Finding Nemo Scene Analysis

Finding Nemo - Dory and Marlin getting chased by Bruce

In this highly action based, tense and nervous scene in Finding Nemo. Marlin and Dory fight over the mask which causes Dory to bleed. Unfortunately above them was a huge Great White Shark named Bruce who is usually very friendly. However, he ends up smelling the blood and turns into a very angry predator. Going after Marlin and Dory through a huge submarine they finally escape into a room which they think is safe until Bruce starts smashing into the door which loosens the bolts. Both Dory and Marlin find a hatch which helps them escape the submarine, but they get trapped in a torpedo tube where Bruce starts to ram on. Because of this, the torpedo inside starts to squeeze them both closer to Bruce. When they see their chance, Dory and Marlin escape the tube and collect the mask which was latched onto Bruce’s teeth. Trying to chase them again, Bruce finds himself with the torpedo in his mouth which he then throws away, not realizing that surrounding this submarine are a load of mines, which the torpedo strikes into, creating a huge explosion by setting off even more mines around the submarine.

The majority of this scene is covered in music, however at some points this changes. The beginning of the scene starts off with some calm background music which is used to signify that something big is about to happen. This calm, soft music suddenly sharpens up as Bruce begins to smells Dory’s blood. From this point onwards the scene has been changed to very dramatic, loud music to show the effect of the action throughout the chase. In this part of the scene, the music really makes the audience be on the edge of they’re seat as it is a very tense and scary part of the scene. After the chase is over Bruce throws something out of his mouth which at this point the music quietens down and gets really high pitched but stays extremely tense all the way up until the explosion when the music suddenly stops.

In this scene there isn’t much ambient sound as a large chunk of this scene is built up with the heavy music and sound effects as it is a very action based scene. Sound effects such as every time a fish moves they make a swashing sound, this could be classed as an ambient sound as it’s kind of in the background under the music and other big and large sound effects. The producers may do this to show that this is a main scene in the movie and that this scene plays a significant part for the rest of the movie. In addition by the producers not having much ambient sound and having solely sound effects and music, it can make the scene feel even more tense than usual as there are no small sounds for them to hear. In other scenes in Finding Nemo such as when Nemo goes to his first day of school, there are quite a few ambient sounds such as fish from other classes laughing and talking, as well as the movement of the water on the surface and from other fish moving in the background.

Throughout the whole of this scene, the dialogue changes all the time. At the start where there is not much action and where it is the build-up to the main part of the scene, it is reasonably low pitched. Then as soon as Bruce smells Dory’s blood there are strings of high pitches which the producers used to display a tense part of the movie and scene. During the main action part of the scene, where Bruce chases Marlin and Dory there is a large variety of pitches, tones, and effects which are used. Some medium pitched, high pitched and even some low pitched when there is a pause in the action. And the sound which is being played with all the different pitches is all from an orchestra which is mainly used for the scary and really tense action-based parts of movies. The orchestra definitely gives the audience the feeling as though they are there and makes them really feel the energy and mood of the scene which the producers are trying to give the audience.

In this scene, there is a use of both Natural and Hyper Real sound effects. This scene in the movie is one of the main action scenes and usually in action scenes there is a huge amount of hyperreal sound effects. However, the producers have also used some Natural sound effects in there too. At the start of the scene when it is the build-up to the main action part of the scene it is quite quiet and therefore the sound effects which are usually quiet, are quiet. Such as the snatching part of the scene and the fish moving about. But when it comes to the action a few seconds after the intense build up the sound effects get a lot louder and more Hyper Real. Sound effects such as Bruce’s teeth and gums moving and opening up is an example of one of them. As well as this throughout the chase, there is a lot of banging and bumping sound effects which have been added and amplified to make sure that the audience can hear it over the loud music which is being played.