Level 2 Visual Text - Exemplar

Level 2 Visual Text - Exemplar

• 1.
  Visual Text Level 2NCEA Exemplar
• 2.
  Question: Analyse howtechniques were used to create impact in ONE important section. In the film Alive, directed by Frank Marshall, lighting and sound effects were used to increase the impact in the avalanche scene of the film. This use of these techniques made the scene more effective and also communicated the theme of the movie. Title & Director Visual Techniques Purpose
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  Alive is basedupon the plane crash into the Andes mountain D ranges in 1972, carrying an Uruguayan rugby team to Chile for E a rugby match. The plane crashes, and the team endures S C unimaginable conditions whilst stranded in the mountain R ranges, one of them including an avalanche. In the avalanche I scene, the survivors of the plan crash are huddled inside the B E body of the wreckage when the avalanche hits. The use of sound effects in this scene really heightened the impact of the avalanche. The rumbling of the mountains echoed throughout the fuselage of the wreckage and the sound eclipsed all the sounds that were taking place inside the plane. The use of the rumbling signified the magnitude of what was about to happen to the survivors of the crash. Purpose Keywords
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  Following the avalanche,there is absolute silence for about five seconds. Then, a desperate gasp for air is heard, symbolising life following the avalanche and the five second of silence beforehand heightened the tension felt by the audience, making them wonder whether or not anyone had survived the avalanche. This effective use of sound effects also reinstated the film’s main theme of surviving the impossible. The gasp for air indicates the human’s ability to survive even the most intense, harsh environment such as an avalanche and the specific use of sound effects in this scene underlined this theme, while also heightening tension and impact that the scene had. Keywords Purpose
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  The use oflighting in this avalanche scene was also extremely effective. The first half of the scene is lit in a half-light, giving a very naturalistic feeling of the environment. In real life, if you were stranded on a mountain at night, there would be very little light, possibly none at all, and the lighting in this section emanates this realistic fact. However, the lighting following the avalanche is somewhat more effective in terms of the theme of the movie, and more impacting in terms of entertainment. Immediately following the avalanche, there is absolutely pitch black darkness for a total of about four seconds. Then, there is a little flicker of light, followed by a gasp for air. This little flicker of light is key in this film’s meaning. Keywords Purpose
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  Following an avalanche,no human would be expected to have survived. But this little flicker of light is symbolic of life and hope. Through the darkness of the avalanche, and all the terror and death that it brought, the flicker of light symbolises that there is still hope, and that there is still people alive following the chaos and destruction. In terms of impact, this flicker of light in all the darkness of the scene gives the audience hope that someone survived the avalanche, creating tension in the same as the audience anticipates what is to come. The lighting in the avalanche scene is highlighting the impossible, and is especially impacting in combination with the sound effects are applied in the scene. Keywords Purpose
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  Both the lightingand the sound in the avalanche scene of Alive were impacting and effective to the scene as a whole. The use of these techniques heightened tension in the scenes, giving the devastation of the avalanche more impact. However, the lighting and sound also doubled as symbolically representing the film’s main theme of surviving the impossible. The whole effect of the scene created a sense of anything is possible, as if a rugby team stranded in a harsh mountain range environment can survive an avalanche, what else could people survive? Techniques Purpose