Preview

'the Perfect Storm' Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
791 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
'the Perfect Storm' Essay
How does the Director create tension in the storm scene of “The Perfect Storm”?
In the storm scene of “The Perfect Storm”, the director, Wolfgang Petersen, creates a large amount of tension to try to make the film more exciting and realistic. It is important for this film to be quite realistic because it is based on a true story. This is how tension is created in this dramatic, exciting scene using Cinematography and Mise-en-Scene.
One of the many tense moments in this scene is when we see a tilt angle in which the crew are sitting silent in their quarters. The tilt angle emphasizes the fact that the boat is rocking dangerously and makes the audience worry that the boat will capsize. This creates tension because it makes the audience fear for the lives of the crew.
Another tense part of the scene is at the beginning when we see the small boat struggling against the gigantic waves. The long shot shows how massive the waves are compared to the small fishing boat. This makes the audience feel tense because the boat looks so helpless in the dangerous storm. This is one of my favourite scenes because it shows just how much danger the crew is in.
Tension is further built through a close up of one of the crew in the bedroom. He looks very much like he has given up and also very worried, depressed and hoping that that the captain will be able to save them. This creates tension by making the audience fear for the crew, worry about them and creates sympathy towards them.
A mid-shot continues to make us feel anxious when we see the captain and his first mate struggling to steer the boat through the huge waves. This shot shows just how much difficulty they are having and how worried and tense they are. It creates tension because it shows the audience how hard it is to control the boat and shows the emotions the captain and his mate are feeling. These emotions are exhaustion and anxiety.
Another very intense part of the scene is when there is a high angle of the floor in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    As you lie on the bench, at first with eyes wide open you may catch a glimpse of all happening on the bay. In the distance sail boats, with masts raised to assume full sail clutter the bay. It is all a part of a great dance as they position for the day. Their sails catch the wind with determination, arching awkwardly as they try tirelessly to take control. You cannot help but envy them as show with great skill their ability to catch the…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Another piece of stage direction that adds to the point of tension is the sentence describing the…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unbroken Annotations

    • 312 Words
    • 1 Page

    The details of the quote show how frightened and cold and lonely these men were. The author included the sharks to represent the constant and very real threat of death and the problem of survival against these unlikely odds. The description of the ocean as calm relates to the situation like the calm before a storm in the sense that these men’s time on those rafts was likely the lesser of all evils that they had to endure from the day of the crash to the day they were liberated. Overall, the author chose to detail this setting because it gives depth and adds slight drama to the situation rather than just telling the reader that it was cold and there were sharks.…

    • 312 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Analysis of the film Jaws

    • 2872 Words
    • 12 Pages

    The beginning of the film Jaws starts of with the first attack. This scares the viewer from the very start and excites them, wanting to know what happens next and who else will be victims. The first victim, a girl, is attacked at night, so this would mean it would have been dark. This is done for two reasons, one the dark is scary to everyone as no one can see what is coming for them, or what it out there, and that links into the second reason, so we don’t see the shark, leaving a sense of mystery. The camera shot changes from being at eye level with the girl to the point of view of the shark. Being at eye level with the girl makes the person watching feel as if they are in the film itself, and can make the person feel more fear as they also know that there is something fast approaching because the shot keeps changing to the point of view of the shark, looking up at the girl swimming. When the shark attacks the girl it keeps the shot at eye level with the girl making the viewer feel as if it could be them. Then the girl is dragged under the water right in front of the camera, making it feel as if it is close to the viewer but also confirming that the girl defiantly has gone under the water. Then in the next part of the movie where they find the body one the beach, the viewer is the last to see the body. This holds suspense and makes the viewer want to see it more as they see everyone else see the body of the girl and reel back in horror, but also makes them not want to see it, as they can see it will be gruesome. When the report is being filled out for the death there is a close up shot of ‘shark attack’ being typed, this is the first time there is some confirmation that it was a shark that killed the girl, and also it makes the viewer look out for a shark in all the other scenes to come.…

