Scene summaries: Pirates of the Caribbean The curse of the Black Pearl:
In the opening of the movie there are no credits, which is quite unusual for a movie as there is no production company logo at the start either. The movie actually starts with the title of the film, which suggests it will be an action film. In the opening shot of the first scene it is an establishing shot of what looks as though it is a ship faded into the background by fog. However the fog begins to fade and the ship itself moves closer towards the camera as though it is sailing. This might well be the Black Pearl of the title. Also it suggests the characters on the ship may well be pirates by associating the title of the film with it. The establishing shot is a well composed shot, which puts the ship right in the middle of the screen which uses the rule of thirds. The shot then moves into a close up of the front of the ship showing us in detail of the carvings of the outside of the ship and the sails and ropes. The lighting and the use of mise-en-scene creates a dark mysterious mood in this opening scene. The use of the dark colours of the ship and the fog creates a frame of mind which suggests to us something serious is going to happen. However then it uses an establishing shot of a young girl standing on the deck of the ship looking out in awe and curiosity.
The camera then cuts to a close up of the young girl. We then see a very innocent and pure girl with a very pale face and long curly brown hair. The use of Mise-en-scene and costume makes us interpret her character as upper class elegant and proper as we see her in a visual way as she is wearing a very graceful well-designed and formal dress that looks to be very expensive. She makes the atmosphere at the beginning of the film a lot more calm and relaxing, as she is calming and softly singing to herself which reinforces the impression that she is innocent and sweet. However then we go to a P.O.V shot of someone walking very slowly behind the young girl we see their arm grab onto her shoulder as she turns around the shot to then goes to another close up of her face, which looks as is she is worried and shocked.
It then moves to an over the shoulder shot from behind her which shows an older man who by the use of Mise-en-scene looks quite scruffy and unclean. He hasn’t shaven and has quite a rough and chilling face. This straight away suggests the young girl is out of place on a ship, that is most probably normal only occupied by men but this is also reinforced by the way the first man we see looks. The use of costume gives us the impression he is of lower status and class as he is wearing a wrinkled shirt with the collar creased and dirty also because he is wearing a informal hat that looks very old and out worn. He moves away from the girl as he is told to do so by another gentlemen. The next shot shows another shot of him where he begins to pull out a flask which suggests he is drinking therefore quite lower class. This shot was a close up to show his emotions at that point as he seems quite worried and angry.
We then cut to a mid shot of two new characters. This is an establishing shot to show where they are which is on the deck of a ship but also their own emotions. By looking at this shot we can see the use of Mise-en-scene using costume we can establish the two characters as most definitely upper class gentlemen of fortune. Both characters are wearing similar costumes both wearing a sort of olden days suit where the neck had no collar and the sleeves are wide and reach to the elbow where they turn back to form the cuff. Both men also were wear hats but this time hats that look quite stylish and expensive. However what helps to differentiate the characters is that even though their outfits are similar they are both in completely different colours, one in blue and one in red. Both men look well dressed and smart; neither look as though they are pirates. Behind the gentlemen are other men who seem to be wearing the same clothes. The other men moving around the ship look as though they are doing work. One man for example is sweeping the deck of the ship.
This is a good use of mise-en-scene as if we feel we are in a real location we are more likely to engage with the characters more and go along with their stories. It then goes to a shot of the younger man walking slowly towards the edge of the deck of the ship. The shot then shows the side of his face as he looks upon the seawater. This is a shot that uses the rule of thirds as he is on the edge of the screen to add interest. We then go to a shot that shows both the smartly dressed man in blue and the young girl. This time we cut to a shot which is behind him as he is still looking out onto the ocean whereas the young girl is facing him, watching him as he speaks. This man appears to have a lot of power by the way his posture and movement is also by the way the young girl has to raise her head to look at him suggest he has a lot of authority.
Then the gentleman leaves the shot and so we cut to a shot of the eldest of both upper class men with the young girl as the other man has walked away. This is a two shot to give us the impression that both of these characters in particular are close. This is true as previously before that shot he says she is his daughter. However the shot shows in more depth the characters’ emotions but also relationship as they are quite close to each other yet still a far away. This could suggest even though they are father and daughter their relationship is not the best of relationships as it seems quite forced. The lighting at this point is still quite dark there is still clearly fog and mist surrounding the ship yet the atmosphere is not a mysterious and chilling as it is first thought from the opening scene.
