Titanic

Titanic is an american romantic drama which portrays the love between people from two extreme social classes on board the tragic ship on its doomed journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The movie uses past time continuity and the story is presented as something the viewer knows has happened and that the end will be a tragedy. We know the idea for the titanic is based on the historical ship, but the love story is fictional. Therefore although the viewers know the general ending and events which will take place, they're attention is kept as they are unsure on how the love story will play out. A major challenge for Cameron and his team when making this film was manufacture the reality of the titanic. Cameras would have had to be used carefully in order to capture important events on the ship. As the setting of this film was mainly supposed to be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, lighting would have had to be carefully used in order to again create this sense of realism - brighter light used outside, to show the idea of the sun shining upon the ship, and dimmer light used inside as it was only artificial light that would have been present inside the ship.

The costume used throughout the film is traditional to era(1900's) and representative of the class society. This is evident through the 2 main characters, Rose and Jack. Rose is often dressed in luxurious gowns and hats, and also by her posture we see that she is brought up in a wealthier certainly better established background to Jack. Jack is dressed in brown, cheap looking trousers and blazers with a loose fitting shirt, obviously depicting the poor background from which he comes, and also highlights the gap between the classes of Rose and Jack. This rule is generally adhered to throughout the film except when Jack joins Rose and her wealthy family and friends for dinner and borrows a suit, and when it switches to present day where the now old Rose is dressed relatively normal - suggesting a lack of distinction amongst classes today. There are a variety of shots used, one important one is at the beginning of the film when the ship reaches its necessary speed and Jack and the italian immigrant run around on the ships bow. The camera moves in an usual way - arcing around them and then moving back into a long shot, past parts of the ship. This is obviously highlighting that this excitement Jack and his friend are experiencing are due to this ship as we get to view it in all its glory. Another excellent shot is the extended dolly shot toward the closing of the film, when it looks as though the wreck of the Titanic on the seabed is coming toward us. This is excellent as it builds up anticipation for the emotional scene following where we see those who lost there lives on the titanic. Along with these, a number of close up shots are used which help create the intimacy needed to make this love story believable. It doesn't need to be said that the editing in this film was excellent, in fact it could be said some of the best that has been seen in filming. However, it is obvious too, that there is a strong need for editing in this film because of the scenario with the ship breaking and ultimately sinking.

In conclusion, i think that with all this taken into account there are definite ideas we could take such as camera angles and costume, although there is not as big an emphasis on editing with us, as we are not attempting to recreate a blockbuster on the same level of James Cameron's emotional rollercoaster that is Titanic.