Luc Besson uses cinematographic techniques to control the audience perception of key characters in many ways. Besson uses camera shots, angles and movement, special effects and sound. Plava Laguna is a perfect example as there are many techniques used to make the audience perceive her in a good and delicate way. Other characters such as Corbin, Leeloo and the Mangalors will also be discussed in the following.
Plava laguna is looked at to have an unbelievable voice superior to any other human, with a mysterious vibe and perceived to be good. Her emotion and feeling have been shown using camera shots, angles and movement and sound. As Plava Laguna is filmed when performing up on the stage, at the start most are mid shots at level angle but as she builds, Besson adds more angles and shots including tracking, zoom, tilt, low angles, level angles and more. The first consideration Besson looked into was where to place the camera which should involve knowing what emotion you want the audience to experience at that particular time. Besson used mostly level angle for Plava laguna at the start to make the audience see her as if they saw her in real life. The level angle shot is said to be more honest, friendly and straight forward. The level angle gives the audience a clear view of her facials and emotion so this angle is used a lot. As we know using only level angle would get boring but as there starts to be more action going on, the shots and camera angles switch up. The zoom is used on Plava Laguna after the assistant got shot. As the camera zooms she looks like she get more energy and more emotional in her voice. Plava Laguna facials also tell a part of how she is feeling as the camera zooms right up onto her face.
Above me I see the grey stormy sky loom over me. Getting my last banana in my anxious stomach stimulates my nerves. The injection in my arm which makes me irritable, powerful and energetic all in one emotion. The crowd, who is screaming violently and loudly gives me the extra rush of adrenaline. The consequences go through my mind of losing, there is no way I will let my country down. The speech at the opening ceremony replays through my head ” this year we are taking it to the next level, the country that has the least gold medals will be taken over by the country that has most gold medals, don’t let your country down” The echo of this one sentence will continue to hunt me. As it replays in my head my race number is called.
I walk to my track lane as my heart is beating more than ever, my hands are placed either side of my body as I crutch down to wait for the starter pistol. Boom, the starter pistol bullet flies up into the air as I spring up and pump my legs. Beyond I see nothing but the crowd, no one in sight. Every part of my body is eager to get to the finish line which motivates me even more to keep sprinting my heart out. Only a few meters ahead of me I identify a thick long piece of red ribbon spread across the finish line, I prepare myself to dig it in for those last few strides, all of a sudden my head crosses the line as my body follows. The ribbon wrapped around my waist I raise my arms in victory. Abruptly I realise the shortness of my breathing gets worse as my chest starts to tighten and a squeezing sensation in my chest occurs. The sharp horrendous pain spreads throughout my body. I start to panic as I can’t control my body, I fall to the ground. My eyes become blurry and dreary as I hear voices surround me. Now I see and feel nothing.
Beneath me I feel what seems to be like a really hard bed. As my eyelid try to open it feels like i’m trying to lift weights off my eyes. I feel a smooth hand clench onto mine as my eyes finally open, I see my mum who looks absolutely exhausted. Her eyes catch mine as I see that she has a tears rolling down her cheek. Only a few minutes after I had woken my coach enters the room along with a doctor and a nurse. Firstly they ask me how i’m feeling which had to have been a foolish question to ask at this point. They explain to me that I had a very severe heart attack and that i’m lucky to be alive, I see mum who is in the corner holding in her tears. All I can remember is how nervous I was at the start of the race and from there on its all a blur, I don’t even know how I did in my final. Thoughts race through my mind but all my body can cope right now is sleep I try to stay awake to talk to my coach but I feel so muggy, lethargic and sore. The disinfectant smell of the hospital reminds of the time my dad unfortunately passed away, and reminds me of why i’m really here. As I fight to stay awake I gaze out the window and see the jagged buildings and the sky finally become clear and and warming, my coach once again enters my room with a coffee. The smell of coffee fulfilled my room. ” Coach Henry may I ask why you are so happy at this exact moment?” I say with a confused look on my face, and Henry explains his excitement by saying ” I have very exciting news but I must wait until I have been given this gift for you”. What he said did not make total sense to me, what is it he has to give me.
