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Rationale

Script

List of sources Number of script pages (HL12-15, SL 8-10):

Title:

Cultures examined Films studied

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Shaw 001065-0040

Documentary Film Script

Beauty and the Beast

The Formalist Theory in Films

A comparative study of how directors use camera angles and

lighting to create unease surrounding protagonists.

Hunter Shaw

Southeast High School

001065-0040

Frankenstein

Shaw 001065-0040

Rationale

The use of shot types and lighting are important in film. In my

independent study, I will analyze the use of lighting and camera

angles using the formalist theory in order to show how unease

surrounding protagonists is brought out through the use of these

cinematic techniques. In order to do this, I will analyze Beauty

and the Beast and Frankenstein. I chose these films because both

revolve around mysterious characters that entice unease within

the story and within the audience, due to their roles as

monsters in each film.

Word Count: 90

Film Director Country Year

Beauty and the

Beast

Jean Cocteau France 1946

Frankenstein James Whale USA 1931

VIDEO AUDIO

1

INT. ROOM - NIGHT:

Extreme close-up of film reel

beginning to turn.

Sound effect of film reel begins.

Cut to screen on wall;

Grainy, old movie countdown

begins. 5-4-3-2-1. Fade to

black after one second mark.

Old movie countdown sound effect.

Fade in from black screen

to Extreme Wide Shot (EWS)

looking down empty road. "We

welcome you on this journey"

on screen in white letters.

Frightening, opening soundtrack

from introduction of Frankenstein

(00:01:00-00:01:30.

Fade to black.

INT. STAGE - NIGHT:

Cut to opening Wide Shot

(WS) from Frankenstein

(00:00:00-00:00:58).

Introductory dialogue from Frankenstein

narrator.

Voice fades out.

Fade to black. Crackling of microphone turning on.

NARRATOR (VOICEOVER)

Tonight, we journey down a path

that takes us in many different

directions throughout the history

of film.

Jump Cut to flash of montage

of clips of Beauty and the

Beast and Frankenstein.

Which we see through these two peculiar

films and their mysterious characters.

Cut to Beauty and the Beast

(00:37:24-00:37:31).

No matter where the stories take place.

Dissolve to video montage of

small, 18th century German

village. Jump Cut to shot

of THE BEAST’S castle in

Beauty and the Beast.

No matter where the film is produced.

Whether in France,

Cut to image of DisCina logo. Or the United States,

Cut to image of Universal

Studios logo.

The use of similar cinematic techniques

are frequently used to reach the

filmmaker’s intent.

VIDEO AUDIO

2

Fade into shot of Star

Wars creeping title card.

"Welcome to the Analysis of

the Formalist Theory. Known

as the theory of analyzing

the technical elements of

film. Today we focus our eyes

on analyzing two historic

films. These films are none

other than Frankenstein and

Beauty and the Beast."

Ludwig Van Beethoven’s 5th Symphony in

C minor fades in.

Cut to image of Dutch Angle

(DA) shot from Frankenstein.

Cut to clip from Frankenstein

(00:33:35-00:33:38).

NARRATOR (V.O.)

Ah, yes, the formalist theory. The

focus of the technical elements in

film. Analyzing the deeper meaning

within film.

Cut to split screen. Close-up

of NARRATOR’S face with a dim

light flickering off of it

on the left, Paused image of

TONY MCKIBBIN on the right.

NARRATOR

So the formalist theory is rather

important, one could say. As Tony

McKibbin, professor of film at the

University of Edinburgh has said-

Left box of split screen

with NARRATOR freezes, right

side un-pauses.

TONY MCKIBBIN

Very loosely, formalists are those

who regard cinema as predominantly a

manipulative medium. Out of inchoate

reality the filmmaker needs to shape

the material into a clearly cinematic

form, and it is this shaping that

allows film to be an art.

EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT:

Camera pans right

with NARRATOR as he walks

through graveyard with Wide

Angle, Profile Shot. Fog

sits low to the ground.

Low-key lighting casts shadow

of NARRATOR on a wall behind

him.

Crow chirping in the background.

Cut to Medium Shot of gate

opening by itself.

Creaking graveyard gate.

Cut to Behind-the-Back Shot.

NARRATOR stops walking and is

framed within an arch.

Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D minor

begins playing.

VIDEO AUDIO

3

Cut to Medium Close-up

(MCU)of NARRATOR’S face from

High Angle (HA) shot.

