Another example of a close up camera shot is when the other chickens tell her that they will never be able to escape and that her ideas are stupid. Ginger goes outside the coop and this is when there is a close up camera shot of her head. She is very upset and we can see this from her face. The shot shows to the audience that she is vulnerable and by herself. It also shows how she feels.
An example of a mid angle camera shot is when all the chickens are dancing in the coop to the radio that Rocky bought them. Ginger gets knocked into Rocky and they decide to dance. This is the mid angle camera shot and is a more sociable shot of them. It seems to the audience that this shot is friendly and more relaxing.
Another example of a mid angle camera shot is when Ginger and Rocky are talking on the roof of their coop. This is another more sociable camera shot and seems friendlier. There is nothing major going on around them.
An example of a high angle camera shot is when Ginger finds the other section of Rocky’s poster and realises that Rocky cannot fly. Ginger pins it onto the wall and the camera rises, looking down at Ginger and spins at the same time. This shows how small she is and how she feels weak without Rocky flying them out of the farm. It shows that she is upset and vulnerable and still stuck in the farm.
Another example of a high angle camera shot is when Mr Tweedy has finished telling the chickens that they will not escape and he walks way. The camera zooms out and gets higher. It shows more and more of the chicken farm and shows how high the fences are. This makes the chicken look small, fragile, and vulnerable compared to the size of Mr Tweedy and the farm. The high angle camera shot makes it look like a prison and impossible for the chickens to escape.
An example of a low angle camera shot is in the first scene when Ginger is getting chased by Mr Tweedy and his dogs. She is chased up to the doorstep to Mrs Tweedy’s house. Mrs Tweedy opens the door and the camera is at her feet. It looks all the way up her body and stops. It is from Ginger’s perspective. This makes her look very tall and Ginger very vulnerable. It also shows that Mrs Tweedy has more authority than Ginger. This is the first time the audience sees Mrs Tweedy and shows that she is very powerful.
Another example of a low angle camera shot is in the first scene when Mr Tweedy has just caught Ginger and has put her in the coal shed. He is saying to the chickens that no one escapes from Mrs Tweedy’s farm. It is a low angle camera shot looking up at Mr Tweedy. It is the chickens’ perspective as the camera is looking straight up to Mr Tweedy and he is staring straight back to the camera. It shows him to be much bigger and have more authority. The audience sees the chickens to be much smaller and not have any authority.
The makers of the Chicken Run use different costumes for each character to show good and evil.
An example of this is Ginger’s costume. She wears a woolly hat and a scarf. From this you can tell that she is not evil. You cannot imagine an evil character wearing that.
Another example is Mrs Tweedy’s costume. She wears a tight fitting dress that is perfectly worn. There is not a crease or piece of material out of place. It is very tidy. This reflects on the way her farm is run.
Throughout the film evil characters have shadows casting on them. We know from this that they are evil and not to be trusted. It is the opposite for the good characters as they always have light casting on themselves. This is to show that they are good characters and can be trusted. This is how the film makers use lighting to show the audience what kind of characters they are.
An example of when lighting is used to show good is in the first scene when Ginger and her friends are trying to escape from the farm under the wire and it is very dark. Even though it is dark, there are no shadows on Ginger. Her face is lit up. You have not met her in this scene before but you can tell that she is a pleasant and a friendly character.
Another example of when lighting is used to show good and evil in the film is when Ginger is put into the coal shed for trying to escape. Even though there is no light in the shed, Ginger is not in a shadow. Her face is lit up.
An example of when lighting is used to show evil is when Mrs Tweedy opens the door to Ginger and the dogs in the first scene. There is a bright light behind her. This causes a dark shadow on the front of her body. From this you know that she is an evil character even though you have not met her yet.
An example of when sound effects are used to show evil is when Ginger finds the other section of Rocky’s poster. As she puts the piece on the wall, thunder and lighting strike and there is a big bang. It then starts raining heavily. Ginger’s emotions are reflected in the weather which makes it more shocking to the audience.
In the Chicken Run, the film makers show good and evil using settings to show the good and evil of the characters.
An example of this is when there is a meeting in one of the coops and you see how orderly it is in there. Mr and Mrs Tweedy think it is a small dirty coop because they think that the chickens are not organised and are not very clever but for the chickens it is a real home. They have lights, curtains, shelves, clothes, pictures, tables and chairs in the coop. The farmers have no idea of this. These things inside the coop make it a warm and cosy environment.
Another example of how the film makers use the setting to show good and evil is in the first scene when Ginger and the chickens are trying to escape. Mr Tweedy is patrolling the outside fence. The fences are very tall with barbed wire and looks like a prison where Mr Tweedy is the prison guard. It is very much like the concentration camp in the film ‘The Great Escape’. It is very dark and this setting shows that the chickens are imprisoned and helpless.
