Ghost Ship Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czaiwSsQod8

Camera:

In the opening scene of "Ghost Ship", the camera pans up from the sea and all around the side of the boat which allows the audience to see the cause of the disaster which they will later witness. The camera then changes to a close up, eye-level shot of the woman singing to allow the audience to be introduced. This then changes to an over the shoulder shot to allow us to see exactly what she is seeing/singing to. This was done to make the audience feel more connected to this character. As the scene continues, the camera takes a high angle shot which reveals another cause of the disaster which cuts through half of the shot. This mimics the horrific event which takes place later on. The camera then switches to a close up shot of a young girl which represents her innocence, however this is followed by close up shots of adults dancing to allow us to see how many people there are on the boat. The shot then switches to a close up of a man pushing the lever which results in the camera following the wires connected to it. This adds a sense of danger and makes the audience intrigued as to what will happen. It then focuses on one piece of wire which cuts through the middle of the screen - again representing what is about to happen. The camera then zooms through the crowd of people, which makes the audience the feel shocked as they begin to realise what’s happened. It then switches back to the piece of wire cutting through the middle of the screen to confirm to the audience what had happened.

Mise En Scene:

At the start of this scene, fairy lights have been used to not only decorate the boat and make it seem magical, but to secretly show the audience the cause of something which will take place later on. All of the characters are dressed in very fancy dresses and suits with sparkling jewellery which creates the idea that they are from an upper class and could possibly be posh. The main character (the woman singing) is wearing a red dress which stands out from everyone else. The colour red could represent the blood which we see later on in the clip. This could also allow us to realise that she took part in the the cause of the catastrophe. Another character who portrays this idea is the man in the grey suit. These two exchange eye contact near the start of the scene which could indicate that they were working together. Additionally, his suit was different from all of the other workers, this could mean that his level of work was higher, and therefore could be in charge. The little girl in this scene also holds a toy which allows the audience to see how innocent and bored she is. Throughout this clip, they have used multiple shots which show things cutting through the screen, for example the fairy lights and the metal tube, this represents the event which will take place later on. Towards the end of this short scene, the wire cuts through pink and white flowers which could represent the innocence and purity of everyone on the ship.

Sound:

Throughout the whole scene, we hear the woman singing which sounds very romantic and rather peaceful. This idea contradicts the event which takes place. When the camera switches to the people dancing on the top of the boat, we are able to hear the diegetic sound which makes the whole scene feel more realistic. We hear this through footsteps of people walking and glasses clinking together. As we see a man push the lever, the singing gets overtaken by the loud clashing of metal which gets progressively louder. This is a non-diegetic sound but is used to make the audience sense danger and feel scared. As the disaster begins to happen, the music completely stops to allow the audiences attention to be drawn towards the wire. Suddenly, the sound goes completely silent, only allowing us to hear the wire gradually coming to a stop. This is then followed by the little girls scream which echoes out to the sea. This was done to show the audience how scared and alone she was which makes us feel worried for her.

Editing:

In this opening scene, they have pink, flowing writing displayed across the screen. This gives off the idea of romance and love. It could also portray the idea that its quite girly, however in reality, it is stereotypically the opposite.