Compare and contrast how the four technical areas
(camera, sound, mise-en-scene and lighting) represent The Bride in the burial
scenes
The two burial scenes from ‘Kill Bill’
present the Bride to make a transformation of character from helpless to
heroic. This contrast in character is made through four different technical
areas in media, which are the camera, mise-en-scene, sound and lighting.
In
the first burial scene of ‘Kill Bill’ The Bride is portrayed to be a helpless
and abandoned character. The setting is a desolate area of a graveyard, showing
there is no one around and therefore no hope and symbolising death. Dim
lighting seeps through the trees in the graveyard telling the viewers of the
setting but still creating a tense and atmospheric mood. The first shot we see
is of the demented cowboy ready to bury The Bride, taken at a low viewpoint,
supposedly taking the woman’s point of view, this is extremely effective as
this is the first shot the viewers see and we can already establish the fact
that the woman is on the ground, powerless and weak under the straining power
of the murderous cowboy. The camera angle then switches to a high viewpoint
looking down at the woman, as if it were the cowboy’s viewpoint, this indicates
the amount of power he possesses and therefore makes The Bride seem
insignificant and helpless. The cowboys face is lit up while the woman is left
in darkness indicating the contrast of control. The Bride looks anxious and
nervous already sweating and dirty whereas the cowboy looks clean and indulged
symbolising the difference in their power. When the woman is finally persuaded
into the coffin a non-diegetic soundtrack plays in the background, which has a
melancholic tune to it, suggesting the sadness of being buried alive.
Whereas in the second burial scene, where The Bride escapes from the
coffin, the woman rises from the ground through the mud and dirt to a diegetic
and synchronous erupting sound signifying her rebirth and escape as well as a
non-diegetic, enthusiastic, Western sounding backtrack which creates a sense of
hope for the viewers and signifies that she is going to live. The camera takes a
crane shot of the setting above ground of a graveyard where the woman is buried.
This shot reestablishes the setting of the scene and sweeps down to ground
level ready to capture the gesture made by The Bride of punching her hand in
the air triumphantly as she reemerges and rejoins civilization above ground. As
this happens the non-diegetic Western music mutes as she has escaped therefore
there is no need for the celebratory music anymore.
In
the first burial scene when The Bride is trapped in the coffin and being imprisoned
underground there is the non-diegetic ominous whistling Western tune playing in
the background to create a tense mood. The camera angle is a side view of the
coffin, acting as one of the walls, which shows a close up of The Bride
allowing the audience to experience and share her anxiety of being trapped in a
coffin, creating an intense mood. A diegetic sound of nails being hammered into
the coffin has been amplified to give an increased dramatic effect for the
audience as the coffin will be sealed tightly and there is no way of escape.
The Bride’s diegetic deep breathing, which has been amplified considerably, can
be heard indicating that she feels panicked and anxious, causing a sense of
claustrophobia for the audience. As the coffin is plunged into complete
darkness The Bride can be heard crying, gasping and sobbing and the ominous
non-diegetic whistling stops playing in the background as the atmosphere has
become suspenseful in the darkness, allowing the audience to concentrate on the
sounds being produced at that is all we have to tell the story for us. There is
a deafening silence played for a few seconds creating a suspenseful atmosphere,
which is then broken by the diegetic sound of the coffin being shifted into the
ground and mud and dirt being shoveled over the top. The Bride’s breathing
therefore intensifies and the sound of mud falling onto the coffin becomes more
and more muffled to represent the layer of soil above getting thicker and
thicker, indicating that there is no escape from the enclosed space. The
strained white light of a torch The Bride is holding flickers on which produces
a minimalistic light source to illuminate the dark coffin representing her
insignificant hope. The lighting inside of the coffin is edited to black and
white this gives the scene more of a thriller/horror film atmosphere and
therefore heightens the intensity of the scene. The Bride makes diegetic grunts
and can be seen to have sweat dripping form her face when attempting to escape,
which signifies her desperation. The final diegetic sound generated from above
the ground is the distant sound of a car engine driving away representing the
feeling of desertion and the reinforced fact of there being no savior. The
torch light flickers symbolising The Brides fading hope and then the diegetic,
synchronous sound of the feeble torch being switched off plays as the car
drives away signifying how her last chance of escaping has disappeared and her
last glimmer of hope has faded.
However in the second burial scene The Bride
endeavours to escape from the coffin and is portrayed to be a hero. Firstly she
possesses a much calmer, composed attitude matched with gentle, less panicked
breathing. The lighting aids this change in atmosphere as it has altered
dramatically, instead of a white flickering torch light, the scene starts by
tracing the edges of the coffin with the solid golden glow, beaming from The
Bride’s torch, creating a much more positive mood depicting her to be a heroin
with the empowering use of the warm, yellow light, symbolising solid hope and
determination of escaping. Also the torchlight seems to light up the whole of
the coffin, illuminating the entire space showing the coffin to be bigger than
expected. Also contributing to the realisation of an increased amount of space
is the camera movement in this scene and the angles used to film the coffin as
they contrast with the previous scene by showing the whole of the enclosed
space so the coffin seems much larger and therefore creates a hopeful
atmosphere as the feeling of claustrophobia slowly becomes more insignificant
and ceases. The camera angle starts with a point of view shot of The Bride as
this creates more of a personal atmosphere as the audience can share in the
feeling of wanting to escape.
From the start of the scene there has been
a continuous, non-diegetic drumbeat played in the background, symbolising her
ongoing staccato heartbeat, which sets a steady beat to the scene and a less
panicked atmosphere. There is an introduction to a non-diegetic sound of
trumpets in the scene when The Bride manages to slip her cowboy boot off to get
her razor in order to unbind her hands, symbolic of the reemerging character of
The Bride which restores the audiences faith in her as a sense of triumph is
created. The appearance of her cowboy boots signifies action and possible
danger, representing her as a fighting character. When attempting to undo the
rope binding her wrists together, The Bride’s appearance of blood and sweat and
her hard facial expressions as well as her gritted teeth exude determination.
After successfully achieving to free herself from the binding, an array of
angelic, non-diegetic choir voices fade into the soundtrack connoting how she
is one step closing to escape which gives the viewers a sense of relief and
portray The Bride to be heroic. Next the woman tries to physically break the
wooden ceiling of the coffin as a means to finally free herself, therefore the
camera takes the position of a medium close up so the viewers can visibly see
her actions of breaking through the coffin. The camera then takes the point of
view of The Bride displaying the repetitive, excruciating thrust of her fist to
come in contact with the wood creating a synchronous, diegetic sound of
punching. To represent the agony there is use of blood smeared on the coffin
from her hand as a result of her sheer eagerness. The sight of blood and
punching creates a contrast with the hopeful, angelic music as pain contrasts
with hope. An aerial view, close up shot is taken of the Bride’s face showing
her gritted teeth as she takes each blow with bravery representing her
fortitude and her face is visible from the glow of the torchlight symbolising
her heroism.
In
conclusion the two burial scenes in ‘Kill Bill’ portray The Bride to display
two very different attitudes and the four technical areas of lighting, camera,
mise-en-scene and sound represented this transformation from a powerless
character to a conqueror of death.
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