Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark Essay

I have chosen to evaluate a scene from Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana and Sallah uncover the Well of Soles where the lost ark is hidden. We open the scene at 57:03 with Indiana leading a team of diggers up a hill to the spot where they will dig for the ark. As the scene opens we hear the diegetic sounds of the diggers and commotion taking place in the background. We also hear non-diegetic music that will be referred to as the â€Å"ark theme† playing as Indiana climbs the hill and has his men start to dig for the ark. The slow and sort of creepy tone that makes up the ark theme reminds us of the continuing quest for the ark and also that the ark may very well be close by. At 58:00, the non-diegetic music briefly cuts for about four seconds but then picks up once again as Indiana turns around to whistle for his men to start digging. As the digging begins, the music picks up and gets louder and louder. The rise in the non-diegetic music builds the suspense and excitement of the scene and foreshadows the big discovery that lies ahead. At 58:26 the scene dissolves into a shot of the dig site from afar. Although the non-diegetic music ended, we pick up with the diegetic music or sound of the tune that the workers hum as they dig. We can also hear the diegetic sounds of the wind howling and we see the sun setting in the background showing us that a cold night is approaching. The coloring from the sun set gives the shot a feel that something great is about to happen yet provides a sense of mystery for those who don’t know what is to come. In this shot we cannot see a detailed view of our characters, rather just the shadows of the digging men and Indy. We are easily able to pick out Indy despite only being able to see character shadows simply because we see him put on his trademark hat which he is famous for wearing. At 58:44 the shot cuts to yet another shot of the digging site at night fall. Immediately we hear booms of thunder and strikes of lightening from an approaching storm which sets the tone of this portion of the scene. The thunder and lightning and building anticipation seem to foreshadow the discovery of the ark yet again, which we initially hink is a good thing, however, the dark and evil sounds of the storm represent bad things will eventually come from the ark and show us that in hindsight, the ark should not be disturbed. Anticipation continues to build as we hear more diegetic sounds of thunder and a spooky wind howling in the background. We see a shot of Indy and see the worried look on his face as the storm continues to approach. At 58:56 Sallah informs Indy that they hit stone and here we see an eyeline match from Indy leading to the next shot of the uncovered stone. As the workers continue to uncover the stone, the diegetic sounds continue. The lack of non-diegetic music emphasizes the roar of the thunder and helps the view focus on the big find that is about to occur. As the stone is lifted and the tomb is uncovered, we hear the diegetic sound of an animal howling in the background at 59:50. This gives the viewer a spooky feel of the tomb. At 59:55 we see and hear a stinger brought on by non-diegetic music. The thunder roars with a lightning strike which lights up the opening of the tomb which reveals a scary-looking creature with jagged teeth. As this is revealed the non-diegetic music spikes and Sallah shouts from being startled which all creates this stinger effect. The stinger also proves to be the cue that re-starts the creepy, non-diegetic music. After questioning the moving floor, at 1:00:15, the non-diegetic music spikes into a high pitch shriek, as Indy drops his torch. The non-diegetic music lowers to a creepy tone once again but then spikes into a high pitch flute sound at 1:00:22 as the camera pans over the creepy view of the snakes. The non-diegetic music continues into a low-pitch brass sound which continues to provide a creepy feel but also foreshadows the evil that lies ahead. At 1:00:42 the camera lifts back to Indy as he rolls over and delivers his famous line; â€Å"Snakes.  Why did it have to be snakes? † Sallah then crawls over to Indy and at 1:00:59, Sallah utters over the non-diegetic music, â€Å"Asps. Very dangerous. You go first! † This line then cues the diegetic sounds of a snake rattling and a loud boom of thunder which cues the end of the scene. Throughout this four minute clip, there are tons of diegetic sounds and a lot of non-diegetic music. The sounds and music play a huge roll in this scene as it builds emotion for the find of the Well of Soles yet foreshadows the danger and adventure that lies ahead in the remainder of the film.