NARRATOR

This is the story of how lighting and

camera angles are used to create unease

surrounding protagonists.

Dissolve into High Angle

shot from Frankenstein

(00:01:51-00:01:53). Camera

tilts up to man digging the

hole.

NARRATOR (V.O.)

With this, we must take note of our

first example of the use of camera

angles as we come across the burial

of a body. The body that will make up

the body of Frankenstein.

Sound of shovel hitting dirt.

Shovel sound becomes more muffled.

Cut to screenshot of High

Angle shot from Frankenstein

(00:01:51-00:01:53).

NARRATOR (V.O.)

This High Angle shot gives the audience

a sense of comfort and power at this

time. Yet, this only contradicts

the terror that this body will cause

as the film continues.

Jump Cut to close-up

of FRITZ and DR.

FRANKENSTEIN in Frankenstein

(00:02:35-00:02:38).

DR. HENRY FRANKENSTEIN

Down! Down, you fool!

Bell ringing.

Fade to black.

Cut to Close-up of NARRATOR

in graveyard glaring into the

camera.

NARRATOR

And we finally come across Dr.

Frankenstein.

Cut to Frankenstein

(00:02:38-00:02:42).

NARRATOR (V.O.)

Now note the low-key lighting. We

see the shadow cast across Dr.

Frankenstein’s face causing uneasiness

in our audience already. The shadow

splits his face into two telling us

that he is hiding something rather

sinister.

VIDEO AUDIO

4

Cut to Dutch Angle

shot from Frankenstein

(00:02:45-00:02:53).

As we see here, the use of the

Dutch Angle shot only adds to this

uncomfortable sense related to the

doctor at this time. As the camera pans

left the Dutch Angle continues as we

follow a priest holding a bell and

walking out of the graveyard. This

Dutch Angle creates this skewed view

of the setting, hinting at these skewed

views of Dr. Frankenstein.

Cut to Frankenstein

(00:14:10-00:14:14). Flash of

lightning brightens screen.

Crack of thunder. Wind whooshes and the

thump of a heavy rain is heard hitting

the ground.

NARRATOR (V.O.)

The rain. The thunder. The wind.

These all add to this theme of

uneasiness. But what is that we can

draw from the form of the shot that

also provides the audience with

this feeling?

Cut to Medium Wide shot

of NARRATOR sitting on a

bench in the graveyard as

rain pours down on him.

NARRATOR

(Yelling over pouring rain)

Sure the elements add to it, but its

the angle that really makes this shot.

Note the low angle shot as we look up

at this dark and mysterious tower where

Frankenstein becomes alive.

Crack of thunder.

INT. SCIENCE LAB - NIGHT:

Follow shot of NARRATOR

walking towards a table of

vials and various tools.

Cut to Low Angle (LA) shot

of NARRATOR looking down into

the camera.

NARRATOR

The use of the Low Angle shot to cause

the audience to feel inferior and

nervous at this time continues.

VIDEO AUDIO

5

Cut to Frankenstein

(00:24:35-00:24:38).

NARRATOR (V.O.)

With this Low Angle, we stand below

the body of Frankenstein as he is

lowered down into the lab, now alive.

The camera’s use of the LA shot puts

the audience in an edgy position at

this time as we look up at the body of

Frankenstein, who holds the power due

to the angle.

Fade to black. This build up and anticipation has

finally been met as the monster now

becomes alive.

DR. HENRY FRANKENSTEIN

Its alive!

Montage of villagers marching

in a mob.

Cut to Frankenstein

(00:59:47-01:00:29).

NARRATOR (V.O.)

Finally, it is important to note

the way in which this angry mob is

shown as it marches to kill the

somewhat misunderstood monster. At

01:00:25, we see the mob from a Low

Angle perspective, as they hold the

power in this situation rather than

Frankenstein.

Cut to NARRATOR in graveyard.

Extreme Wide shot.

Follow Shot as NARRATOR walks

towards large, burial vault.

Cut to Point of view (POV)

shot as the NARRATOR jumps

into the burial vault.

Yelling of narrator fades away.

EXT. GARDEN - NIGHT:

Cut to Wide Shot of garden

with a brick wall covered

with flowers in the

background.

Yelling grows louder.

NARRATOR falls, center

screen, from the top of the

frame into bushes in the

bottom of the frame.

Loud thud. Rustling of bushes.

VIDEO AUDIO

6

Cut to Medium Shot

as NARRATOR stands and wipes

off dirt.

Cut to Low Angle shot

of NARRATOR with wall

of flowers and vines in

background.

NARRATOR

As we have seen in Frankenstein, the

use of camera angles and lighting can

greatly impact the interpretation

of events that unfold in a horror.

However, the power of these particular

cinematic techniques are not limited to

the horror genre only.

Fade to Beauty and the Beast

(00:11:26-00:11:30).

NARRATOR (V.O.)

Take Beauty and the Beast, for example.

In this unusual tale of love, we see

the genres of romanticism and fantasy

come into play. Yet, we know that

the beast, while misunderstood, is a

powerful and mysterious creature that

is quite frightening at first glance

- and Cocteau uses lighting and camera

angles to create unease.

INT. DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT:

Fade in from black screen

to two men, the NARRATOR and

GEOFFREY O’BRIEN, sitting in

arm chairs with dimly-lit

overhead lights. The two

men’s shadows are cast along

the floor.

Inaudible discussion and laughter.

Cut to Medium Shot of the two

men sitting in the chairs.

NARRATOR

We are here with Geoffrey O’Brien,

editor in chief of the library of

America. Mr. O’Brien, what is it

that makes Cocteau’s use of cinematic

techniques so special in showing this

unease about the Beast?

VIDEO AUDIO

7

Cut to Medium Close-up of

O’BRIEN as he prepares to

speak. Lights grow dimmer as

the camera focuses on him.

GEOFFREY O’BRIEN

Cocteau makes all the more uncanny the

discovery...of the Beast’s realm. It

is like the breaching of a seam, and

we are carried through every part

of the process: through the misty

forest and up a deserted staircase,

through the great door and, in the most

otherworldly use of the camera.

Camera tracks out and the

screen begins to blur.

Soundtrack from Beauty and the Beast

begins playing.

Cut to Beauty and the Beast

(00:16:35-00:16:53).

BELLE’S FATHER

(worried shouting)

Is anyone there?

NARRATOR (V.O.)

As Belle’s father approaches the

door to the Beast’s castle, we see

his shadow cast against the door

due to the low-key lighting

incorporated - not only

highlighting or unease, but the

unfamiliarity that her father faces

as he enters this imposing castle.

Cut to High Angle, Profile

Shot of NARRATOR picking a

red rose from a plant.

And as her father soon learned; picking

flowers can take a turn for the worst.

Cut to Beauty and the Beast

(00:22:52-00:23:10).

BEAST

You steal my roses, the things I love

most in all the world. Your luck has

gone from bad to worse.

BELLE’S FATHER looks at the

BEAST with a terrified look.

Camera slowly turns into a

Dutch Angle.

NARRATOR (V.O.)

As we are introduced to the Beast,

the use of the low angle shot tells

us the power he possesses - especially

in this particular situation, as we,

the audience, can imagine looking up to

this bellowing monster.

Cut to Close-up of NARRATOR’S

face.

NARRATOR

And the Beast gives him an ultimatum.

Death -

VIDEO AUDIO

8

Cut to Beauty and the Beast

(00:23:11-00:23:20).

BEAST

Unless one of your daughters agrees to

pay your debt and take your place.

Cut to NARRATOR standing

beside an old marble water

fountain with chunks missing.

Slight Dutch Angle is used.

Loud roar heard.

Cut to Profile Shot

as NARRATOR leans over a

balcony overlooking a forest.

Jump cut to Low Angle shot

as NARRATOR walks over the

camera.

NARRATOR

So, here is the dilemma. As we soon

find out, Belle sacrifices herself.

It is important to note the shadows

cast around the barn as she enters,

and the light that glitters off of

the Beast’s horse that awaits her in

the barn, creating this mystical, yet

uneasy, feeling of uncertainty.

Cut to Beauty and the Beast

(00:28:30-00:28:39). High

contrast lighting shines down

on BELLE through holes in

barn.

NARRATOR (V.O.)

It is the high contrast lighting

that creates these shafts of light

that contrast the darkness; causing

nerve-racking uncertainty of what

awaits her.

Cut to Beauty and the Beast

(00:28:50-00:29:26). BELLE

riding through forest lit

with low-key lighting.

Note the rapid change in lighting from

the brightly-lit farmhouse where her

father resides to the darkened, low-key

lighting as she rides through the

forest into the unknown.

Fade to black.

Cut to the NARRATOR standing

in front of the large door

at the opening of the Beast’s

castle. High Angle, Wide shot

used. The NARRATOR stands in

center frame.

