Our first impression of Shrek that he is an ugly and evil and the villain of the story but later on we find out that he is not as bad as he looks. We get this first impression of Shrek because he acts like a traditional ogre to keep people away from him. When Shrek is scaring the people that come to his swamp we get a camera shot of the inside of his mouth where we see saliva and bits of food stuck in his teeth. This gives the audience the expression that Shrek is going to be a really bad character.
The character of Donkey changes our impression of Shrek because he saves him from Lord Farquhar’. Donkey intimidates Shrek so Shrek roars and tries to scare him away but it does not have a affect on Donkey instead he suggests that Shrek should use tic-tacs because he has bad breath. This shows that Shrek is not capable of hurting anyone.
The uses of camera shots in "Shrek" are exceptional close ups of the characters facial expressions to show that they are in love for example the weed rat scene where Fiona and Shrek were about to kiss but were interrupted by Donkey. Tension is created when Lord Farquhar is introduced. Instead of focusing on his face, the camera shows parts of his upper body and his feet. This suggests that he is an important part of the film. The viewer also sees close ups of him walking with his chest out proudly. Low angle shots are effectively used to show Lord Farquhar looking down on Shrek and Donkey whereas in the tournament scene they show Shrek looking up to Lord Farquhar who is sitting high in his seat. Mid angle shots are used to show both of the characters at the same time and show romance and bonding. For example when Shrek and Donkey are relaxing together, and when Shrek has cooked Princess Fiona a meal. Sometimes, a character's back is shown rather than their face. This suggests isolation from other characters. For example when Princess Fiona leaves Shrek and goes inside the cave. She turned her back and walks away at a fast pace. I think this was to avoid any more questions from Donkey and Shrek.
Shrek house is not the same as a traditional ogre’s house because it looks more like a human’s house. He has a dining table, sofa, bed, living room and a fire to keep warm. This shows that Shrek is not a traditional ogre.
Lighting throughout the film is used to show the mood of the characters. For example when Shrek is feeling sad he is shown in dark or poor lighting, whereas when he is happy he is shown with his friends Donkey and Fiona in sun lit skies. Light is used from great sun sets in the backgrounds down to the small flickering flame and the glow of sunlight in the swamp this shows the pure complexity of the film and the special effects that were used. When Lord Farquhar is introduced the lighting is dark and dull to build up the tension and give us a rough idea of what Lord Farquhar is like.
Music is a very important part of “Shrek” because it sets the different moods and scenes of the characters. Traditional fairy tales use slow rich, mellow, soft classical music in the happy scenes and sinister loud music for the scenes which involve the evil witch or the villain of the story. On the other hand the music in "Shrek" is mainly soft and rock music. The music is always significant to the situation. For example at the beginning of the film when we hear a fairy tale being read through the pages of a book with soft music in the back round. When suddenly we see Shrek's hand rips the page. Then we hear a toilet flush, this suggests that Shrek used the page as toilet roll here we have an immediate mood change and the music is now a lot more cheerful and lively.
The film makers have reversed what is a traditional 'Disney fantasy' into a funny and message giving film. They have revealed that not all
ogres are evil as throughout the film we can see that nobody is intimidated by Shrek even if he is an ogre. We also learn that not all princes are good and caring as in the film we quickly learn that the Lord Farquhar is not a traditional prince but is selfish and evil. The message that the film gives to us is don’t judge people by the way they look or act.
By Madiyah Imtiaz