Garth Davis 'Critical Techniques In Garth Davis Lion'

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A critical technique that is utilized effectively in Garth Davis’ Lion, are the dynamic, varying camera movements, shots, and techniques. To truly convey the emotions of the protagonist Saroo to the audience, the cinematographer, Greig Fraser, utilized various shots such as low, handheld shots, extreme long and establishing shots, as well as close ups for emotional sequences. These shots are ordered, with the camera growing higher and more stable throughout the film, as Saroo grows and eventually descends into madness from his identity crisis. With the first half of the film focusing on Saroo being lost as a child, the primary emotions that the director tries to convey are stress, loneliness, and fear. To truly sell the emotions to the audience, …show more content…

With Saroo being taken from his home via train, incredibly long establishing shots are taken to give the audience a higher understanding of the distance Saroo travels and exemplifies the dread of being completely lost and separated from family. To symbolize how separate Saroo is from the people and help around him, the train travels past multiple populated settlements, undisturbed on its constant, unstoppable journey through the night. To emphasize the loneliness and abandonment of Saroo, the shots were taken at midnight in which it appears as if Saroo is completely alone against the harsh darkness. Establishing shots of natural scenes are also commonly used in the film to convey an underlying message or idea to the audience, such as when an establishing shot of his brother's forest house is used to help emphasize the idea of how isolated and separate he is from his family and society. Moreover, the sailing scene that occurs after Saroo has spent a year with his Australian family is another typical example of establishing shots used for symbolism in the film, Saroo and his new family are sailing forwards, despite the troubles that rock the vessel as waves. Consequently, the establishing shots used are some of the most memorable moments and massively …show more content…

As he scrolls along Google Earth, growing ever closer to his town, the camera zeros in on the screen, making every pixel and movement of Saroo on the trackpad incredibly apparent. With tears forming in his eyes, the camera closes in on Patel’s eyes as they follow the screen intently, conveying great emotion in his strong stare, with almost half of the movie, which is supposed to be multiple years of Saroo’s life, building onto this moment. To symbolize how engaged Saroo is to the screen, the reflection of the Google Earth screen is shown in his eyes. These super closeups contrast heavily with the long shots used to convey Saroo’s memories of the areas he is viewing on the screen, with sudden cuts to the scenes in

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