For the assignment I first watched the film 300: This is Sparta without sound seen here. With what I learned from Ebert’s article I noticed that while Leonitus remained on the strong axis, the person speaking to him seemed at first more dominant. Righteously so as this character is placed to the top right of the screen following the Rule of Thirds. Even when this character moves the camera never crosses the 180 degree line. The camera shifts to the character who remains still positioning the camera on the opposite side of the line once the moving character comes to a rest. I noticed the shadow cast on Leonitus’s eyes as the tilt shot coming down and to the right from the sun, a portrayal that all things suffered by Leonitus people was shifting further into the future by what decision he would make. There are pan zoom shots towards the woman and children of Leonitus’s kingdom with the bright of the sun on these characters. This movement and lighting showing them as the dominant characters; of high importance to Leonitus and influencing his next move. The end shot shows the enemy being cast down into darkness with an empowering background scene of fighting, captivating my focus.

With listening, the sound told a story itself through the silent background and tone of the voices of the characters central to the scene. It is evident that there is conflict present. The tone escalates in stages then a dead silence. I would best describe this as the calm before the storm. Leonitus’s tone with exclaiming “this is Sparta” was as if bellowed directly from GOD. This change was indicative of the climax that the scene now shifted to.

With watching this clip with the sound I noticed the singing of a woman as Leonitus ponders his next decision once threatened. This is the same moment at which the camera turns its lens towards the woman whom once in the background or now front and center the screen. I also noticed several sounds of swords being pulled from their sheaths as Leonitus pulls his, signifying that his soldiers responded following his own actions.