Around me I see buildings mirror the ice cold water as I sneak towards the intimidating, damp prison . Outside the gates the men effortlessly stand in strict uniforms with dogs trained well. The smooth reliable tarcel creates the butterflies in my stomach. My eyes gaze out the window as the car breaks and mums window screeches its way down. The guard gets straight to it asking for identification.
Sight
I See the lenses fogging up
Terror: I try to look ahead but i see nothing but fog.
Fun: I can see nothing but blue as i rush down the waterslide Smell I smell the chlorine lingering in my hair.
Terror: I can smell the chlorine as it gushes over my head
Fun: I smell the chlorine which reminds me of my favourite memories Taste I taste the liquid gushing into my mouth
Terror: I taste nothing but chemicals as I start choking
Fun: I can taste the chlorine that gushes into my mouth as i zoom around the corners. Hear I hear the water splashing around me
Terror: I Hear nothing around me.
Fun: I hear the screams and laughter of the kids around me Touch I feel the coldness become warm.
Terror: I feel the coldness come over me as I sink further down.
Fun: I can hardly feel my face as my eyes are squished.
“I am fortunes fool!” the characters cannot determine there own destinies in life, fate is determined by a high power beyond the control of the Character being affected. So many things happen by luck which Shakespeare used in his play to make it the tragedy it is. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare explores the idea of fate. He uses many quotes in the script to show that fate is in control of Romeo and Juliet’s lives. Shakespeare uses many other quotes and techniques to explore the idea of fate throughout the play.
In the play, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses many techniques such as plot ( timing and co-incidents), the prologue, dramatic irony and language (metaphors) to show that fate is very important in his play. Fate is defined when their life is thought to be out of their control. Shakespeare uses fate in his play to show that Romeo and Juliet’s life is under the control of fate as they meet, fall in love and die together and no one is able to stop them.
The idea that fate presents throughout Romeo and Juliet includes many techniques including plot (timing and co-incidents). Fate refers to the will of God, so due to this many co-incidences occurred as Elizabethan England Society considered this God’s intention. The timing of the play is out of the characters hands and fate uses that as an advantage, choices are made by the characters but all events throughout the play point to fate as to why these unfortunate events happen.
We see many examples of co-incidences throughout the play of Romeo and Juliet and recognize that co-incidents happen so that Romeo and Juliet meet each other, fall in love, and both take their lives as said in the prologue. We see one of these examples in Romeo and Juliet near the end of the script when Juliet takes the potion to fall asleep so she doesn’t have to marry Paris. This was Friar Lawrence idea, as Romeo had been banished from Verona, Friar Lawrence had sent the letter letting him know what was going on. As the letter did not get to him, Romeo found out that Juliet was “dead” by one of his good friends from the capulets family. Romeo went to the apothecary to get a deadly potion to kill himself for when he sees Juliet at her tomb. Friar Lawrence gets told by Friar John that the letter did not get to him, Friar Lawrence tried to get to the tomb before him but Romeo gets there first. Romeo says his goodbyes to Juliet not knowing what is going on, he takes the potion and dies. Juliet wakes up just after to find Romeo is not by her side. Juliet-” O, comfortable Friar! where is my lord? I do remember well where I should be, and there I am. Where is my Romeo?”. This quote shows us that Romeo killed himself just as Juliet was waking up because right from the start we knew that at some point they had taken their life.
The second co-incident would be when the Capulet tells the servant who can not read to send out the invitations. As the servant can’t read he walks along a street in Verona and comes across Romeo who helps him read. As Romeo helped him, the servant asked him to come to the party. Servant- ” if you be not of the house of Montagues, I pray come crush a cup of wine”. This leads him to go to the party at the Capulets and of course meet Juliet. These co-incidents show us that Romeo and Juliet fall in love, and cannot be stopped from killing themselves. The plot along with many other features shows us the idea of fate and the reasons behind it.
The fourteen-line sonnet at the start of the script known as the prologue which does not only set the scene but tells us exactly what is going to happen throughout the storyline. It tells us where the play takes place and gives us some background information about the two families and some characters. In the prologue, it mentions ” a pair of star-crossed lovers takes their life” in other words lovers destined to an unhappy fate, this refers to “star-crossed” which basically means against the stars. Stars were thought to discipline peoples destinies, the prologue gives us the sense of fate by letting us know that Romeo and Juliet die right from the beginning.
