Prime Evil essay

 Prime Evil

 

In the trap setting scene right at the beginning of the clip, the man laying down the bait is represented as being feeble and not a typical masculine character. This can be seen through the use his costume and body language that is captured in the high angle shot. This has the impact of making him seem vulnerable as he isn’t helping in the main action and depicts him to be a side kick. Further more,  him being low to the ground trying to be careful makes him scene weak as it looks as if he is cowering away from the main action. In addition to this, his pink top and scarf helps demasculinize him as they aren’t typical manly colours like blue or red but more womanly, creating a sense of him being feeble and physically lacking in size (due to the angle).

In the digging scene, the camera cuts away and puts the man in the blue shirt in frame and we get a stringer sense of masculinity and strength from him. This is because the camera angle is eye level and is a medium shot which shows him to look larger than the other man as he is not put to scale with other things such as trees or bushes. This has an impact of making him look in charge of the situation and that he has a greater amount of power as he is monitoring the situation rather than physically doing something. This is fairly archetypal as men who are in charge of something tend to monitor other people instead of doing it themselves. A few moments after, the camera focuses on a hand in the mud and pans back to the ‘leading man’ and he gestures to the women in the digger to stop digging which further supports his authority over others, securing his role as the leader.

Shortly after this the camera pans and a shaky hand held shot is directed into the forest. From this we can understand that something dramatic is going to happen. Following this there are two quick camera cuts; one focusing on the women in the digger frantically trying to turn the engine back on; and the second of the man trying to hide into the ditch to escape the sabre tooth tiger.

In the sabre tooth attack scene, the leading male is shown to become more cowardly and desperately trying to save his own life. This can be scene through the use of the shot/ reverse shot showing the man at a high angle to make him seem insignificant compared to the tiger, which is shown at a low angle shot to make it seem huge and monstrous. However, the women in the digger is shown as heroic and strong/ masculine as she saves the man from the tiger and tries to fight it. Her heroism is emphasised as the camera Tracks and shakes a lot which highlights her bravery in the dangerous moment. This is also clear from her hair, costume and facial expression that is caught in the medium distance shot to show her reaction and body language. Her hair is short and she is wearing black leather which isn’t typically worn among women. This represents her as aggressive or butch. This is archetypal as women with short hair are typically aggressive and controlling. As we lead up to the chasing scene, the man stumbles out of the ditch and tries to lure the tiger away, possibly because he is trying to re assert his masculinity. The camera pans and tracks with him and the tiger as they run out of frame into the wilderness. As the lead male shouts “cmon” we can see the shot includes the rule of three, putting him to the left of the frame so the audience can view the scenery around him to maintain interest.

During the chase scene, the lead man is represented as fierce and brave as he is doing a sacrificial act, risking his own life to lure the tiger away. This has the impact of making him seem heroic and possibly hot headed as he tries to out run a tiger and put himself in a lot of danger. As the man climbs to the ladder, we have a shot/reverse shot, going from him escaping to the tiger climbing up the tree, back to the man at the top of the ladder. As the man slings his belt over the zip line, the use of jump cuts  helps create tension as it makes it look like the man could lose his life as this technique is possibly unnatural. As he travels down the zip line, there are several camera techniques such as tracking, panning, worms eye view, handheld(shakey) and eye line shots. All of these shots keep the audiences attention on the scene and heighten the intensity of the situation as so much is going on with camera work. The tension of the scene is suddenly released as the tiger is hit by the women and dies a satisfying, slow motion death.

At the end of the clip, the final barn house scene depicts two contrasting characters against each other, one being a well dressed lady and another being a work clothed man. These contrast as the woman’s nice cost shows her to be a journalist or investigator of some sort as she is wearing feminine, non action friendly clothes. Where as the man is wearing a jacket and top, which are far more suitable to be working on his farm. In the scene the farmer threatens the women with a gun and pulls her onto the floor. His use of aggression and the high tilt angle of the camera that puts the woman in frame shows her to be vulnerable and scared. This is also shown in her posture and facial expression as she shows concern and cowers behind her arm as she desperately tries to convince the man to stop.

Finally, the lead male and ‘butch’ woman appear to save the ‘damsel in distress’ which further supports their strong, independent characters roles and help set the difference/contrast between the other characters I.e. the feminine man and vulnerable woman.