NAME _Anthony Gumingo__________ DATE ___________________

The Kings Speech Film Clip Scene Analysis

Notes for Analysis: When analyzing film technique, you should consider how the technique enhances the plot or heightens a
characters emotions or brings out a viewers response.
For instance, how does the sound (or lack of) fit what the characters are doing or enhance the time period? Consider the lack of sound
when George VI gives his war speech: the lack of sound reflects the seriousness of the speechs topic (war), and the director wants you
to ONLY hear the kings voice, but WHY does he want you only hear the kings voice? WHAT does that show you about the king?
About Lionel?
After you determine WHY the director establishes the shot, determine what it means? WHAT does the director want you to
see/feel/experience?

Framing
(shot)

What technique is
used? Include ALL
instances that the
director uses in the
scene AND describe
the clip from the
scene.

WHY does the director

establish the shot using
this technique? How does
it reflect/connect/enhance
the scene?

WHAT does the

director want you to
see/feel/experience?
How does the director
want you to
understand the depth
of the scene?

1.
Close-Up, a
shot where the subject
usually takes up
roughly 80% of the
screen; head and neck
of the character

The director uses this shot

in order to highlight the
facial expressions of the
character. The shot allows
the viewer to connect
themselves with the
character. The characters
emotional response should
reflect on the viewer; they
should feel the same pain
behind the distraught

The director wants

you to feel the fear and
the fright in the face of
Lionel and Albert. The
director wants the
sight of panic to reflect
back onto the
audience. The viewer
should understand the
distraught feeling
behind the characters

expressions captured in
the shot.

after hearing their

nation is at war with
Hitler.

2.
Medium
Shot, a shot showing
the subject from the
waist up; medium
sized architectural
details

The director chose this

shot to illustrate a wide
array of physicality in the
character. The director
chooses not to limit
themselves to just facial
expressions, but to use the
expression of the body as
well. They do this in order
to capture the different
forms of expressions the
character uses to convey
their message in the scene.

In this scene, the

director wants the
viewer to see the
charisma Hitler has
with his public
addressing. The
director wants the
audience to feel the
contrast between
Hitler and Albert, in
terms of speech and
physicality. This shot
is meant for the
audience to
understand the
distinct differences
between the two
political figures.

3.
Long Shot,
the entire body or
bodies of the
subject(s) is/are seen
in the shot and a great
deal of the
background is visible

This shot was chosen by

the director in order to
establish an image of
family and togetherness.
The director chose this
shot to connect the viewer
to the Royal family. The
shot shows the family
sitting together watching a

The director wants

the viewer to feel
connected with the
Royal family. The shot
establishes the image
of the family in order
for the viewer to
relate. The reason
behind this shot is for

Lighting

German broadcast, so the

viewer can create a sense
of connection between the
subjects in the shot.

the audience to
understand the
connection the Royal
family has with any
other family, like
Lionels or even your
own.

4.
Establishing
Shot, a shot that pans
around the
environment the
subject(s) is/are in in
order to create the feel
for the setting

The director chose this

shot purely for the
enhancement of danger in
the scene. The shot is
chosen to establish the
sense of danger by
panning the sky capturing
the political buildings and
zeppelins in the sky. This
is supposed to connect
with the idea that Britain
can now be attacked at any
moment by Hitler.

The director wants

the audience to feel
the sense of peril
everyone in the scene
is experiencing. The
sounds of sirens,
scenes of people
running in the streets
are all evident to this
idea. This shot also
supports the idea that
the director wants the
viewer to understand
the urgency and state
of panic Britain is in.

1.
Side
Lighting, lighting
from the side that
leaves the subject half
in light and half in the
shadows

The director chose this

shot simply to add
exaggerated depth to the
facial expressions captured
in the close up of Albert.
The lighting connects to
the idea of Alberts
reflection on hearing that

The director wants

you to see and feel the
pain in Alberts
expression. They want
you to be scared for
him. It is obvious
Albert is terribly
petrified of going to

Angle(s)

he is now to face Hitler on

his own. His expressions
in addition to the lighting
combine to create an effect
of fear, shock, and doubt.

war, and the director

chose this lighting for
the viewer to
understand that.