As the whole prologue refers to fate as the two lovers kill themselves and bring the two families together who basically were at war with each other. As Romeo and Juliet met, fell in love, got married and unfortunately took there lives, the two families, the Capulets and the Montagues agree to end their strife. The prologue tells the audience this at the start of the script, ” Whose misadventured piteous overthrows, Do with their death bury their parents’ strife”. All along it was fate that the two families that hated each other came together and decided to make statues of Romeo and Juliet to commemorate them. The prologue is one example of how fate plays out in Romeo and Juliet along with many other techniques and features.
As there were techniques used to show the idea of fate throughout the script one of them was dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that the characters have no idea about. Shakespeare uses this technique by leaving audience in suspense and anticipation, this is why Romeo and Juliet is such a good tragedy because it leaves you wondering, what if Romeo and Juliet hadn’t fallen in love? There are many examples of dramatic irony in Romeo and Juliet. One example in the final scene is the special potion Juliet takes to pass out to dodge getting married to Paris as she has already married Romeo. The potion made her look dead so when Romeo came to her tomb he was beside himself and he instantly wanted to kill himself to be with Juliet in heaven. Romeo takes the deadly potion he got from the apothecary thinking Juliet has already died while the audience watches in agony because Juliet is only minutes from waking up. This happened to show that fate had controlled their lives and there is no way to interfere with what is set up for them.
The second example of dramatic irony shown in Romeo and Juliet is when Mercutio and Benvolio thought Romeo was hopelessly in love with Rosaline but really what he does not know is that he has fallen in love with one of the Capulets, Juliet. Mercutio- ” Alas, poor Romeo, he is already dead, stabbed with a white wench’s black eye, run through the ear with a love-song, the very pin of his heart clift with the bind bow-boy’s butt shaft” this quote shows us that Mercutio is saying that love has already killed Romeo. This explains that it was the fate for Romeo to meet Juliet at the Capulets party to get over Rosaline as Mercutio told him to go to the Capulet party to meet someone new. Romeo sure got over Rosaline in a hurry because it was the fate of Romeo and Juliet to meet, fall in love, and die together.
Romeo and Juliet are referred to “star-crossed lovers” which means an ill-fated couple so its appropriate for Shakespeare to use celestial metaphors to relate to fate and heaven to show such love and beauty that Romeo and Juliet share. The first metaphor is when Romeo compares Juliet’s eyes to the beauty of the stars, ” Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, having some business, do entreat her eyes, to twinkle in their spheres till they return”. Romeo explains that her eyes twinkle like the brightest stars in heaven. this means any metaphor that compares something to the stars shows their future and the conflict that happened and what is set up for them.
Another example that is seen in Romeo and Juliet is near the Capulets party when Capulet explains to Paris to come along and look at many women including Juliet to make sure he definitely wants to marry Juliet. when Capulet tells Paris he refers the woman to earth-treading stars, ” At my poor house to behold this night, earth-treading stars that make dark heaven light. Such comfort as do lusty men feel”. This quote shows us that capulet compares “earth-treading stars” to the beautiful dancing woman. Shakespeare uses these metaphors in his play to compare many things to stars up in heaven. all these metaphors relate to fate as in the love and beauty Shakespeare uses to show the conflicts of man vs. man and man vs. fate.
In summary, William Shakespeare explores the idea of fate in Romeo and Juliet by using the techniques of plot, prologue, dramatic irony and metaphors. Using old language he explores a story of love and passion, to the point where neither Romeo or Juliet can live without each other. When fate intervenes there is no turning back and they both end up in death together.
4 Main Body Paragraph Ideas:
– Dramatic technique (Dramatic Irony)
When Juliet had taken the potion to “die” and Friar Lawrence sent a letter to Romeo but he did not receive it and he went to buy a potion to kill himself when he goes to see Juliet. Friar Lawrence ” Stay, Then; ill go alone, fear comes upon me: O, much I fear some ill unlucky thing:”.
