After watching Gladiator, I analysed the opening 12 minutes of the film. We first start by seeing the Dreamworks logo which has been edited to show an orange colour which blends in with the first scene. This tells the audience that it will fit in with the genre and theme of the film.
Cinematography
The first scene is set in a corn field which gives the film a peaceful feel. The orange tone gives it a gentle feel and also a warm one. The low macro shot moves forward on a dolly to make it feel more peaceful. The wheat seams to be lifeless and leaning over rather than upright and healthy. This is in contrast to the next scene which is is very dark with black, white and grey as the main colours. The first character that we are introduced to is looking down, suggesting that he isn't important however his following actions and clothes suggest that he is important.
The shot is a close up one. He goes to walk off but then spots a robbin. He looks at the robbin as it flies off, symbolising freedom and also peace, a contrast to the character who looks like he has been fighting due to his beard. Both the character and bird are alone however the man cannot give up.
The next shot is a wide shot, showing the scale of the land. The trees closest to the camera have been destroyed possibly suggesting a battle has taken place. When the Romans start to ride onto the land, it confirms that this is a frequent battle place. The shot that follows this is a crane shot to show the scale of the Roman army. The sound or the horses is diegetic and is louder.
The next shot is a low down shot which zooms into this character. The zoom tells us that he is an important character as we are looking up to him. The shot after this is of the first Character, Maximus Decimus Meridius who is walking in-between soldiers. They all step back and look at him as he is walking past. The camera then changes from his perspective with people looking at him and talking to him. The shot is smooth and not too fast showing a sense of peace and importance.
The next few shots are from different angles showing how prepared the army are. Helicopter shots are not used to stick with the age and theme of the film. The shot after this shows a horse running back. This is the main noise and as the horse is white, is stands out more. When the next shot of the horse being injured is shown, we know that they have encountered something from that direction.
The scene after this is of the Barbarian who is holding up a Roman head. He is shown in a negative light as the film is biased to the Gladiators. The Barbarian then runs back behind the rest of their soldiers showing them as cowards. The wide shot showing the space between them is foreshadowing a battle.
The character that we was first introduced to then gets on his horse and says "At my signal; release hell", this shows his importance. The dog runs off with the horse before we see a high shot of the Barbarians. We then see quick different shots of the Romans who are getting ready. One shot is with flames in front of the archers which shows that they are serious. This relates to the phrase "playing with fire".
The camera then goes back to the old man. With another reference to him, this suggests his importance. The camera the gives us a wide shot of how prepared the Romans are.
After this, we see the first soldier, who rode off, arrive around the back of the Barbarians. We are then shown a panning shot of all the horses lining up. Again, this shows the scale. After this, we see a wide shot from the side showing the woods to have a foggy effect with it being dark with shadows. This shows the scale of woods by giving it depth. It also reminds us of how dark the place is, metaphorically. The sound in this scene echoes.
The film then goes back to the Romans preparing and shows us it in different shots however they are quicker and more rougher - done by handheld shots. An effective shot is when the flames are being lit with the flames coming towards the camera. People's arms and heads also get in the way giving it a more 'natural' and less set up look.
After this, in a wide shot, we see a burning arrow being fired over the battlefield. This is shown as a flare however flares are normally used as a sign for help but it's not in this case. After this we see the rest of the Romans light their arrows and fire them. The strong reference to the fire suggests hell and also war.
After a panning shot of all the Romans firing away, we see more handheld shots as the battle takes places. This makes it seem more rougher. In a wide shot already, we can see the devastation caused in less than a minute.
Distance shots are showing the scale whereas the close-up shots are showing the pain and the action. Slow motion shots show how much is happening in a short amount of time. The noise of the battle is still louder the music showing how fierce it is. Towards the end of this battle scene, slow motion shots become important. The shots in slow motion are normally stutter more making it more blury.
When the Romans have won, they all raise their swords in victory as the camera eases out to show how many Barbarians they have killed. The camera also goes back to the old man who although seems important, doesn't seem to support what the Romans have done as he doesn't smile or cheer. He appears to show a sign of relief.
Editing
The very first editing that we see is the colour change of the Universal and DreamWorks introduction. This has been given an orange tint to blend in with the next scene and theme of the film. When the title and text of the film comes up, it fades in making it peaceful and not too intrusive. Our first shot is of a man brushing his hand through a field, done on a dolly track, this makes the shot go with a flow and seem peaceful.
When we are first introduced to the Romans who are preparing for battle, it doesn't seem like any colour correction has been made. All of the shots are cut and are not faded as the film is not trying to show a sense of emotion. To make the audience more engaged, the film often shows the same thing from different angles, e.g. the horse riding back is shown from, low, high and close shots.
As the Romans are preparing for the battle, the music becomes more tense and there are more shots that are more quickly paced. This is to show that a lot is going on. Several shots of the arrows and trebuchet and shown to show the scale and enormity of the Roman army. When the trees becoming alight, this is shown from different angles to show how damaging the Romans are.
When the Romans attack from behind, this is shown from different angles to increase how dramatic it is. Some bits are shown in slow motion so that we can see what is happening in just a few seconds.
