The clip utilized for analysis was Steven SpielbergÆs E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982). The clip viewed for analysis consisted of the first six (6) minutes of the film. The piece began with mood setting eerie music (flutes) wafting over the very plain credits. The opening shot begins in the sky filled with stars and pans down to a sort of space ship in a heavily wooded area. The darkness enhances the idea of the unknown nature of the ship and itÆs occupants.
The types of narration developed in this piece vary. There is a great amount of exposition concerning the set-up of the character of ET, classic to the HeroÆs tale and mythic structure as noted by Joseph Campbell. We pan down from the sky that is quite ordinary into what appears at first to be an ordinary forest. Christopher Vogler would state that we have an 'ordinary worldÆ, a basis for relating to the characters and events that are about to take place before us and draw us inward. As far as the main character, we have a 'limited awarenessÆ of ETÆs future problem.
In this fashion, the filmmaker chose darkness. Darkness heightens the senses of awareness. Since we cannot fully utilize our eyes and as yet film has not adapted to utilizing our senses of smell and touch, we must concentrate on what we feel and hear. It is at this point that the narrative takes a turn from being omniscient to being restricted to the point of view of the ETÆs before moving into the more closely restricted point of view of the ET, our main character.
The musical score, rather than utilizing a full range of instrumentation and introducing us to the movieÆs main theme, begins with flutes. Once the ETÆs are introduced visually, the music moves to the upper string section (violins). The full string section mixed with the twinkling ship lights leads us to a belief that something magical is occurring in the forest.
Sound effects, once again heightened by the darkness, a...