– Refers to God and Fate
– Language
– Prologue, in the prologue they tell us what is going happen throughout the play. it tells us about the fated couple which refers to “star-crossed” which basically means against the stars. Prologue ” A pair of two star-crossed lovers take their lives”.
– Plot (Timing and Co-incidence)
romeo gets to Juliet’s tomb without knowing she’s not actually dead, he has the deadly potion with him and says his goodbyes. as soon as Romeo takes the potion Juliet wakes up to find him dead. Juliet- ” O, comfortable Friar! where is my lord? I do remember well where I should be, and there I am. Where is my Romeo?”. The second example would be when the Capulet tells the servant who can not read to send out the invitations. as the servant can’t read he walks along a street in Verona and comes across Romeo who helps him read, as Romeo helped him the servant asked him to come to the party. Servant- ” if you be not of the house of Montagues, i pray come crush a cup of wine”.
Juliet: At nine o’clock I sent the nurse,
She ensured me she would be back In half an hour.
Perhaps she cant find him, thats not good!
Oh she’s too slow, loves runner should be thoughts,
which fly ten times faster than sunbeams
They should be strong enough to push shadows over the dark hills.
That’s the way doves carry Venus so fast,
and that’s why Cupid has wings that let him fly as fast as the wind.
Now it’s noon.
That’s three hours since nine o’clock,
but she hasn’t come back.
If she was young and passionate,
she’d move as fast as a ball.
My words would bounce her to my sweet love,
and his words would bounce her back to me.
But a lot of old people act like they’re already dead
sluggish, slow, big , and colourless, like lead.
Oh my god here she comes, what the news?
Did you see him?
Nurse: Peter, may you stay at the gate.
Juliet: Now my beautiful nurse, why do you look so sad.
Is it bad news? Tell me with a smile.
If its good news your ruining it with that sour face.
Nurse: I am aware, but leave me alone.
I am so tired my bones ache!
I have been running around everywhere.
Juliet: I wish you had my bones and i had yours news,
Please tell me nurse, I beg you, speak.
Nurse: oh sweet heaven, Your is such a rush.
Cant you wait until i catch my breath?
Juliet: How can you be out of breath
When you have enough breath to tell me your put of breath.
The excuse you make to delay the news is longer than the news itself
Is it good or bad? Answer that question
tell me if it good or bad, and ill wait for the details.
Nurse:Well, you have made a foolish choice.
You don’t know how to pick a man. Romeo?
No, not him, though his face is more handsome than any man’s,
and his legs are prettier, and as for his hands and feet and body,
they’re not much to speak of, and yet they’re beyond compare.
He’s not the most polite man in the world, but believe me,
he’s gentle as a lamb. Well, do what you want.
Be good. Have you had lunch yet?
Juliet: No i Haven’t its the least of my worries,
everything you told me i already new.
what about the marriage?
Nurse: Oh lord my head is pounding
I feel like im going to break into millions of peices.
My back aches so bad too ( Juliet rubs her back)
Oo yes and on the other side too,
Curse your heart for making me run all over the town.
I could get sick and die.
Juliet: Oh trust me, I apologize that your in pain,
Please sweet, sweet nurse, what did my Romeo say?
Nurse: Your love says, like a polite gentlmen,
who is aware, kind and handsom
where is your mother?
Juliet: Where is my mother? shes inside, why you ask
Where else could she be? Your answers are so strange.
Nurse: Holy God, you are so impatient.
My bones are still aching,
Next time do your messaging yourself.
Juliet: Your making such a fuss,
What did my romeo say.
Nurse: Do you have permission to go out
and take confession today?
Juliet: I do.
Nurse:Then hurry up and rush over to Friar Lawrence’s cell.
There’s a husband there who’s waiting to make you his wife.
Now I see the blood rushing to your cheeks.
You blush bright red as soon as you hear any news.
Go to the church. I must go by a different path to get a rope ladder.
Your love will use it to climb up to your window while it’s dark.
I do the drudge work for your pleasure.
But soon you’ll be doing a wife’s work all night long.
Go. I’ll go to lunch.
You go to Friar Lawrence’s cell.