The shot then cuts to just the girl looking over at the sea once more as her father has walked away. Quickly it then moves to a P.O.V shot of the young girl. This time it is more interesting as the girl can faintly see something appearing through the fog and mist. The shot is showing us what she can actually see. It becomes clear that it is what seems to be an opened umbrella floating in the sea drifting. This suggests confusing and mysteriousness. This is unusual and weird therefore suggests to use something is about to happen in the next scene.
Although very little happens in the first 2 minutes of the scene. We as an audience get the impression that something bad will happen this is based on use of mise-en-scene as the setting shows fog and mist, which is quite dark, but also the way the characters are acting. As they all seem to be quite on edge and the silence in the background of the scene is quite strange. All of these things contribute to create a slightly creepy and dark atmosphere that something wrong and out of the ordinary is going to happen. Because of all of these factors it would intrigue me into watching more of the movie.
Screen Shots
This mid shot of the character establishes the location of the character which is on the deck of the ship but also the actual character and their emotions which is a young girl. Also it uses the rule of thirds.
This P.O.V shot shows the young girl from behind. It makes the scene quite scary, as we do not know whom it is that is walking up towards her. We see the dress of the young girl, which gives us the impression, is upper class.
This over the shoulder shot from behind the young girl. Shows an old man who looks rough and dangerous. The colour of his clothes makes it unusual as the young girl looks well dressed and clean. Yet he looks dirty and clearly has not shaved. Also the colour of his shirt shows he is grubby.
This mid shot shows two new characters. Both men which seem quite upper class mainly because of what their wearing which defecates them from the first man as both of them are wearing well designed jackets both very colourful. This shot establishes were they are which is on the deck of a ship but also it suggests they are very important as from this shot we can see behind them there are other men wearing similar cloths to them but are doing hard work for example one man is sweeping the deck of the ship.
This close up shows the lower class man who seems to be drinking alcohol from a flask. This shot shows his emotions quite clearly he seems to be nervous which reinforces the idea something bad is about to happen. Also this shot is a shallow focus shot as the foreground is in focus and the background is blurred.
This mid shot is taken from behind the youngest man as he looks unto the water while we can see the side of the young girls face as she looks up at him. This shot shows us that the youngest man has power and authority as she seems to be looking up to him.
We then cut to another shot but this time of the older gentleman and the young girl. It seems to be a bit of a long shot as all though we can see both the young girl and the man it is quite hard to make out their emotions. Also it is a two shot as it suggests that they have a relationship as we already know this because he is her father but also it suggests that because they have to share space against their will they may not have a good relationship.
This shot is a P.O.V shot of the young girl we know this because before this it was a close up of the young girl so therefore we know we are seeing this from her perspective. This shot is interesting as we now can see the water which is what a lot of the characters where looking at in most of the shots so now we can see exactly what they can. This shot is even more interesting as we can see an opened umbrella floating in the sea we can see it appearing through the fog and mist.
The uses of sound- The Pirates of the Caribbean- The Curse of the Black Pearl.
The first title slide showing the title of the movie was shown with quite sinister and mysterious music playing under the title slide. It seemed like a scary movie music. This carried on when the title of the film disappeared to the opening scene. The atmosphere established by this music is creepy and nervous. It did not really establish the genre of the movie and it could be a scary film or even an action movie. As the establishing shot moves in, the music still plays. We then can hear the diegetic sound of water from the sea as the boat moves along. However all of this sound is overshadowed by the young girl singing before we even see her. First it starts quite quietly which creates a weird and uncomfortable feeling but then her voice becomes much more louder and it does not seem as creepy as it did before. Then just for a few seconds we begin to hear non-diegetic sound of what seems to be a trumpet sort of sound, which only plays for a few seconds. A P.O.V shot is used as we see someone walking behind the girl and touch her on her shoulder. She then turns and makes a gasp which suggests she is scared we then turn to the oldest man who is quite scruffy we hear him talk in quite a lower class manner his voice is deep which makes his character more scary. The non-diegetic music is still playing however now it is quite low so we can hear the characters talk.
We then hear the second man the youngest man who is most certainly upper class. As he is talking we can hear in the background along with the non-diegetic sound we can hear diegetic sound as we can hear the sweeping brushes hitting against the deck floor and other men talking in low tones. We can also hear the sails of the ship hitting against the wind. Which creates a real feeling that this is actually happening. We then hear the footsteps of the men leaving which leaves the young girl alone. We then move to a P.O.V shot of the young girl as she looks out unto the water. Now we can once again hear non-diegetic music play it seems like a clock is ticking. This is all the sound we hear in the first two minutes but although it is not much it definitely sets a tone for the movie and makes us want to watch more as we believe that something interesting is about to happen.
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