The Titanic by James Cameron Free Essay Example

Introduction

A terrible moment in history which has been re created in 1997 by 11 academy award winner James Cameron. The film re lives the whole experience of The Titanic with a thrilling and captivating approach. The steerage scene contains a variety of cinematic devices such as: lighting effects, an array of sounds and various shot angles. This helps to create a more realistic and intense atmosphere and makes the audience feel more involved.

The Titanic was a smash hit. One of the reasons for its huge success may have been because it had content to satisfy most audiences.

The different genres include: An historical theme, based on a true story, romance and tragedy. This essay will be studying the various techniques James Cameron used in the steerage scene to create a natural and realistic party atmosphere. What we see in the steerage scene has a strong effect on us. In the steerage scene there are certain parts Cameron made stand out amongst the fast paced action.

The dull background in an effect

The backdrop for the steerage scene is dull and plain, Cameron has used the dull background in an effect so that our attention is focused on the passengers and how they are having a good time.

This is because if the backdrop was bright and decorated it would bring less attention to the members and more to the way the surroundings have been presented. Another reason for the dull backdrop may be to show us that the third class passengers do not care about where they have been situated and where they have been situated will not affect them having a good time.

The men in the dining room give the impression that they are hygienic and clean as they are dressed in neat clean clothes. The clothes that Rose is wearing are a lot different to that of everyone else in the room. Rose is wearing very elegant and neat clothes and the colours used are very artificial as they are plain white and black. These colours look very cold and stand out amongst the different types of browns the 3rd class passengers are wearing. The third class passengers may be shown dressed in an informal way because this makes us realize that they do not have to be dressed elegantly in order for them to enjoy themselves.

We can tell that everyone is entertained because the passengers are: laughing, smiling, jeering and dancing. As opposed to the men in the dining room who seem to be relaxed and to a certain extent more civilized. The actions of the third class passengers’ shows us that they are more open minded as they do not care about what they are doing as there are grown men falling around, beers being spilt on one another and yet they are laughing. Whereas the men in the dining room are more relaxed and controlled ad are maintaining their etiquettes.

Particular shots

Particular shots have been made to stand out an example is; Rose drinking beer. This shot has an impact on the viewer as a woman of her class would not be expected to consume beer. (This at the time would be considered cheap) Rose rising on her feet was an important moment in the scene as it showed us how Rose was fitting in with people in a lower class than herself and whilst doing it she was enjoying herself. Another shot that Cameron has made stand out, is the one where a man is being helped up after falling down.

In this shot we witness a drunken man falling over and crashing into a table, but instead of being left there and laughed at he is helped up. I believe Cameron was trying to show that even though the passengers present were of a lower class they still have manners as instead of jeering at the man they helped him up. There is a huge contrast between the dining room scene and that of the steerage. The pace is much slower in the dining room is much slower and relaxed.

The men are playing cards and smoking which shows us that the mood is not as lively and entertaining as that in the steerage. The dining room is bright and glistening and this makes the atmosphere seem artificial because the way the room has been lit up is not natural. Because of the lack of people in the dining room the room seems bare and lifeless. Cameron makes us think that the men are quite boring; this is because the men seem to be enjoying themselves over a simple game of cards and are having a laugh about the politics.

Three main types of sound

There are three main types of sound that you can hear in this scene, they are; dialogue, ambient and sound effects. Very little dialogue can be heard in this scene. An example of dialogue that we can hear is when Rose is speaking to the men who have just had an arm wrestle: “So you think your big tough men? ” The lack of speech helps to maintain the fast and lively pace of the party as too much dialogue would break the fast flowing rhythm of the party. Much of the dialogue we hear is between jack and rose.

This helps us understand the relationship between j and r, because you find out how what they are talking about and how they feel about one another. The sound effects u can hear add 2 the ambient sounds this creates a realistic effect for example da glass breaking adds 2 the atmosphere because there is so much going on it would be unbelievable if something did not end up breaking. Another example of sound effects that add to the ambient sounds are those made by the tap dancing, this sound adds to the beat of the drums.

The sounds you can hear in the dining room are very slow and calm. The sound of violent is faintly present in the background, which is a contrast to the percussio0n instruments previously being played. Da ambient sounds are very faint and this draws our attention to the dialogue and also emphasizes the calm mood. Da dialogue u can hear is about politics and the connotations of politics is dull and boring, this makes the scene seem really slow and dull as well. The atmosphere seems really dull as the loudest sound is the poltics which is very tesdious

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