The second shot of Frodo shows us all his facial expressions and his physical features – this specific shot is known as a close up. The actor who plays Frodo was cast carefully as he is the main character but the casting director did not go for big Hollywood stars, he went for a relatively unknown actor – Elijah Wood. The film does, however, include big name stars such as Christopher Lee) who is famous for his role in horror movies) and Orlando Bloom. The casting director probably chose Elijah because he was unknown, for example, if the audience were to watch an actor who was famous for playing a villain playing the character of Frodo they would associate him with an evil character. The casting director did not want this to happen so he chose Elijah. The close up of Frodo’s face shows us a bright, round and soft face, which was digitally enhanced to make his face brighter therefore making him look more innocent. He has long, curly brown hair, which make us think of a wild and playful person. His eyes are the most outstanding feature, they are bright and blue – like a window to the soul, and again this gives us an impression of virtuousness and purity. Frodo runs like a child, this shows us enthusiasm.
The long shot of Gandalf driving a wooden, horse-driven cart from the dark shadows of trees to the light in the Shire. The lighting here was used to achieve the impression of Gandalf coming from a dark place to the Shire. Also, the lighting is continuously going down on Gandalf and Frodo, this shows that they are happy and have no worries. When Frodo confronts Gandalf, there comes a moment of tension between them, which is suddenly broken by Gandalf and Frodo’s laughter.
The next shots all show the mis-en-scene of the Shire and really shows the true nature of the Shire. Everything in the Shire is very organic and made from natural resources, there is nothing metal or plastic. It looks very agricultural and laid back, the designers who were responsible for the setting of the Shire wanted it to look as natural as possible and kept digital enhancement to a bare minimum. They used real trees and kept most of the grass uncut, the did, nevertheless, use some ‘fake’ trees, they shot the scenes of the Shire in the South island in New Zealand. The first scene was fully natural, the designers kept everything how it was and this achieved their desired effect. The attention to detail in these shots is magnificent, everything was carefully done, the bridge in which Gandalf’s cart (which is wooden – this contributes to the natural organic feeling) goes over was covered to make it look old and natural. The hobbits in these shots are farming and gardening – this also shows the nature of the hobbits. When analysing the scene carefully I noticed even the cutlery was made from wood- not metal or plastic. Everything looks very unkempt and organic. When Gandalf and Frodo turn a corner we get a first glimpse of the hobbit’s houses, they look very colourful and small and have a very rounded architecture, there is nothing sharp, everything is soft and round. The houses also have smoke rising from their chimneys and wood getting ready to be burnt – more evidence of the Shire being natural. When looking carefully at the landscape surrounding the houses I noticed that the hills seem to be continuous, this shows how much space the hobbits have and may suggest liberty.
The mood of the film changes completely when the subject of Bilbo is introduced, this is evident from the music in the background and the lighting. The music changes suddenly from the soothing Shire theme to a more dramatic tune. The light is (as I said before) continuously shining on Frodo, when they are talking about Bilbo, however, they walk into a shadow and no light is upon them, this adds to the sentiment of worry and curiosity. Frodo is a very perceptive and intelligent person, he suspects gandalf when they are discussing the behaviour of Bilbo – this shows the intelligence of Frodo and his importance throughout the film.
The moment of worry is broken by a very momentous scene in the film, which is referred to twice in the other two films. ‘The Shire Theme’ is back again but in a more high-pitched and a kind of victorious way. The shot here was a master shot and showed the whole of the Shire and children running towards Gandalf’s cart, the setting in which the children were running through looked overgrown and completely natural. The children running towards Gandalf expected him to do something fun and exciting; this comes after Frodo labelled Gandalf as a ‘disturber of the peace’ and as Gandalf drives through the streets, he receives disapproving stares from the hobbits. Gandalf drives through the streets and does nothing much to the disappointment of the children but then lets out fireworks from the back of the cart, the children them scream with delight – this really does show how peaceful the Shire is and is very significant through the film. The fireworks are a mixture of special effects used in the program Adobe Photoshop and a couple of smoke bombs. Frodo likes the fireworks, he likes Gandalf, this shows he does not meet the average hobbits requirement. Before the firework scene, Bilbo is narrating and describes hobbits as people who only like eating, drinking and smoking and people who like peace and tranquillity. Frodo is a non-conformist, he likes fireworks and enjoys a bit of fun – this in itself makes Frodo an exceptional character and outlines his importance in the film.
