also represents
life being taken away on the battlefield, the loss of hope and also the
transition between scenes
Camerawork:
Establishing shot of the battlefield. We saw a wide shot of a dark, gloomy
solemn forest. This suggests the mood of trepidation, apprehension, fear,
anxiety, foreboding, the unknown; we know the enemy is hiding there so it
creates a sense of tension and fear. Tracking shot of Maximus is important
because it shows him to be a strong, powerful and courageous person. He is
directly in the centre of the shot and the effect of the tracking shot is that
it leads us to believe that the protagonist is very dominant and praised due to
him riding through the crowds with ease
Antagonist:
The antagonists are hairy and ragged, whereas the romans are polished, clean
shaven and sport clean, strong armour. This contrasts the antagonists, who are
portrayed as ruthless barbarians who love nothing more than to chop some heads
off. The clothes they wear are ragged and ripped, symbolising that they are
much less advanced than the protagonists. This lack of perfection in their
ragged and dirty features represents them as villainous as they are completely
contrasting their clean shaven and disciplined counterparts.
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