    • 2872 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Part one: the storm

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages

    At the headquarters of the Louisiana National Guard, located in the lower 9th ward, the soldiers were not yet aware that the canal levees were giving way. The Guard’s commander was monitoring the situation from Baton Rouge. He was given misleading information.…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This foreshadows that the ship is going to hit an iceberg and that many people are the ship are going to die. Cameron is a successful…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Explanation: By using phrases in the example, the author creates an atmosphere of eeriness and evil. The imagery causes the reader to feel as if they are actually inside the story and on the boat. They can actually feel the darkness “pressing into them”, just as the author has written. For example, by reading the phrases put in the story, I can suddenly feel a cold chill and imagine the sound of animals and the sea at night. The Caribbean is also well known for its mysteries, and by having the second phrase the author can insert more fear and curiosity into the readers. The reader’s thoughts are then confirmed when one of the characters say that the place has a bad reputation, and that even the sailors are strangely scared of it in example number three.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    jaws

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages

    All that Jaws Throughout the history of modern cinema, we as a people have seen various films that have caused fear, hope, laughter, love, and various other emotions. The movie Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, was a very well-written film, but the insignificant parts made me lose focus on whatAdvanced Search…

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    "The Open Boat" Conflict

    • 628 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The story opens with four men, the captain, the oiler, the correspondent, and the cook, stranded in the ocean in a small boat. Crane's descriptions in these opening scenes show right away the struggles the men face while trying to stay alive while the sea rips them apart. The men are in a desperate situation, but nature continues its ways regardless of what might happen to them. The sun continues to rise and set everyday. The shore is "lonely and indifferent." They are even regarded by a shark: "There was a long, loud swishing astern of the boat, and a gleaming trail of phosphorescence, like a blue flame, was furrowed on the black waters. It might have been made by a monstrous knife." (352 Crane) The men try every thing to get to shore but the waves keep pushing them out. This is however, just normal activity of nature, not any act of aggression against man.…

    • 628 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This represents the excitement which the passengers feel as they start their new lives while the ship is just about to set sail. Repetition is commonly used to build up tension; in this case exciting tension. Repetition is found at bars 4-7 having a repeated motif in the harp, synth and second violins. This use of repetition makes people think about what's being played, as when you hear something being played once it hasn’t got the same effect when it is written more the once; it keeps you thinking. At the same time of this motif, the double bass and viola have a rising line, adding to the feeling of this excitement, creating the sense of joy and…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This is just when the camera is made to shift at a firm yet slow pace to the right and capturing the people as its axis while the ship appearing on the opposite side of the pan to form an optical illusion which then fades as it firms its focus for the viewer to know what he is looking for. These camera illusions in a film of this nature serve to make perfect effects of vision while motivating more concentrated focus on what is captured. It is the infusions of a producer concerned to create effects in the film that have no relationship with events in real life or in the text that was adapted to make a…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jaws Analysis

    • 1340 Words
    • 6 Pages

    All of a sudden the man’s boat is tipped over, as well as Michaels, and the shark comes up slowly and grabs him and pulls him under. There is a close-up shot of Michaels face with the expression of fear and shock. The sound of the man’s screaming is heard and then we see Jaws head coming out of the water to grab the man and his leg fall to the bottom of the pond. Already an hour into the two hour film; this is the first time that the director has given us a view of what Jaws looks like. Such suspense has been placed on what this creature looks like and Spielberg delivers it in this shocking scene by not using the non-diegetic sound that we have so far associated with the shark attacks.…

    • 1340 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The situation the crew faces eventually takes it toll on them. This not only becomes clear through their actions and their thoughts, but also through the descriptive words Crane uses. The crew begins to break out in petty arguments At one point in the story it appears that the crew may be saved. On the shoreline they see a man waving a piece of cloth at them. The crew thinks and hopes that he is signaling them that he will…

    • 1914 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The central metaphor in the story “The Storm” is the outside versus inside. The author is comparing their passion for each other to a storm. On the outside Calixta seemed very calm but on the inside, she wanted to be with Alcee sexually. This would be compared to a storm brewing. Once Calixta and Alcee met sexually, it was like an outpouring of emotions and passion. This to be compared to the thunder and lightning. Then as the storm passes, there is a sense of relief or renewal. The outside is clear and everyone is…

    • 96 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    sinks. It is no lurch of fear. Quite the contrary. It is as if the life-…

    • 1630 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays