Documentary Scene Analysis: Apollo 13 Mae Tidman

mTidman@gatech.edu

ABSTRACT This essay is a scene analysis of the Apollo 13 sequence in the documentary In the Shadow of the Moon. The filmmakers of the archived footage as well as the entire documentary used technical features such as those explored by David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, and Herbert Zettl to create an intentional perspective of a historic event in NASA and America’s history.

Keywords In the Shadow of the Moon, film, documentary, scene, Apollo 13, analysis, framing, editing, sound, filmic moods

1. INTRODUCTION After viewing the documentary In the Shadow of the Moon, specifically the Apollo 13 scene, it is obvious that this documentary – like all documentaries – has a biased approach to its technical features. The director’s decisions regarding framing, editing, and sound make the scene reflect his perspective instead of the more complex reality. This individual scene contributes to the whole because it is a continuation of the history of America’s attempted and successful expeditions to the moon, and the editing and framing are mostly consistent throughout the movie. However, there are certain aspects of the technicalities of this scene that warrant analysis and discussion to reveal the director’s intentions and perspective on the Apollo 13 expedition. These aspects also influence the viewer to feel a certain way; these achieved moods are also examined.

2. FRAMING

2.1 Close-Ups The interviews seen throughout the movie are framed specifically to create a close and personal perspective of the astronauts being interviewed. The framing for these scenes is close-ups of the astronauts, revealing facial expressions and other details that not only emphasize the specifics of the events being recounted but also affect how the audience feels.

2.2 Hand-Held Point of View The hand-held cameras brought on board the spacecrafts were used to document the lives of the astronauts in space as well as to send footage back to Earth for NASA’s use and media coverage. For the purpose of this documentary, the effect of the hand-held camera is the immersion of the audience into the spacecraft and its gravity-free environment.

When the hand-held camera is used to give the shot a point of view perspective, the audience sees what the astronaut behind the camera is seeing. The immersive effect achieved with point of view shots is more effective in this sense, and the lack of gravity and the sensation of being in space almost becomes conceivable even to the youngest of viewers. The floating also causes an eerie realization of the strangeness of space as the camera turns upside

down yet, when it does, it is without any idea of which way is right side up.

2.3 Camera Movements to Reveal To make still photographs more interesting, it is a simple post-production technique to track across the still image in order to reveal more information and not disrupt the flow of motion in the documentary. The occurrence of this in the Apollo 13 scene is especially effective because it begins zoomed in on the center astronaut and pans sideways to show the other astronauts. The camera then zooms out to show the full photograph. This use of camera movement creates continuity for the entire sequence, and the shot would not have been as interesting without it.

3. EDITING

3.1 Continuity The editing of the entire film successfully creates continuity between still images, archive-footage, and interviews while also creating an atmosphere with the way the images relate.

3.2 Split-Screen An effective use of editing is especially apparent in the two shots that are split-screen. The first one is a crucial cut as John Young, who was at| mission control when the first notice of the explosion came through, explains that he thought the crew of Apollo 13 was lost after the oxygen system started leaking. In the split-screen view, his expression -- past and present – is aware and very grave on both sides of the screen (figure 1).

Figure 1: The Use of Split-Screen [2]

The second use of split screen is to create a better understanding of what is going on at mission control. We see a man from control holding a pencil and obviously problem-solving while the older version of that man is on the other half of the screen describing what was going on at that time. This is effective in filling in the

information in an interesting way that also encourages an understanding of the archival footage.

4. SOUND

4.1 Continuity Sound is an important element in creating visual continuity [3]. The effectiveness of the interviewee’s voice as first heard in the present as he is saying it and then even after the shot changes to archive footage is valuable in creating an understanding that he – the interviewee astronaut – was sometimes at the control station on Earth or in the spacecraft and his explanation provides information that the audio of the footage cannot. This use of sound creates an even more personal perspective of the astronauts because we are hearing them talk about what happened while seeing them or their colleagues in the past dealing with imminent situations that were not explained during the original recording. Considering the difference between this post-production decision and what the documentary would have been like without this addition, it is obvious that this creates a more subjective view for the audience and increases understanding of what is going on in the footage.

4.2 Soundtrack The nondiegetic music aids the viewer in understanding what exactly is going on when the voiceover is less effective. One scene that stands out is the one in which the film addresses the explosion that changed the entire plan of the Apollo 13 mission. We see a point-of-view shot from the camera of the astronaut in space, and it is fast or possibly sped up, but the music indicates the danger of the situation, which is not obvious otherwise. The change in the nondiegetic music indicates a change in the trip for the astronauts; they are now in danger and the film suddenly becomes more intense. The music also effectively creates other moods and understandings with other shots, but in a way similar to what has been previously mentioned.

The music also complements the energy of the visuals, which is something that Zettl points out as an important addition to avoid contradiction and confusion [3]. The dark, eerie music with a heartbeat-like beat in the background rises and falls subtly during the suspenseful time, but as soon as the tone of the documentary changes to one of relief, the music becomes more uplifting and positive.

4.3 Radio Sounds The sounds from the radio communications between mission control and the spacecraft give extra information and enhance the visual experience because the radio conversations reveal more about the image, such as exactly what is going on and how the astronauts in space and on Earth are dealing with the explosion.

5. ACHIEVED MOODS

5.1 Suspense The Apollo 13 mission was almost a fatal disaster, not only because it did not reach the moon but also because the astronauts could have died in space. The intensity of the situation after the explosion in the spacecraft is expressed through a combination of sound, editing, and framing.

The first intense moment is seen through a point of view shot inside the spacecraft. When we are first told of the explosion through the voiceover from an interviewee, there is zero-gravity movement through the spaceship that is fast-forwarded to create a strange pace and motion that is suspenseful in that it is awkward. This view cuts to the astronaut interviewee who was talking about it, and then the next shot shows mission control receiving the infamous “Houston, we have a problem.” The frame tracks back to show the group of operators looking at the control screen to see what happened. This archival footage was probably not originally framed so adequately, but the director’s edits to the original shots causes the off-screen space revealed to show the imminence of the situation.

5.2 Relief The relief is initially felt in a change of atmospheric music, which goes from eerie and dark to a lighter and uplifted sound.

Without the original stock footage that is being redisplayed in this documentary, it is difficult to conceive what edits the director decided upon, such as zooming into the scene and panning to reveal more information. Whether it was the original cameraman’s or the director’s choice, one shot in the Apollo 13 section of In the Shadow of the Moon uses camera movement in an especially interesting way. The footage is of the mission control team looking in a particular direction, wiping sweat from their foreheads. The view switches to close-up shots of control team members’ faces smiling in relief and also looking in the previously mentioned direction. The camera then looks in that direction to reveal a screen showing the astronauts maneuvering safely into the atmosphere on a descent back to Earth. This pan is happening while diegetic cheering and clapping rises over the aforementioned background soundtrack. These sounds plus the visuals of people smiling and clapping is a relief for the viewers because the astronauts’ descent is then slowly revealed to be what the mission control team is looking towards.

Figure 2: Close-up frame reveals relieved expression [2]

6. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the decisions made by the directors and men behind the cameras of the archived footage came together in a direct and intentional way to evoke particular feelings in the audience. In addition to being an educational documentary on the attempted and successful expeditions to the moon, this film uses the technical aspects of cinematography to influence the viewer to feel in certain ways. For Apollo 13, the user feels suspense and

then relief, just as viewers of the media coverage in April 1970 would have felt as the event occurred.

7. REFERENCES [1] Bordwell, David, and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: an

Introduction. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004. 252-346. Web.

[2] In The Shadow of the Moon. Dir. David Sington. Discovery Films, 2007.

[3] Zettl, Herbert. Video Basics 6. Australia: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2010. Web.