Friday 22 September 2017

Analysing a film clip - Easy Rider

Cemetery Acid Trip (2 minutes 07 seconds)



Within the first minute of the video there is clear use of natural lighting and a slow paced editing technique. The slow paced editing shows and connotes the starting effect of the drug and how you perceive time so slowly. Within this scene, the shot type stays the same until a shot change of a tilt of the building comes onto the screen for 3 seconds. For the following 15 seconds the editing becomes faster paced cutting between the tilt of the building and the mid shot of the two couples at the church who are taking the drug, LSD. Whilst this is happening there is a background noise of a press and it is heard until it fades out at 1 minute 44 seconds which is when the young people are of the peak of their high. The girls taking the drugs through kissing their lovers symbolises of sexual dominance as the boys become the gateway to the girls using the drugs.

Whilst the drugs begin to take effect, the camera tilts up towards the building. This is denotations that whilst the camera is being tilted, the characters are beginning to have more effects because they are on drugs and they are getting high, as high as the building. This combined with the religious ideology creates a juxtaposition of the control of religion and the freedom, and the escapism that drugs can often offer a spiritual experience. As LSD is a psychedelic, these cause the user to have hallucinations and seemingly expand consciousnesses.

At 1 minute and 15 seconds as camera tilts further up the white building, the white of the church symbolises purity which religion may offer however, the dirt and growth of wild plants symbolises the growing separation of the law and religious beliefs. This shows the audience that the teenagers who're under the influence of the drug, LSD, show a clear example of their disregard for the law and religion, the two foundations which gives society boundaries of what people can and cannot do.

As the camera moves into the sunlight which creates a lens flare, this connotes that as the teenagers are reaching the peak of their high, they are moving more towards the light.
This is used for the next transition shot.  The non diegetic sound of a woman reciting part of the bible, Matthew 13:23, which then transitions into diegetic sound. This is because, we see a low angle shot of the young woman preaching, in the church grounds. The use of the low angle shot shows that religion is more in power over society. This can also be perceived as the young woman taking power over the viewers (audience), becoming victims to the religious preachings.

The contrast between the before and after of taking drugs is that the edit of the cutting speed and the diegetic sound becomes disorientated. The disorientation of the editing and the sound becomes confusing and makes the viewer feel the intensity of the drug, which also makes the viewer feel as if they are there and as if it is real. It also helps the scene as the viewers can understand the reality and intensity of taking drugs, but they also understand how dangerous it could be to be under the influence. The quick cuts later in the scene, adds more layers of understanding to the viewers as the other layers adds an induced haze into the scene which creates visual aspects of the high. The natural lighting combined with the sights and sounds inspires an empathetic response that encourages the user to feel and experience the way the characters are feeling.

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