2.
Back
Lighting, lighting
from behind the
subject

The director chose the

natural lighting behind
Lionel to create a halo-like
aura around his silhouette,
creating the sense that hes
arrived to save Albert from
stammering during the
speech. This lighting
connects with the idea that
Lionel is here to valiantly
rescue Albert from his
stuttering, so Albert can
address his people in their
time of need.

The director wants

the audience to feel
saved once Lionel has
arrived. It is to be
evident that Lionel is
seen as a knight in
shining armor in this
lighting. The director
wants the viewer to
understand his
importance in his
efforts in protecting
the country from
widespread panic.

1.
Eye-Level
Angle, an angle shot
from the same height
as the subjects eye
level

The director chose this

angle in order to level the
viewer with the character.
They chose this particular
angle to connect the
audience to the character
in the scene; to allow the
audience to feel a stronger
connection with who the
subject of the angle is.

The director wants us

to feel for the
character as if they
personally know him.
The director wants the
audience to empathize
with the character.
They want the viewer
to understand that
Albert is of equal
footing as anyone

experiencing the
feelings hes
experiencing; this
allows the audience to
feel equal with him
2.
Low Angle, a
shot looking up at the
character

The director chose this

angle in order to make
Hitler seem higher
elevated than the viewer.
The audience is left to feel
that Hitler is more
powerful than the viewers.
This scene is enhanced by
the idea the angle creates;
that Hitler is powerful and
the viewer is vulnerable to
his command.

The director wants

the audience to feel
completely seized by
Hitler. The following
scenes reinforce this
idea as well. In this
angle the director
wants the viewer to
understand how
powerful Hitler is
compared to the rest
of the Europe.

3.
High Angle,
a shot looking down
upon the subject

The director chose this

angle to make Albert look
vulnerable to the speech
he has been delivered.
Completely and utterly
terrified of public
speaking, Albert must
address his nation on the
war with Germany. And
this shot highlights that
weakness and vulnerability

The director wants

the audience to feel
the weakness of Albert
here. They want Albert
to seem smaller than
Hitler, by shooting
angles looking down at
Albert and angles
looking up at Hitler.
The director wants the
viewer to understand
the difference between

the two political

figures in that regard.

Camera
Movement(s)

4.
Higher
Angle, an angle shot
down, but capturing
multiple subjects in a
frame, looking at the
setting with the
characters all in frame

The director chose this

angle to catch the entirety
of Hitler and the Third
Reich. Shots angled
downward onto the
military men to emphasize
the vulnerability the
nation exposes to their
totalitarian leader, Hitler.
This shot enhances the
scene because no other
angle could otherwise
capture the weakness of
will in the minds of Nazi
soldiers.

The director wants the

audience to feel the
power Hitler has over
his nation. They want
the viewer to see how
vulnerable the nation
can be when you have
such a charismatic
speaker in charge. The
director wants the
audience to
understand the
difference in influence
Hitler has over his
nation versus the
influence Albert has
on Britain.

1.
Zoom,
changing the focal
length of the lens to
make the subject
appear closer or
further away in the
frame

The director chose this

camera movement to get a
closer shot of the facial
expressions Albert is
making while reading his
speech meant to address
his whole nation on the
war with Germany. Its an
important speech and
nothing tells the audience
better than zooming in on

The director wants the

audience to feel the
panic expressed in
Alberts face. They
want the viewer to be
left wondering if he
can truly think of a
way to deliver his
speech without
stammering. The
director wants the

the reaction of Alberts

face while he is scattered
thinking of ideas to deliver
the speech without
stammering.

audience to realize the

importance of this
speech. This is the
speech that is meant
to reassure the entire
nation on the war
against Hitler. The
angle makes the
viewer wonder if its
possible at this point.

2.
Handheld, a
specific movement
where the camera is
not on a bipod, but
someone is holding it
following the
characters movement
and action

The director chose this

camera movement to
follow Lionel as he arrives
and enters into the
broadcasting building.
This movement enhances
the scene by capturing the
movement and hurry that
Lionel is in to help Albert.

The director wants

the audience to see the
hurry and panic in
Lionels movement.
They want the viewer
to see the pace the
scene is taking and
this shot highlights the
movement in the pace
of the scene. The
director wants the
audience to
understand the
urgency of Lionels
arrival.