NARRATOR

The largest shock still awaits Belle,

however.

Cut to an image of the BEAST

with a menacing look.

Sound of woman shrieking.

VIDEO AUDIO

9

Cut to Beauty and the Beast

(00:33:20-00:33:53). Camera

tracks in to reveal the BEAST

speaking to BELLE.

BEAST

Where are you going?

BELLE faints. NARRATOR (V.O.)

Here is the moment we have been waiting

for. The lighting is used perfectly as

it shines up from the ground onto the

Beast’s face, creating this terrifying

look of anger, eventually causing Belle

to faint.

Black silhouette of the BEAST

moves into frame.

Cocteau’s use of backlighting creates

this dark and imposing silhouette

of the Beast, only furthering the

uneasiness associated with the monster.

Beauty and the Beast soundtrack

(00:35:18-00:35:52).

Beauty and the Beast

(00:35:56-00:36:11).

NARRATOR (V.O.)

As if just to make sure we received the

unease before, we now watch as Belle

awakes from a High Angle shot, putting

her in an inferior position. We see

the shock - the terror, in her face.

Everything about the Beast makes her

uncomfortable, and she even admits it

to him.

BELLE

I don’t feel at ease-

sound is drowned out.

Beauty and the Beast

(00:40:10-00:40:20).

NARRATOR (V.O.)

And as the Beast exits her presence,

we have one last reminder of that lack

of ease, as Belle sits slumped over,

head in hand, high contrast lighting

showing the drama - and the Beast, yet

again, with backlighting, casting his

silhouette above Belle.

VIDEO AUDIO

10

INT. ROOM - NIGHT:

Medium shot of NARRATOR

sitting in a arm chair,

smoking a pipe.

NARRATOR

As our journey comes to a close, I

would like to thank you for joining

me. We can conclude the importance

of the formalist theory in film and

how the cinematic techniques within

it can alter how we perceive a film

- as evident with the significance of

camera angles and lighting in creating

uneasiness.

Black screen with white

letters read: "Fin."

Shaw 001065-0040

Annotated Bibliography

Written Sources

McKibbin, Tony. "Formalist Theory." Tonymckibbin.com. N.p., n.d.

Web. 26 Feb. 2016.

This website was used to provide a deeper understanding of the

formalist theory as well as provide a quote on why the

formalist theory is so essential to the filmmaking process.

Electronic Sources

Bach, Johannes Sebastian, perf. Toccata and Fugue in D Minor,

BWV 565. Breitkopf & Härtel, 1833. Web. 16 Jan. 2016.

I wanted to use this in order to add a dramatic piece of music

into the film. At the time in the film, the narrator is in a

graveyard and this adds to the overall atmosphere of the

scene.

Beethoven, Ludwig Van. Beethoven's 5th Symphony. 1808. Web. 24

Jan. 2016.

I added Beethoven’s 5th symphony as a dramatic introduction for

the audio side during the opening title card of the film.

Frankenstein 1931. Digital image. Blackandwhitemovies.com. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.

This photo from Frankenstein was used for a descriptive photo

of the film on the cover page. I chose it due to it being in

the graveyard.

LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE – JEAN COCTEAU RE-IMAGINES FAIRYTALES. Digital

image. lisathatcher.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.

This site was used for a picture from Beauty and the Beast

that was used on the cover sheet of my independent study.

O'Brien, Geoffrey. "Beauty and the Beast: Dark Magic." Criterion

Collection. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.

This essay described the dark magic that Cocteau involved

within the film. It also provided me with a quote from O’Brien

on the camerawork in the film.

Shaw 001065-0040

Filmography

Beauty and the Beast. Dir. Jean Cocteau. Perf. Jean Marais,

Josette Day, Mila Parély. DisCina, 1946. DVD.

This was the second film that I chose to analyze in my

independent study. I chose this due to its overall use of

lighting and angles; however, it contrasted my first film as

it is in the fantasy genre.

Frankenstein. Dir. James Whale. Perf. Colin Clive, Mae Clarke,

Boris Karloff. Universal Pictures, 1931. DVD.

This was my first chosen film to analyze. I chose it due to

the genre, which is horror/thriller, and how it relates to the

cinematic techniques of lighting and camera angles.

Star Wars. Dir. J.J. Abrams. Perf. Harrison Ford, John Boyega.

Walt Disney Studios, 2015

I chose to incorporate the running title card from Star Wars

into my film in order to catch the audience’s attention and

draw them in with the famous title card.