In the opening scene of Jurassic Park the music enhances the tension and atmosphere. The music is a build up to the climax; it has a crescendo. So the sound is built up to accelerate the tension. At the beginning it starts of low pitch and sinister, which gives a sense of eeriness, as the action increases and there is more of a panic the sound intensifies and becomes louder, also due to the people shouting, it turns into a pandemonium. Throughout the opening scene there are sounds of rustling jungle foliage, also the boss’ voice is constantly calm and in control. This is effective because it contrasts with what happens next and it adds to the build up of tension. There are also sounds of machinery, such as the crane manoeuvring.
In the opening scene there are multiple times in which sound creates an enormous impact on the audience because it adds to their fear.
The framing of a shot is carefully thought about in order to vary the viewpoint and change what the audience focuses on. The way in which the camera moves also has to be considered.
One of the events in the scene shows a central close-up of a black mans face. The angle chosen works well because it draws the attention to the man. This enhances the anticipation, and adds to the build up. The lighting used is backlighting, this is used because it makes the man’s face stand out, therefore adds to the attention drawn to him. The music/sound/camera angles used in this image are very effective. This specific event arises questions from the audience such as, ‘What is he looking at?’ ‘Why is he looking so anxious?’ When questions are asked by the audience it shows that particular image was effective.
In another part of the opening scene during the climax, the whole frame is different. It is the image when there is confusion. The sounds that can be heard are of brass instruments this makes the audience curious because the sound emphasises the panic and then the pitch increases, as it does more emphasis is produced.
Lighting is used to affect the mood and atmosphere of a scene. Different colours can be used to symbolically show the mood. E.g. danger can be shown through red lighting.
The lighting used in this scene is backlighting, this is used to highlight the shadows in the image.
The camera angle used is point of view, this shows us what the dinosaur is seeing, and this helps us to identify with the character. It also creates tension because at this point it is showing an unknown observer’s view.
The scene raises an ‘Oh my god!’ reaction from the audience and also raises questions such as, ‘What’s happening?’ If the audience have a response to an image it shows they are enticed in what’s happening and they want to know more.
The points I have discussed so far are about the opening scene of the film of Jurassic Park, I will now go on to talk about the original text. The text and film have many similarities.
In the film the atmosphere is very tense and has a fast pace, in the text it is also tense but it takes longer to create the tension. The pace is shown through the sentence structure, short sentences are used to build up tension. In the text there is also an air of mystery.
In both the film and the text the scene is set in Costa Rica. There is slight difference though. In the film the scene is set at night, this is done to create more anticipation because their vision is limited. In the text it is set in the day but it is gloomy with low fog, this also creates tension, as their vision would again be impaired.
Personally, I prefer the film to the text because it is more exciting and I think the text is boring in comparison. Also the film creates a higher level of tension, which emphasises the climax. In the film you can actually watch the events as they happen, but in the text you just hear about them after they have occurred.
Before doing this essay I didn’t realise the complexity of making films, I was completely unaware of it. Now after doing this essay I have begun to understand and appreciate how they are constructed.
