Expressive movement unit 2

Through the interplay of the sound design with the editing and the shot composition the transition from tension to mourning is staged as a dirge.

The sustained music carries the weight of the frightened tension  (> EMU 1) into a new spatial figuration: two long shots bracket a shot/reverse shot dialogue, staging an image of an improvised funeral gathering. The heaviness conveyed by the music is mirrored on the level of shot composition: three soldiers in the background look down at Purckett, who kneels with bowed head at the front of the frame. The music now becomes the agent of dynamic change on the expressive level: at first fragments of a melody played by horns and wind instruments dominate, strings are added until finally the strings move into the foreground and a melodic mourning motif unfolds.

This mournful motif, carried by the strings, becomes the basis of Eeps’ eulogy. The tonal quality of Eeps’ bass voice and the musical background give his speech the function of a song;  voice, music and content become a dirge. A cut to Lieutenant Bently extends the space of action; Eeps’ song spreads and encompasses the whole space of action. In this way, the tension at the beginning is resolved in a moment of mourning.