Becnel Beowulf and the Mermaid

After this sea monster battle scene, the scene that I feel needs further editing begins.

The scene in Beowulf that needs more editing, in my opinion, is the scene where Beowulf, while swimming against Breka and after battling the sea monsters, is pulled under water by the mermaid (26:35-27:02). He doesn't tell the Danes that a mermaid pulled him under; he instead tells them that a monster pulled him under and that he killed the monster. His inability to kill or resist the mermaid is a foreshadowing of his being lured in by Grendel's mother and his mistake of not killing her, which proves to be Beowulf's downfall. In the scene, the mermaid reveals her self to Beowulf and swims to embrace him. The way the mermaid swims is not very fluid or smooth and resembles graphics from a bad early video game in comparison to the rest of the animation in the movie. Even though it is a short scene, if it was edited properly it would have added more to the film.

The Mis En Scene of the mermaid scene:

Dominant: The dominant in the scene is the mermaid. Our eyes are drawn to her first and for the longest amount of time. We are intrigued by her; Beowulf said he fought a monster, not a beautiful mermaid and we are curious to see what happens.

Lighting Key: The lighting is very low and the scene is comprised of dark colors: the deep blue/green of the sea and the darkness of the depth of the sea.

Shot and Camera Proxemics: The camera is at first far away( a social to public proxemic) from the mermaid, but as she reveals herself and swims towards Beowulf, the shot becomes more of a close-up (an intimate proxemic).

Angle: The camera is level for most of the scene, but slightly tilted down when she comes up to Beowulf, as if we are seeing her from his eyes.

Color Values: The dominant colors are the dark blue/greens of the ocean. The darkness also helps with the foreshadowing of Beowulf's downfall (his inability to resist or kill bewitching women).

Lens/Filter/Stock: The scene had a cloudy look to it when the mermaid was revealing herself.

Subsidiary Contrast: The second thing that catches our eye, after the mermaid, in the scene is Beowulf. The last thing our eye focuses on is Beowulf's sword falling to the bottom of the sea.

Density: There is not too much visual information in this scene. The mermaid and Beowulf's encounter gives information, but it is just the empty sea background and them in the scene.

Composition: The background ( the sea) and the middle and fore ground seem to blend in together.

Form: The form is open and natural. It does not seem to be closed or stylized. Not taking the fact that this scene needs more editing into consideration, it does have more of a natural feel than a fake or choreographed feel.

Framing: The framing is loose; the characters are allowed to move around the scene freely.

Depth: Even though the movie is animated to feel like a 3D film, this scene seems very 2D.

Character Placement: The mermaid occupied the center, the left, and the lower center of the scene, whereas Beowulf occupied the upper right and center of the scene.

Staging Positions: The characters do not look into the camera. The mermaid looks towards the camera, but not directly into it. Beowulf looks at the mermaid, and at one point has his back towards the camera.

Character Proximics: The characters start off in a social proxemic, end up in intimate proxemics from one another, when they embrace.