Compare and contrast the media techniques used to present the "D-Day Landings in the Longest Day" and "Saving Private Ryan".

Camera techniques are imperative to each film. By using different techniques, the director can create various moods, or change our perception on the whole film. We would expect the techniques in Saving Private Ryan to be more sophisticated, as it is quite a modern film. The Longest Day is filmed and edited in a way, which uses the panning shot so it is edited quite slowly. The camera is placed to show as much action as possible. Zanuck has used the panning and aerial shots to illustrate a large-scale action, without much personal involvement. It is more respectful as it leaves out much dwelling on physical violence of war where in contrast, Spielberg exposes war as it is in the sense that there is a high level of violence and death. In the Longest Day, when the soldiers are running across the beach, the camera moves along with them. The camera also flicks close up to the allies. The Americans are portrayed as being faultless while the Germans are revealed as being very anxious and alarmed. Zanuck included much of the German perspective but in a very negative light. The shots were taken from two individual cameras changing scene to and fro throughout the conversation, showing the anxiety of the Germans. The most impressive technical aspects of Saving Private Ryan include the hand-held camera. The use of the hand-held camera and varying film speeds creates a strobe-like, surreal effect in the battle scenes. Blood splashes onto the camera, giving the scenes a documentary feel. The use of the hand-held camera is to take you right into the action. The camera is poised behind the Captain on the boat so we get a comprehensible indication of what it felt like for them. It shows us a few men vomiting; kissing pictures of the beloved ones and general panic. The Captain seems in a sense of shock and does not know what to do. Spielberg has used the latest technology to his advantage. Using specially designed camera, Spielberg has managed to create a tracking effect, which puts the audience on the beach with the allies. The opening sequence of events not only lays a foundation for the moral "no-mans land", in which Miller and his men find themselves in later, but also allows the audience to experience their constant fear of being hit by a sniper or bring killed be a land mine. The effect of the deep focus allows you to concentrate on the individual and sense that there is war going on in the vicinity. Both SPR and the Longest Day use deep focus, especially in the opening scenes. The opening scene between Captain John Miller and his crew on the boat consist of many violent explosions taking part in the background. In the Longest Day, there is much less focus on a group of men but a general account of what war was like. The initial setting includes a large sweep of action, sporadically going close up to the allies. The Longest Day concentrates on a particular subject. The Captain commanding the troops in the centre, conveys to the audience the patriotic and military atmosphere. Saving Private Ryan does not really have a central focus apart from a few scenes, where we see the whole battle from the Captain's point of view. This composition of shot, is known as mise-en-scene.

Spielberg does not make the storyline more confusing by including several perspectives but he has made the film harder to follow by the pace of it. The fast paced editing corresponds to what actually goes on in war. The drawback is that we don't always know what is happening. At the beginning of the film, there is a noteworthy editing sequence from the graveyard to the barricaded chaos. This is a very hasty sequence showing how quickly war was fought and how events can just suddenly change in the course of a minute. Zanuck's film does not portray the Germans as having control; it is just the allies who command every situation. However in Saving Private Ryan, there is no fixed perspective illustrating control. Spielberg is exposing wear as it really was. In a war, you cannot expect one country to completely dominate every single element; war includes many highs and lows which is exactly what SPR depicts. Straight after the fast editing sequence of the first shots, Spielberg edits to the Germans, mowing down the allies, which portrays the Germans total dominance. The fast editing sequences emphasises the speed of deaths. The Captain is shown with his men on the boat waiting nervously, and then suddenly most of them get gunned down. The fast action of warfare then slows down underwater. Spielberg varies the lengths of the shots in the sequence so we get a different kind of image. The Longest Day is much slower and the editing is quite measured. It alternates between a sweep of large-scale action and individual episodes. As the editing is quite slow, it allows us to follow the narrative quite easily, which adds to the epic feel of the film.

In Saving Private Ryan the images are sharper and the lighting is much more sombre. Blue and red dominate the film, especially the red as it stands out to emphasise the blood. The lighting in the Longest Day is in black and white but the battle scene was quite bright showing no real signs of fear. Zanuck has used black and white to create a bright picture, which emphasises the positive mood of the film. On the other hand, Spielberg has used colour but makes it look dull at times which indicates an atmosphere of panic and great despondency.

The dialogue in the Longest Day tends to be conversational English. There are elements of humour, which make the dialogue easy to follow. When the Germans get the news that the Americans are attacking, there is a clear sense of panic as shown in their voices which displays their concern. The dialogue in Saving Private Ryan is much more rapid and incomprehensible which gives an impression of the soldiers in the heat of battle.

Both of the films have used sound very carefully. In SPR, the sounds are terrifying, right as the movie starts we hear the soldiers praying to God to save their life. The soldiers are terrified, as they know they are going to die. As soon as they get off the boat machine gun fire hits them, and kills a good portion of them. We see the bullets penetrating the body, which makes the film very intense as we fell for the soldiers. Spielberg has use diegetic sound very carefully. The dialogue is at times hard to follow due to the background sounds especially when there is focus on the Captain. When it goes underwater, there is complete silence, but it shows a chaotic and turbulent scene. The silence in Saving Private Ryan conveys what people are thinking, imagining what it would be like for them. When the camera moves underwater, it goes silent as then the audience can engage completely. In the Longest Day, there is use of non-diegetic sound. The music is the standard march which reinforces the braveness of the soldiers, and the song is very patriotic. So many locations were probably used in the making of the Longest Day but it is clear in some cases where there are the uses of back projection.

I believe that these two films are highly successful. The purpose of The Longest Day is not to invoke a strong emotional response from the viewer. The intention of this film is to inform its audience of one of the most significant events of World War II from an impartial view. Zanuck's film succeeds in its ability to portray four different points of view. The film seems to make war seem more fragile as if it's giving respect to the soldiers. Saving Private Ryan, also gives respect to those who died and fought, but in a different way, showing what they lived through, and what they experienced. The objective of Saving Private Ryan is to show what the situation during D-Day was really like, and to actually move people with emotions and a fascinating storyline. Both Zanuck and Spielberg have produced fantastic films using various effects and techniques.