Ghost Ship Analysis

Camera

In the beginning, the camera uses a continuous shot of the boat to create the idea of a nice peaceful holiday. The use of a fade transition into a birds-eye shot of the boat shows the passengers up dancing and having fun, creating an overall positive image of the scene.

The close ups of the singer and the little girl indicate main roles in the scene for them, and create the impression that they will have crucial parts later. The use of dolly out movement of the camera fully shows off how many people are up dancing and having a good time.

The extreme close up of razors is foreshadowing of what might happen if something goes wrong. Then the flowers being sliced in half in slow motion is a representation of what's about to happen to the people. The slow motion of everyone dying shows how time stood still whilst everyone took in what had happened. Then the use of the high angle and low angle when pointing the camera up to the old guy and down to the young girl shows the differing point-of-views from the situation. Finally the birds eye view of the now bloody and quiet deck is a complete contrast from the beginning.

Mise En Scene

The pink title cards create the impression of a possibly romantic and elegant film. The boat also is decorated in little lights and things to make it look very peaceful and calm, again completely throwing off the idea of a horror.

The women's choice of a red dress is symbolic to the blood that's about to be painted all over the boat. This again could link to her role in the film/generate ideas about it, as we do not yet know what that is.

Sound

The music played at the beginning is non-diegetic and matched with the pink title cards and smooth shots of the boat create a very peaceful and elegant scene. The use of the calming music at the start really indicates a romantic film to follow it, but in this case the genre doesn't match it.

Then the after the first transition the sound becomes diegetic as it is coming from a woman in the scene. This scene also includes sound effects of people talking, dancing and drinking. The woman's singing is very professional and graceful, creating the image that this cruise is very professional and high-end.

After the accident silence is used to show the confusion and suspense between the passengers. The use of silence in the scene indicates that something has happened, but the audience is yet to find out until bodies start falling. Because of the silent scene, when the bodies start to fall the thud sounds much heavier. This is because silence can add emphasis to any sound and make it sound louder than it is.

The girl screaming at the end is the last sound of the scene and portrays the horror she had just witnessed. The scream echoes and is heard as the camera moves down into the ocean. Due to the cameras positioning, which is quite far away, you can tell the girls scream was deafening and echoed for miles.

Editing

The pink title cards used at the beginning where editing in over the continuous boat shots and peaceful music. The use of dissolve and fade transitions between shots keeps the smooth professional look of the cruise.

The editors did a full loop with the birds-eye shots at the beginning and the end. One being a calm and happy scene, and the other being a gruesome horrific scene.