Among Giants (Textual Analysis)

Produced by Rainhouse Cinema, Among Giants is a short documentary film which tells the story of an environmental activist, "Farmer", who tree-sits to protect a grove of old-growth redwood trees in northern California from clearcutting. It was created to bring awareness to the issue of clearcutting and those who work to stop it.

Mise-en-scene

The use of setting, costumes and decor in this short film illustrates the audience of a simple structured informative film of a man's struggle to save the forest. The trees and plants encapsulates what the film is all about - nature. Therefore there is no question why it uses natural high key lighting, although in most cases observational documentaries often use natural lighting. We are also immediately drawn to objects such as the climbing gears, cooking materials and the tent which tells the audience that the man had been living up on a tree.

Cinematography

It mainly uses unobtrusive camerawork. By maintaining the observational mode, the director allowed the subject to forget the presence of the camera and behave more naturally, thereby letting the audience get a better sense of how he really feels about the forest. Most shots are also shown in close-ups with shallow depths of field which direct the viewer's attention and focus on the beauty of nature and also emphasize "Farmer's" expressions. It also used some low angle shots accentuating the heights of the trees which "Farmer" climbs. It can also connote to the strength and stability of nature but poses an ironic element as these trees are in risk of being cut down. As the short climaxes, we see aerial camera angles juxtaposing both the beauty of the existing forestland with the elegiac destruction of logged areas.

Editing

It consists of minimal editing; it immediately straight cuts to still shots of close-ups with shallow depth of fields which almost look like montage of natural landscape photographs. This adds to the slow pace of the short which can also reinforce the prolonged and endured struggle of "Farmer" living up a tree for three years to make a stand about clearcutting of trees. It also used texts to informative texts to educate the viewers on clearcutting.

Sound

The short exists almost entirely without a musical score (only introduces a diegetic background music as it climaxes), opting instead for the ambient sounds of the forest to comprise the soundtrack. The result is serene, practically mediative. The radio at the beginning aids authenticity of the situation giving the audience information about the conservation of the forest and "Farmer's" voice-over gives us his personal insight of his beliefs.