A further example of when the type of setting is used to show good and evil is when Mrs Tweedy takes Edwina, who is another chicken from ‘coop 17’, to be killed as she has not laid enough eggs. She takes her into a dark room and there are many shadows. This makes it seem evil and not very pleasant when you see the shadow of Mrs Tweedy killing Edwina.
One more example of a setting to show good is at the end when they have a new home after they have escaped. The sky is blue and there is green grass with flowers and trees. It is also very happy and bright. Everyone is happy now they have freedom. They are also happy as they have never seen green grass or flowers before because there was not any at the farm.
Music is used by the film makers to show good and evil throughout the film.
An example of when music is used to show good is in the opening scene when all the chickens are trying to escape. The music is jolly and happy. This is because we are seeing them trying to be free. The music is very much like the ‘Great Escape’ where the people had to escape from a concentration camp like the chicken farm.
An example of when the music is used to show evil is when Ginger is chased up to the door step of the farm house by Mr Tweedy and the dogs. Mrs Tweedy opens the door and the camera looks up to her head slowly from her feet. As the camera gets closer to her head, the music gets louder and more piercing. The music is shocking, sudden and dramatic. This makes the audience think that Mrs Tweedy is a very evil character. It also shocks them when they hear the music. If the audience was not concentrating at that moment, the music is so powerful it would get their attention.
Another example of when music is used to show good is when the chickens are building the plane to fly out on. Everyone is working very hard and the music is happy and motivating.
A further example when music is used to show evil is when Ginger is put into the pie making machine by Mr Tweedy. The music is pounding and shocking. It makes the scene seem more shocking to the audience.
An additional example of when music is used to show good is when the chickens are learning to fly. When the chickens are doing their exercises the music it happy and motivating. This is because the exercises will help them learn to fly out of the chicken farm.
One more example of when music is used to show evil is when Rocky digs his way out under the fence. It is raining and there is sad music playing. It is very slow and upsetting which makes the audience feel upset and saddened for Ginger.
The makers of the Chicken Run use different voices for each character to show good and evil.
An example of when the film makers try and show good is Ginger’s voice. It is a warm and friendly voice. It is very gentle but determined at the same time. You know that she cannot be an evil character with such a warm voice.
An example of when the film makers try and show evil is in Mrs Tweedy’s voice. It is evil and piercing and has no warmth in it. It is very clear, loud and domineering over everyone else’s voice. The chickens are frightened by the sound of her voice and so is Mr Tweedy because it is so fierce.
Another example of when the makers use different voices to show a good character is in the rats’ voices Fetcher and Mac. They have cockney accents and you cannot imagine them being evil. Their voices are fun and jolly.
This essay has looked at the presentational devices used to portray the characters of Ginger and Mrs Tweedy in the Chicken Run. The presentational devices that I have looked at are lighting, camera angles, voices, atmosphere and sound effects and music.
The lighting has been used to make Ginger more obviously good and Mrs Tweedy more obviously bad by making shadows deliberately lay in certain places. Ginger is a good character and never has a shadow casting on her. Mrs Tweedy is a bad character and always has shadows casting on her. This is to show to the audience who are the evil characters. From where the shadows lay, you can work out who are the evil characters and who are not before you have met them.
Camera angles have been used in the Chicken Run to make Ginger more obviously good and Mrs Tweedy more obviously bad.
Most of the camera angles used on Ginger are high angle or mid angle. A high angle shot shows that they are small and vulnerable. You feel sorry for these characters and know that they are not evil. A mid angle camera shot shows the character to be more friendly and sociable.
The most frequent camera angle used on Mrs Tweedy is a low angle. Low angle shots show the character to be big and powerful. In the chicken run Mrs Tweedy is authoritative and has low angle camera shots. The camera is from the other person’s perspective and shows how small they are compared to Mrs Tweedy. This is the opposite of Ginger’s camera shots.
Different voices have been used in the Chicken Run to make Ginger more obviously good and Mrs Tweedy more obviously bad.
Ginger’s voice is very warm and calm. It is soft and you can never imagine her being evil.
Mrs Tweedy’s voice is loud and authoritative. It is sharp and powerful. You cannot imagine her being friendly with that voice.
Music has been used in the Chicken Run to make Ginger more obviously good and Mrs Tweedy more obviously bad.
When you see Ginger, the music that is used is happy and jolly. This is because she is a good character. If none of the other presentational devices were used in portraying Ginger you would know she is not an evil character by the type of music used. If there was evil music used for Ginger you would think she was evil.
Evil music is used to portray Mrs Tweedy. From this you know that she is evil. The music is piercing and wicked. This is the opposite of Ginger.
I have learned that these presentational devices have worked very well in portraying the good and evil in the characters to the audience.
The film is not just about the characters of Ginger and Mrs Tweedy but is also how the film maker uses the presentational devices in this essay to affect the audience.
