First I will look at camera angles. Miller used camera angles to good effect in the film. He used a wide variety of shots and angles in the film for instance:
- Points of view shots
- Wide shot
- Over the shoulder shot
- Close up shots
A point of view shot is a view from a character; for instance when Hale is inspecting Betty we see from the point of the Putnam’s. We can see Hale from the same angle as the Putnam’s do; this shows us that they are interested in what he is doing and that they respect. They would not watch him quietly and very carefully.
A wide shot is a camera angle that not only shows the character but his surroundings. We see this in effect when we first see john proctor working in the fields with his sons, we see him his sons and the blue sky background the sea near them and the lushes grass fields. This gives a good view of the areas were people live near or in. it is a detailed shot.
An over the shoulder shot is very much like a points of view we see what the character is looking at but we also the back of the characters head. So it is a bit more in detail than a point of view shot. One example of this is when John Proctor is talking to Abigail Williams.
Close up shots shows things in very close detail they can show significant items, faces or hands or anything else. We can see peoples faces close up we can see their eyes and see their facial expressions. One example of this is when we see Abby’s face close up when the people are being hung we see how happy she looked and we saw her face light up. Close ups are very important in this film because there are many important factors in it, we need to see how characters deal with the emotions involved and also there are many significant props involved that we should see so miller can show these in detail to emphasise them.
But by also using the camera angles carefully and cleverly he can show moods. For instance at the start John Proctor and Elizabeth are never shown in the same shot we see them singly but never together this is to show that something is up between them. But, throughout the film we see them inn the same shot but not close together to show that they are working things out. And near the very end we see them together for one last time showing they still care about each other and don’t want to say goodbye.
Arthur Miller also used music in the film. By picking certain pieces of music he could play it and it could help to the effect. By playing a slow mournful tune it could add to the effect of a sad scene like one were John Proctor and Elizabeth say goodbye when John decides the noble thing to do is to be hung.
Another example of music to add to effects would be eerie music when the girls are dancing in the woods and making potions and when Parris stumbles in on them the music gets faster as the girls panic and run away. Because this film really couldn’t have special effects put into it they rely on music and camera angles to set moods. They can help show danger, sadness, happy scenes, and eerie scenes.
In the film “The Crucible” Miller also uses lighting to great effect with lighting he can show that the girls are up to no good in the forest as they are shown at night and only evil comes out at night. He also portrays Abby quite often in shadow or in the dark. And people like Elizabeth are seen mostly in the light as she is pure and innocent. He had to be careful when using lighting for instance we first see Abigail in the dark and shadows which creates the image of bad and evil and this image stays in our minds through the whole film. And when we first see John and Elizabeth Proctor they are both in the light and the image of them being good and pure stays with us through out the film. If Miller had not used the lighting when we first see the main characters our perceptions of the characters would be different and we may not feel sorry when Proctor chooses to die, but because we have seen him in light- showing innocent- we feel really sorry for him.
Miller also uses symbolism in the film for instance he shows the innocent dressed in white to show innocence and also some are shown in the moonlight behind their heads like saints. He also symbolises the corruption in the village by showing the village dirty and things broken. And also he symbolises the evil as dark and shadowy.
We can see how miller used all these throughout the film to create feelings and building up characters. I will now show you these in a scene.
The first scene.
The scene opens with the girls running to a clearing in the woods. There they sit and urge Tituba to make love potions for the girls. We see all of them in the dark, they are excited and are chattering. Tituba is reciting an incantation and throwing things into the pot muttering words. Things start to get out of hand and Abby gets over excited and kills a chicken and drinks its blood to make the potion complete. When suddenly Parris bursts in and chaos breaks out and the girls run screaming off into the woods all except Abby and Betty. Betty has frozen and cannot move. They are caught.
This is brief evaluation of the first scene. As we can see the girls are seen in the dark, showing them to be bad. This starts the image to us that they are bad throughout the whole film. The music that is played gives the sense that what they are doing is suspicious and makes us feel cautious. Then when Parris enters the moonlight is on his face showing he is not part of this silliness. When the girls run everything is chaotic showing that they are definitely doing something they shouldn’t be.
It is the detail and the effort put into it by Miller that makes the film that much better and as we can see this pays off. Just from music, lighting, symbolism and camera angles he has made the film just as good as the play. He has managed to capture the hysteria, the feeling of sadness when the innocent are hung and the hate for Abby’s evilness. Like I said at the start keeping the audiences attention while entertaining is one of the main things a director wants to happen and this has been achieved in great effect making it a brilliant film to watch and enjoy.