3.
Panning, a
panoramic view of a
set or setting

The director chose

multiple shots to pan the
camera in the streets and
skies of Britain. This
movement was used to

The director wants

the audience to see the
whole scene within the
frame and outside of
it. They want the

Sound

capture the setting and the

subjects within it. This
enhanced the scene by
creating a sense of panic
outside of the other frames
as well. The shots where
the camera pans to the
streets where people are
running to shelter imply
that is happening
everywhere around as well,
creating more depth to the
scene.

viewer to get a sense of

whats happening in
the world of the
characters as
everything is
happening at once.
The director wants the
audience to
understand the state
of terror in the streets
of Britain.

4.
Tracking
Shot, camera is
placed on tracks and
moves to keep up with
the subject

The director chose this

camera movement to
capture the movement of
the pedestrians running to
nearby shelter. The
director didnt want to
have a still frame of people
running or else theyd run
the risk of not capturing
the pace of the panic in the
civilians.

The director wants the

audience to see the
pace of the scene.
They want the viewer
to see the fear of the
pedestrians as they
desperately escape to
any nearby shelter as
the war sirens go off.
The director wants the
audience to
understand the
urgency of the
movement as well as
the meaning behind it.

Non-diegetic
Sounds, sounds that

The director chose these

The director wants the
sounds to establish a mood audience to feel the

are not visible or

heard by the
characters, only the
audience hears them

Editing

to the scene. The music is

meant to exaggerate the
tragedy and panic in the
scene, and connect the
viewer to the event taking
place in front of them.

sense of bad events

happening one after
another. The music
helps add to the
dramatic dialogue by
creating a backdrop of
dramatic orchestra.
The director wants the
viewer to understand
the sense of tragedy
behind the events
taking place.

1.

Shot,
Reverse
Shot,
switching
back and
forth between
two
characters in
a
conversation

The director chose this

edit to connect the
dialogue between the
leaving prime minister and
Albert, and create a
personal connection
between the two
characters. The cuts
between dialogues to both
characters facial
expressions displays
brilliant reactions to the
disparity in the prime
ministers message to
Albert.

The director wants the

audience to see the
expression in Alberts
face in response to
what the prime
minister is telling him,
and feel the fright
inside Alberts
expression as well.
The director wants the
viewer to understand
that the news the
prime minister is
delivering to Albert is
outright devastating.

2.

Cuts,
transitioning
one scene to

The director chose this

edit to transition between
dialogues, settings, and

The director wants

the audience to see the
difference in setting,

3.

Focus

another by
cutting the
shot to
another one
beginning a
new scene

characters to further
advance the story. This
edit is common and takes
place in all the scenes in
the film clip. This allows
the director to enhance his
scene by allowing multiple
shots and scenes be taking
place rather than a
Spielberg Oner (One long
continuous shot with no
cuts).

dialogues and
characters, but the
plot advances
together. The director
wants the viewer to
understand the
importance of each
individual scene by
separating them from
each other.

Eye-Line
Match, cut
from a person
to an object
and back to
the person

The director chose this

edit to establish a vocal
point for the character in
the scene. The scene shows
Albert looking at his
speech, shuffling the
pages, then the camera
gets a shot of the speech,
then back to Albert. This
technique enhances the
scene by creating a
stronger sense of point of
view.

The director wants the

audience to see the
where Alberts
attention is focused to.
They want the viewer
to see what hes
looking at and where
the viewers attention
should be as well. The
director wants the
audience to
understand the
importance of the
speech in his hands.

The director chose this

type of focus in order to
establish the full detail of
the shot of Lionels home.

The director wants the

audience to see
whatever they want.
They give the viewer

Deep Focus, all

objects in the frame
remain in focus

This allows the director to

show off the full detail
used of decorating the
home with furniture, color
design, and even character
blocking. This kind of
focus truly enhances the
scene by allowing the
viewer to choose to focus
on anything in the full
shot.

the liberty of choosing

to focus on any of the
multiple intricate
details the director
chose to represent the
visuals of the scene.
The director wants the
audience to
understand the detail
in the whole frame.