Media Language in The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones

Budget: £65m
Box Office: £6m (UK) £43.8m (USA)


DVD cover image

I looked at the media language in 30 seconds of the film The Lovely Bones (Peter Jackson, 2009).
Here is a short clip from the film:



0.25 point of view shot

At the very start of this clip it is a close up of the girls face. This is to show how she is feeling and to help the audience relate to the situation she is in. In this case you can see that she is scared. There is no music playing and the only sound you can hear is of the actions she is quietly trying to do, this causes a lot of tension and intensity, this all signifies that she is not meant to be in this house but from watching the rest of the film that would have already been anchored. At 0.25 you get a view of what the girl is reading and seeing, this is a point of view shot. This is done so the audience know exactly what is going on and can react to what is discovered in the same way that the character does.

0.51 low shot, intimidating

At 0.51 there is a low shot of the man walking down the stairs, this signifies that the character is powerful and in control at this point in the film. The dark setting makes it look quite scary and makes him look even more intimidating.

0.59 broken glass

At 0.59 you see the broken glass on the floor this suggests that the girl upstairs has broken into this man's house. This could also be a point of view shot of the man noticing this broken glass.

1.19 extreme close up

 At 1.19 there is an extreme close up of the girls hand, this makes it very clear to the audience that she isn't meant to be here and that she has reason to be afraid of being caught reading whatever she was reading before. This slows down the pace of the scene a lot and the editing isn't as fast to cut to the what the man is doing downstairs, so you do not know if he knows she is there. This slow pace is a typical sign of a drama. 

1.38 close up

At 1.38 dramatic music starts as the chase begins, this causes a lot of drama and tension and a lot of build up. The non diegetic music and chase starts very quickly so may take the audience by surprise and keep them on the edge of their seats. Also at 1.38 it is a close up of the man's face. This is to show his emotion and reaction to hearing the girl upstairs and this also is like a pause before you know how he is going to react and what is going to happen. After this shot when the chase starts the editing becomes a lot quicker and it flicks between the two characters at a faster rate making the pace of the scene speed up and adds to the climax of the chase. This fast editing is more typical of a horror film because it gets the audiences to pay attention more and it seems like everything is happening more rapidly.