Film Techniques Used in the Party Scene of “Once Were Warriors” Free Essay Example

Analyse how techniques were used to create impact in one important section of “Once Were Warriors” Directed by Lee Tamahori. In the film, “Once Were Warriors” the visual techniques camera shots and angles, lighting and sound effects were used to create impact in the party scene. The impact created shows us, the audience, that alcohol can lead to violence. Firstly, the director uses camera shots and angles to create impact in showing us the relationships between the characters and how they become violent due to alcohol.

At the beginning of the scene we see a close up of character Beth Heke’s face as she looks at herself with pride in the mirror. At this point of the scene she is feeling okay about herself, she can see something worthwhile in herself. Later in the scene when Jake, her husband, has brought his friends home for a party, we see Jake and Beth through an eye-level shot as they sing lovingly together.

This shows at this moment in the party, they are equal with each other and happy. They are a couple who have love for one another.

This all changes as people get progressively drunker and violent feelings start to show. For example, Beth gets angry at her son Nig and slaps him then a friend, Uncle Bully walks in and asks her to cook him some eggs. She screams at him to “fuck off’ and her husband comes in to sort the issue out. He does this by brutally beating his wife up.

We see Beth through a high angle shot as Jake punches her to the ground. This shows how powerless she is. This is how Jake sees her, how he controls her and pushes her down.

Whereas we see Jake from a low angle. This angle shows how powerful Jake is at this moment. Alcohol has turned him into a drunk and violent monster. This is how Beth sees him, in control, the dominant one. He has achieved this position with his fists. One final shot which creates a lot of impact is a full shot of the Heke children huddled up together upstairs in bed. This shot shows them huddled together for protection as they listen to their mother get beaten by their father downstairs. They are terrified and hiding in the dark.

These shots and angels really create impact in showing the audience a family overwhelmed by domestic violence and alcohol abuse. The second technique Lee Tamahori uses to create impact in this scene is the use of lighting. For example, when Jake and Beth sing their beautiful and loving duet together, they are surrounded in a rich golden light. This lighting could symbolise the love they have had for each other for so long. This all changes when things turn violent due to alcohol. As Jake beats Beth, we see his angry face surrounded by dark red lighting.

This lighting symbolises that he is at this point a scary and violent man. It represents the violent side of Jake’s personality. He is a dangerous man and alcohol is making this much, much worse. The dark red lighting is also surrounding Beth as Jake beats her to the ground. His violence, as represented by this dark red lighting, imprisons Beth. Jake imprisons her with violence. As the children huddle together on the bed upstairs, the lighting on them is also dark. This represents that they, too, are imprisoned in a world of domestic violence and alcoholism.

The lighting in this scene also creates impact in revealing the trouble Heke household. Finally, sound effects are also used to create impact in this party scene. For example, the use of guitar and singing when Jake and Beth have their short lived happy moment together. The happy guitar and singing reveal that at this moment they are happy and in love with each other. Or perhaps, as Nig, their son says, that they are out of their heads. Perhaps he means out of their heads due to alcoholism. Anyway, this happy sound gives way to a rough guitar sound and the sound of the purerehua.

These two sounds are linked to Jake and his anger fuelled by alcohol. The guitar sound is rough, violent and abrupt, just like Jake’s temper. The purerehua is almost used as a warning sound telling the audience that the characters in the film better get out of Jake’s way because he’s about to lose it. Perhaps the most distressing sound to create a sad and emotional impact for the audience is the sound of the children crying as they huddle together in bed upstairs. This sound pulls on the heart strings of the audience. We feel upset by the trauma these children are going through.

These few simple and short sounds really do create impact in this scene. In conclusion, Lee Tamahori skilfully uses the techniques: camera shots and angles, lighting and sound effects to create impact in this scene. Together these techniques reveal a family suffering from the extreme effects of alcoholism and domestic violence. We, the audience feel traumatised as this scene plays before our eyes and we also fell that no, this is not right, especially due to the poor children who cry upstairs as they hear their mother almost get beaten to death.

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