A close up shot is also used, at the start of the duel between Maximus and the other gladiator, in this shot the gladiator opens his helmet. A close up shot is used here to emphasise the gigantic scare on the gladiators face and therefore give him a more intimidating feel. Another noticeable thing is, how nearly all the shots of the fighting are shot as close up shots, apart from a few. This has been done to add greater tension to the fighting as the facial expressions and actions become more visible as the fight progresses, this use of close up shots has the audience more involved.
An additional use of camera angles has been used in a scene, where a low angle shot has been shot from within the pit the lion is in (underground), and is looking up to the coliseum. It is shot from within the pit and is looking up at the coliseum at a high angle. This emphasises the amount of danger involved, and how easily the fighters can fall prey to the lion, how easily accessible they are. There are many close up shots off the lion used as well to provoke fear into the audiences minds. An extreme close up shot is also used of Maximus’s face when the lion is on top of him; this has been done to emphasis his facial expressions and therefore get the audience emotionally involved. There has also been a constant use of aerial shots, and long shots to re-establish the situation.
Long shots have also been used, one interesting use of the long shot was when the lions were released from the pit, and from the long shot the background dominates although the figures are prominent, this is very effective as it shows the lions in the background, the blood thirsty spectators, and the masked gladiator along with Maximus; this has been done to emphasise the complexity and difficulty of the task in hand as the background dominates, it keeps the audience on the edge of there seats. Interestingly most of the shots used in this scene have been close ups and extreme close ups, this shows us that the director intended this scene to be very emotional, and full of feeling along with the action.
The editing of these shots has also been very cleverly thought out. At the very first shot a long take is used, as Maximus gradually walks towards the Gladiator. This has been done to slowly but surely build up the tension by the time he gets near the Gladiator. Interestingly the scene has been edited in a way that a shot from every angle of the coliseum has been shot i.e. a shot from the spectators view, from the lions view, the emperor’s view. This enables the viewer to observe the action from one point to another, and therefore feel a weird sense of power over the situation. Also in the shot were the lions are released it zooms out of a medium shot into a long shot to re-establish the situation, this raises the tempo. It is also interesting to see the way the shots have been put together, the shots construct a steady rhythm (mostly same length) then suddenly an accelerating rhythm arises (loads of small length shots together), from successively shorter shots, this gives the scene a cutting edge tempo, and keeps the audience rattled. The shots have been very cleverly edited.
The use of sound is also a key factor in the effectiveness of this scene; natural sound is used mostly throughout the scene over media sound. This has been done using the spectator’s cheers and jeers; it obviously adds a more realistic effect, and emotional effect, as the audience can relate to the noises of the crowd. Media sound is also used but is rare in this scene, toward the end of the scene, where the emperor emotionally assaults Maximus, really compassionate and sympathetic sound has been used, this has been done to add emotion to the scene through music, it carries meaning, as we suddenly start to associate the passionate music to Maximus as it makes us feel sorry for him, and feel for him and his family.
Special effects (CGI) have been used very obviously in this scene, noticeably the lions, however we cannot tell initially. The lions have been used as CGI because it evidently would be to dangerous, stupidity and you wouldn’t be able to tell the lions what to do. It would mean risking life! This is the main reason for CGI being used. Without the lions the situation would have been far more predictable as it would have only been Maximus up against the other Gladiator, but adding the special effects (lions) offers an extra edge and a risk factor to the scene. So the CGI has been very cleverly used. All these factors have contributed to this scene being very successful, and have made this scene very effective.
So in conclusion the scene is very effective in disorientating and distorting the audience, it does this extremely well through the use of cinematography and special effects.