Movie Scene

The scene I have chosen to analyze is from the movie Moulin Rouge. The scene is towards the beginning of the film when Ewan McGregor sings “Your Song.” In this scene he is singing to get the attention of Nicole Kidman. He tryd just talking to her but she won’t listen so he bursts out in song and she is quiet and awe-struck until his song is finished. The camera shots in this scene begin with close-up shots of the actor and actresses alternating faces. The camera then moves to a wide-angle lens with Ewan facing the camera while singing, meanwhile behind him the audience can also see Nicole in the background looking enthralled by his song. It then moves back to close-up shots once again. The two lovers are then taken magically by the wind up to the roof where the dance for the remainder of the song, the camera angle constantly switching between close-up, medium, and long shots. This collaboration of camera angles really creates an intimate atmosphere and the audience feels very in tune with both of the characters.

The lighting is mainly high-key lighting, however when the lovers move to the roof backlighting takes over. Since this lighting transition moves so drastically from “regular” lighting, it serves to emphasize the “halo effect” that is projected onto the characters. It adds a magical element to this love scene. The sound during this scene is only mainly the music/song Ewan is singing, with the exception of a few words from Nicole at the beginning. He is attempting to win the heart of Nicole’s character. She does not speak a word for the entire scene once he starts singing which is interesting because the audience has to then decide how she feels about the man trying to woo her by only her gestures and facial expressions. This also adds a magical element to the scene. This techniques used in this entire scene are very representative of the movie’s purpose. This movie is a musical romance and this scene’s techniques creates the intimacy between the two lovers while also adding that magical element that this film carries throughout to create the feeling that this love story is almost fantastical.

In terms of teaching film techniques in my classroom, I agree with Beach when he states, “Underlying these four approaches is the basic assumption that students are most likely to learn to understand and critique use of film techniques through engaging in their own digital video film productions” (21). I believe that students will learn best by doing. I think one important strategy that I will use is involving the use of sound. I think it would be beneficial to give a 3-5 minute scene from a film with no sound. In small groups the children should provide voice-overs for what they believe “should” be happening in this scene. In addition, they should provide and music or other background noise they feel is appropriate for the scene. This activity is also applicable to other film techniques besides just sound and music. For example, you could also provide the children with a plot line of a scene and they could draw out a sort of story board that displays the camera angles that they feel would work best with the scene.