C
JURASSIC
I
PARK I
SCENE PROFILE
I
Creating suspense: 00:00:00 - 00:03:15
appearance
setting
dozens 01 armed workers and gamekeepers with red "Jurassie
Park" heimets, only male characters carry heavy weapons
-7 a man 's uiorld, full of danger;
the white, middle-aged man (the leader) in charge 01 the
operation wears shorts, a waistcoat and a lelt hat -7 functional
outdoor clotbes, not responsible f01' the physical work;
the "victim" is black -7 blacks as the stereotypical victims;
the creature in the cage is huge, strang and has leathery skin
but otherwise remains obscure -7 mystery, unknown danger
time: in the middle of the night, in complete darkness
-7 underlines the frightening atmospbere;
place: Isla Nublar, an island 120 miles west of Costa Rica
(text on screen) -7 remote jungle location
bodylanguage
people stare upwards and point at s.th. belore coordinating
actions; impassive, tense laces, then hectic movements, eyes
wide with lear
-7 expect s. th. with mixed feelings, then panic reaction,
desperate attempt to keep the situation under control
use of language/communication
leader: short commands/terse orders ("Raise the gate!" "Shoot
her!") -7 vain attempt to control the situation; victim's shouts
01 pain and fear, the howling animal -7 chaos, tbreat, anger
Characters
plot
In the middle of the night, a group of heavily-armed men
observe the arrival of a huge metal cage. When a man tries
to open the cage, the mysterious creature inside becomes
furiously aggressive. Chaos breaks out. A black man is
dragged into the cage despite the leader's desperate
attempts to rescue him. It remains unclear if the shots at
the animal prevent the victim's death.
-7 direct, immediate beginning to create suspense
suspense
What kind of park is this? What kind of monster is inside the
cage? Why is it being transported? Is it killed at the end?
What is happening on the remote island?
-7 mysterious situation full of danger and excitement
Action
Narrative techniques
Main function of the scene:
Creates ~spense by introducing a dangerous menster
Camera operations
Cinematic devices
Long and medium range shots are followed by elose-up shots
of the workers' faces and hands -7 reflect their growing
panic and neruousness;
low-angle shots of the cage -7 enlarge the object, uorhers'
perspectioe;
zoom-in on the leader -7 main figure;
extreme elose-ups of the animal's eye and mouth
-7 highlights the mystery and menace of the only partially
visible animal;
three point-of-view shots from the perspective of the animal
inside the cage, unsteady camera movement -7 mysterious
and aggressive creature feels threatened, is angry;
fast cuts -7 the dramatic atmospbere intensifies, action
moves fast touards the catastropbe;
at the end, extreme close-up of the victim's vanishing hand
-7 dramatization of likely death
Film music/sound effects
• parallel to the opening credits: soft, chirping sounds; regular,
single drum beats increasing in volume; cracking branches,
electronic noises (of machines); lull orchestra (strings and
brass) plays shrill, dissonant, dramatic music
-7 nature uprooted, tbreat and danger; uproar
• at the end: shots, screams -7 chaos, climax
20
Visual symbols
moving trees, rustling leaves -7 nature is disturbed,
sometbing unseen creates suspense
red heimets, guns -7 forprotectton,
self-defence
cage -7 imprisonment
high-tech fork-lift truck -7 heavyequipment,
a major
undertaking
Other effects
opening credits: yellow print on black screen, jungle sounds
and dramatic music before image appears
-7 creates suspense, raises expectations
lighting: darkness with fast-moving lights, artificial illumination
-7 irritation, disorientation;
leader and container in white -7 protagonists, man vs. beast;
other workers in dim bluish light -7 cold background to the
crisis
co nt rast: the clash of two worlds, order vs. chaos, light vs.
darkness, man vs. beast, life and death
editing: climactic structure (accident leads to death), leader
holds on to victim until the very last second
slow motion vanishing hand -7 highlights tbe moment, then
fairly abrupt transition to a uorld of peace and harmony
(idyllic setting with the reflection of a formaliy dressedman
in the water)
© Ernst Kielt Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2004. Filmanalyse, Klettbuch 577463