Under the music you hear the non-diagetic shout of the last moments of Gandalfs struggle with the Balrog. The camera changes direction and starts to move forward and down as if in search for the source of the sound. Gandalf’s shouting is a link between the two camera movements; it is a turning point for the camera to change direction and move forward and something for the camera to follow into the next scene. When the camera moves down you can appreciate how vast the mountains are. As the camera turns there is an edit and the screen dissolves and fades away into the next image. The music still heard over the shouting is parallel to the sound of the dialogue and images.
As the camera turns again there is a POV shot of the rock face. The camera moves very fast and turns towards the mountain. It moves faster and faster swooping down towards the rock face. The camera moves as if Gandalf is falling again through the tunnel. It also gives the viewer a falling sensation as if moving towards and then through the rock.. The circle of the tunnel also represents the circle of the ring. Gandalf’s shouts get louder as the camera takes you through the rocks and into the mines. The music changes and begins to sound more urgent with drums crashing.
When the camera reaches the mine the lighting changes to Low Key, which contrasts with the natural light of the mountain. It creates an eerie sinister feeling; the light comes from the fire on the Balrog’s back, which lights up Gandalf’s face. This is the first introduction to any action in the film. The first shot is a High Angle shot of Gandalf and the Balrog used to create a feeling that Gandalf is vulnerable. It also shows how enormous the Balrog is as he fights the minute wizard who looks like an indeterminate figure on a very narrow bridge. The camera pans in to a close up of Gandalf’s face which is centre frame and is brightly lit from the fire of the Balrog. His body language shows his power. He has a staff and a sword, which he holds high as, he stands rooted and strong to the spot before thrusting his staff into the bridge. In this position he appears almost Christ like or a messianic, prophet- like figure with his
long grey beard and monk-like costume. After the loud diagetic sound of the staff being thrust into the bridge there is a flash of brilliant white light, which lights Gandalf up. The camera pans into the Balrogs face, this is an extreme close up of the monster, it creates a feeling of unease, as we do not know what is happening around it. There is a tilt shot of the bridge going diagonally across the screen; it is lit from underneath shinning on the underside or the bridge. The bridge breaks away falling out of shot and the balrog falls with it. As Gandalf is caught by the Balrog and falls the camera cuts to a close up of Frodo and Merry so we can see the horrified expressions on their faces.
Gandalf falls in to a bottomless tunnel as if in slow motion which gets darker as he falls deeper.
Gandalf’s costumes and beard are a symbol of the religious overtones that run through this fantasy film. The film also about courage and how a small man can win over extreme evil.
In complete contrast to The Lord of the Rings, Just Married is a chick flick/romantic comedy. It was made in 2003 and directed by Robert Simons. The film opens with a blurred image, which is out of focus, which the first credits come up. Unlike The Lord of the Rings where we focus only on the credits we are instantly given an idea of the sort of film we are watching. Whereas in the Lord of the Rings the first shot is scenery in Just Married we are instantly in a busy airport, although in the first shot the movement is slow it soon gathers pace. Just like in the opening of Lord of the Rings where we see the vast and brilliant snow capped mountains, which reflect the enormity of the film, Just Married is more enclosed and is obviously a realistic film from the start, rather than fantasy. Over the opening scene you hear the diagetic sound of the airport announcer and after that the non-diagetic music comes in over a flurry of voices, it is upbeat and jazzy compared to the full orchestral tranquil music of Lord of the Rings.
As with the previous film the first scene in Just Married is a long shot but this time not of snow capped mountains but waiting for the main characters to enter. It is obviously set in modern day America. we are shown this on the arrival board, which reads Venice- Italy. We are given many visual clues to set the scene of the film, and we do not have to use are imaginations as we do in the Lord of the Rings as it is all spelt out for us.
The action is still fairly slow but as the two main characters emerge they speed up, over taking other people. They stand out because they are moving towards the camera as opposed to away from it, like the crowds. Both films start with the camera retreating, in Lord of the Rings we are shown a panoramic view but with Just Married the characters come with the camera enabling us to get a wider view. It is obvious the characters are racing each other and the music sounds breathless, racy and takes their pace. Similar to Lord of the Rings it is parallel to the images and actions. As the couple come in to focus they immediately stand out because they are wearing bright, modern clothes while everyone else around them is in muted colours. They are young attractive Americans and their body language tells us they are not happy, She is looking straight ahead with her head up and mouth turned downwards. As they start running the camera uses a tracking shot to follow them from the side; this gives the viewer the feeling they are in a hurry to get away from each other. As with the beginning of the first film the lighting is high key and natural, coming through windows in the ceiling throwing light on her hair it also makes patterns and shadows on the floor. The light appears normal and realistic, it is daylight and obviously sunny. The credits are still rolling over the action and the camera changes to a retreating shot so we have the characters centre shot making angry glances at each other. The frame pauses as the title ‘Just Married’ comes up in front of them. The letters are in white italic against a natural background. The expression on their faces is any thing but the happiness you would expect from a newly married couple. This is a complete contrast to the dramatic way the title was used in Lord of the Rings as that appeared before any other action and on its own which made the title itself important and stand out. In a contrast to this I found that in Just Married if you were watching the action you could miss the tiltle.
You can hear the diagetic sound of her angry voice under the music. As they go down the escalator a horn is heard in the music, which sounds brassy and aggressive. There is a low angle shot looking up the esculator as she steps on to it. This gives shows us the feeling of her power which is followed by a POV shot on the part of the threatened but smug looking character. This changes to a close up of her face centre screen, the music has vocals brought in which also sound aggressive helped by the ‘bang’ which is repeated. This is similar to the way the music grows more powerful and urgent to raise the tension when the camera enters the mines in Lord of the Rings. In Just Married there is still a lot of natural light from glass walls, windows and roofs. There are a lot of quick camera changes from one character to another and although we can see the airport is still very busy our focus is on the characters who have all the action.
In conclusion although the two films were very different, one being an action/fantasy and the other a chick flick romantic comedy, the way the camera and lighting were used in some shots were very similar. Both directors obviously work in very different ways and have different styles but the techniques used to create their effects were the same. The scales of the films were on such a different level and so contrasting, one was ore inspiring with a sense of fear and danger all the way through whilst the other was comfortingly realistic, although anger was shown it was easy to watch and ordinary.