Presentational Devices in Film Chicken Run

Presentational Devices in Film Chicken Run

In the film ‘Chicken Run’ the film makers use a variety of

presentational devices to show the good or evil nature of the

characters in the film. These include lighting, music, setting and

sound affects. It helps us better understand the characters of Ginger

and Mrs. Tweedie in particular.

One of the first presentational devices we come across in the film is

lighting.

At the beginning of the film, when Ginger is trying to escape at

night. She is unsuccessful and is being chased by Mr.Tweedie and his

ferocious guard dogs that patrol the concentration camp-style chicken

pen. Ginger gets chased to the front door of the farmhouse. She is

pinned against the door, the dogs are bearing down on her and ready to

attack. Suddenly the door bursts open and a glaring light streams out.

The light is shining brightly in Ginger’s face. We, the audience, can

see that she is frightened, we also see that she is just trying to get

out of a bad situation. We feel sorry for her. This is emphasized by a

high angle camera shot that makes Ginger seem insignificant.

We can also see from this scene presentational devices being used on

Mrs.Tweedie, as she is the one that opens the door. When she opens the

door all the light comes from behind her head. This means that the

audience can’t see her face, making her look sinister and frightening.

A low angle camera shot is used to get this effect that Mrs.Tweedie is

towering over you but you can’t see her face. This makes the audience

feel intimidated of her. Finally her body language at this point is

very threatening, as she has her hands on her hips and glaring down at

Ginger. You can’t see much of her face, but what you can see is

Mrs.Tweedie’s eyes and eye brows. They are glaring down at Ginger

evilly.

Another way we see Mrs.Tweedie is plain evil is the use of music in

the scene when she inspects the chickens for there eggs.