Visual Elements in The Piano

Visual Elements are visible characteristics which contribute to the appearance of something; in this case this is elements such as camera angle, camera movement, editing pace, special effects and shot sizes. The film The Piano, in the scene beginning at 1:30:30 and ending at 1:35:19, the narrative feature of Visual Elements is used very effectively.

When Flora is taking the message to Alistair, there is a close up of her face, as she spins around. This shows that she thinks about changing her path, and that her decision will have a large effect. This shot emphasises the loss of innocence in Flora, one of the major themes in this scene.  It then cuts to a low angle shot of Flora running up the hill. This shows that she hold the power to decide what will happen and is influential to the scene. This shot shows the audience what an important scene this is, and what an important decision this is. This shot is strange and stands out, becuase it is very different form other camera angles in the movie. As Flora is often the small child, who does not make decisions that change te course of the movie. However, she is seen here with the power to effect other characters. There is another low angle shot, when Flora gives the love note to Alistair, The camera then begins to follow Alistair and leave Flora behind. This shot shows Alistair now holds the power to decide what happens next, and he and that he intends to hurt Ada. The audience begins to feel more dread about what will happen, beacause the power is now with a angry and strong man, who carries an axe. This shot in combination with the dark, cold and harsh enviroment makes the audience feel the negative vibes and the terror that something is about to happen to the likable main character. 

The movie then cuts to a travelling shot in the dark forest. Trees and braches go in front of the camera and the audience is confused about what is happening. The desperate manner of the shot is mirroring the anguish Alistair is feeling. It is at this point where the pace quickens. As the film is mostly edited at a slow and prolonged pace, this is different and the audience realizes the importance and drama of the scene. The shot and pace makes the audience realize that a climax is coming, and also captivates us to keep watching to see what Alistair does. There is then a close up of the axe held in Alistair hand (1:32:23) this shot is emphasizing the importance of the axe and is foreshadowing the future. The importance of the axe was foreshadowed in a previous scene, when the play was being performes. This shot show the audience the gravity of the situation, and we feel fear and worry for Ada, as we know Alistair is erratic, has a harmful weapon, and will hurt her. The audience of the movie react to the axe the same way the audience of the play react to to the axe in the play. They are scared and upset, and feel dread for the woman being hurt.

The shots in the sequence at the house (1:32:37) follows Ada and Alistair’s dance like fight. We focus both on Alistair’s anger and Adas silence. Campion has effectively shown both of their emotions. Alistair’s through his dialogue and performance, and Adas through camera shots and performance. The extreme close up of the thread (97:16) and close up of Ada looking at it shows that Ada is thinking about what she should be, decided by society. This shot helps show one of the movies main themes, womens gender roles. This shot shows the audience what Ada should be acting like, but also, how Ada rejects this gender role, and wants to do what she wants. The audience in this day and age agree with Ada on this topic, and believe women should be free to do what they want to.She should speak and assure her husband she doesn’t love Baines, and go back to living the life a women was meant to lead. But she stares straight at the thread and doesn’t say anything. These two close ups show us that Ada is defiant, and doesn’t wish to lead the life she was supposed to. It also shows the audience just how much freedom andliberty women have these days.  Another close up, of the axe hitting the piano (97:07) shows us how Ada feels. As the Piano is a symbol for an extension of her being and her expression and it has just been attacked, Ada herself feels like he is being assaulted and she cannot express herself and choose for herself. This is related to the theme of gender roles also, because Ada's expression and freedom is being controlled by her husband. 

As they move outside, the camera focuses on Ada and her struggle. We are on the level down with Ada and we are associating with her. We see her helpless and desperate fight to get away and the tension builds. We feel the inevitability that something bad will happen to her. This shot shows the opression of women, because Ada must do what hr husband tells her, or else, she will have a cruel punishment like this. The editing pace is a big part of creating the drama of the climax. The quicker pace makes Adas struggle seem more desperate and makes her seem more distressed. At 98:08 there is an extreme close up of Adas hand, moving to a close up of her face. This shot effectively shows she is being held down and dominated by the man. This shot shows the character of ada's strength, (because she still does not speak) and her refusal to live under the gender roles, and be opressed by man. I personally felt in this scene a kind of want, a need for Ada to say something, so that Alistair wont hurt her. Campion has drawn the audience in, and the audience must watch with fear to see what will happen to Ada. The audience again feels her powerlessness and dread for what will happen.