Month: June 2016

how does the director of hotel rwanda use cinematographic techniques to develop tension in pauls epiphany scene?

June 6, 2016 / / 0 Comments

In the movie hotel Rwanda, the director uses an array of cinematographic techniques to strengthen the tension in the film which aims to show the terrible turn of events that happened in Rwanda. This movie is based on a true story of how the people of Rwanda were divided into two races, Hutu, and Tutsi when Belgium colonised Rwanda the segregated the country into two classes, the Hutu’s were stereotyped to have darker skin and wider noses. The Tutsi were said to have lighter skin and thin noses. After the Belgians left they left the power in the arms of the Hutu’s they were conditioned to think that the Tutsi were nothing more than cockroaches and scum. This was the beginning of one of the worst cases of mass genocide the world has ever seen.

one of the techniques Terry George uses is tension. he uses silence and suspense to keep the audience engaged. One example of this is when Paul gets the supplies he needs, George tells him he knows he has important cockroaches (Tutsi’s) at his hotel. George then offers him a deal to let him have some Tutsi’s of his own and George gets to kill the rest of them. As George finishes his sentence the camera changes to a close up. this is looking to catch Paul’s reaction to the “take it or leave it.” Deal George has put on the table for him. this close up catch the utter disgust shown by his facial expressions. another point that is just as important is the audio. This plays a part in keeping the audience thinking. Terry George uses tribal and quick tempo sounds that enhance the moment of tension. It gives the scene a level of uncertainty in the mind of the audience. In Paul’s epiphany scene the sound plays a vital part in adding the machete slice sound, this helps add tension because the machete slice represents violence so the audience will immediately think it means death.

Another important factor is the use of special effects. Terry george uses special effects to help aid him in making the movie appeal and more emotive to viewers