Michael Moore, Essay Example

For this assignment I am going to analyze the filming techniques used by the American Director and political activist Michael Moore during one of the scenes in his controversial documentary Bowling for Columbine ( Michael Moore, Bowling For Columbine, 2002, Film ) I selected the scene where Moore is describing the hometown of Eric Harris who later committed the Columbine school massacre. The scene occurs 00:12: 44 minutes into the film. I selected the scene because it combines sound, filming techniques and use of color and still images to create a sad and almost eerie atmosphere throughout the whole scene.

I will begin by analyzing the use of sound in the scene as this is what gives it its uneasy and almost chilling atmosphere. The piece of music which plays beneath the voiceover is the main element of the emotional impact the scene has on viewers. It is slow and sad and is a very eerie piece of music. The music combined with the images of the young murderer and his father is both sad and creepy to view. Also in the voiceover which plays alongside the music Moore’s voice seems to sound sad and this emotion is picked up on by the audience.

Next I will analyze the editing technique used in this scene. The editing technique used in this scene is called the Ken Burns effect. The technique is used to transition between the still images of Eric Harris, the towns airbase and Eric Harris’s father and finally the moving images of the airplane taking off and the airplane in the sky. The clips fade slowly and smoothly from one to the other and this based with the eerie music and the sad tone of the voiceover has a chilling overall effect.

Next I will come to the use of color in this scene. This scene mixes a combination of black and white and color images. The opening still images of the scene are all black and white but when he cuts to the film clips of the airplanes the clips are in color. This gives a feeling of almost moving from one era to another. This combination is also used to this effect at the beginning of the film during the opening sequence.

The film itself is a documentary about guns, violence and the underlying reasons for the Columbine school massacre. Up until this scene the first few minutes of the film have covered only guns in general but this scene returns to the overall theme which runs at the heart of the documentary. The massacre. Michael Moore’s films are very political and often controversial. This is best shown in a recent Auteur Paper published online by Kelly Enright which states “ Director Michael Moore is one of the most controversial movie makers of our time. His documentaries look to our government and media for a reason to the problems of our troubled nation “ ( Kelly Enright, Auteur Paper: Michael Moore, www.oppapers.com, 2009 )

The scene is clearly designed to cause an emotional response from the audience to the tragedy that occurred. The slow eerie music, sad tone of the voiceover, slow Ken Burns editing and of course the images themselves really come together to bring the tragic theme of the film home to the hearts of the watching audience. Like his other films the documentary makes a strong political point but keeps the human aspect to and this scene is a good example of how this has been done.

Citations

Michael Moore, Bowling For Columbine, 2002, Film

Kelly Enright, Auteur Paper: Michael Moore, www.oppapers.com, 2009, Auteur Paper