Matt Migliorini ©2011

Exemplary Constructions of
Narrative Space Through Sound
in the Film “DOGVILLE”
as examined in two scenes an
introduction and a conclusion

Matt Migliorini

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 Matt Migliorini ©2011

This essay will examine the ways narrative space is constructed in two key
scenes from Lars von Trierʼs 2003 film Dogville (Denmark, Sweden,
Netherlands), arguing that both scenes highlight an exemplary use of sound in
their construction of narrative space. Narrative space being the spatial
dimensions of the filmʼs diegesis. Dogville is an appropriate film to analyse with
regards to sound due to its noticeable difference of approach towards the
employment of traditional cinematic sound techniques, that will discussed in
detail below.

Dogville tells the story of the town Dogville in which a woman fleeing the mob is
provided refuge by the towns residents. Throughout the film, the woman, Grace
(Nicole Kidman) changes the residentsʼ lives through her efforts of physical
labour. Eventually the town turns on Grace and she is treated maliciously by all
of the its residents and raped by nearly all of its men. Taking place almost
exclusively in Dogville, the filmʼs setting is atypical to that of traditional feature
films; all of the filmʼs buildings and settings are represented by white lines on a
sound stage floor, many of which are boldly labelled. The set is not completely
invisible to us however, a number of pieces of furniture can be seen.

The effect of this kind of set draws great attention to the filmʼs artifice. In her
discussion of Dogville, Caroline BainBridge has noted that, ʻ. . . this cinema is a
fact foregrounded by the film and the distracting effect of this draws attention to
the making of cinema and to its status with regards to storytelling . . .ʼ (2007:
146). It is reasonable to argue therefore, that, initially at least, most audience
members will be acutely aware of the construction of the film. Clearly traditional
interpolation is not of interest to von Trier here. For how can we suspend our
disbelief that we are not merely experiencing a constructed moving picture,
when this construction is so overtly apparent?

Considering this line of questioning, Bainbridge draws upon von Trierʼs own
expression that,

[His] theory is that you forget very quickly that there are no houses or
whatever. . . . and the audience donʼt miss them after a time because
of this agreement you have with them that they will never arrive
(2007: 145-146).

Here the filmʼs director argues that his audience do not miss the buildings in the
film after a they have had time to adjust to the fact that they never will appear.
This essay agrees with this theory, and argues that the position of a suspension
of disbelief, one may eventually assume when experiencing Dogville, can be
largely attributed to its use of sound.

The first scene to be examined is that of the filmʼs opening three minutes, in
which we are introduced to Tom (Paul Bettany) and Tomʼs father (Philip Baker
Hall) (see Appendix A).

Dogvilleʼs opening shot, is a title card that reads, ʻThe film “DOGVILLE” as told
in nine chapters and a prologueʼ. This instantly infers that sound will be used to
tell the story. We are to be told. The next shot is that of the prologue title card,
followed by the filmʼs first filmed shot (Appendix A: Shot 3), which encompasses
the entire space in which the film plays out; an aerial shot of the theatrical
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looking town. The shot slowly zooms in to the radio in Tom Edisionʼs house. The
first sound we here in this sequence is that of a string orchestra, which, upon
seeing the filmʼs opening shot one can assume to be non-diegetic, but this is a
more problematic than usual assumption given the nature of the film. The next
thing we hear is the voice of the narrator (John Hurt), who tells us that, ʻThis is
the sad tale of the township of Dogvilleʼ. In his discussion of the voice in
cinema, Michel Chion highlights that, ʻWhen the acousmatic presence is a
voice . . . we get a special kind of talking and acting shadow which we attach
the name acousmêtreʼ (1999: 21). The acousmatic presence is a sound issued
from an unseen source. While Chion here is describing an acousmêtre different
to that of the narrator, for here the acousmêtre is not present within the
diegeses, the narrator in Dogville is still an acousmêtre, that this essay argues
is a key constituent in its construction of narrative space.

Chion goes on to highlight the powers attributed to the acousmêtre, stating that,
ʻThe acousmêtre is all seeing, its word is like the word of God: “No creature can
hide from it”ʼ (1999: 24). This association of the acousmêtreʼs words being like
those of God, are arguably why in Dogville, von Trier chose to open his film with
an aerial shot accompanied by the narratorʼs voice over because from this
position we can see everything from a privileged vantage point often associated
with God. In addition to this, we can also see through physical elements that are
presented as real in the world of the film. We cannot however, see all that the
narrator describes, but it is arguable that we process his descriptions and
project them onto our understanding of the filmʼs narrative space, due to the
authority that Chion informs us is attributed to the acousmêtre. The shot in
which we first hear the narrator, he tells us that, ʻmost of the buildings were
pretty retched, more like shacks franklyʼ. Considering that none of the buildings
have walls or roofs or any detailed mise en scene whatsoever, we accept this
description of the space as truthful.

After the narrator has established and detailed our spatial location, we enter
Tom Edisonʼs house. Here we see Tom and his father acknowledge the sound
of the radio (Appendix A: Shots 5, 6, 7, 8). We can also hear a ticking sound
that is easily recognisable as that of a clock. These sounds alert us to our
position in the space of the town alongside the image. For while we may be
positioned inside Tomʼs house, we can also see glimpses of the other residents
in the background of some of the shots. However, we can only hear the sounds
issuing from Tomʼs house. It is these sounds that define our spatial position in
the narrative as well as defining the space itself.

Tom then leaves his house, and as he does so he makes a gesture of opening a
door, that we cannot see (Appendix A: Shot 9). When Tom does this, we hear
what distinctively sounds like a door being opened, the sound of which is
synchronised with Tomʼs movement. Chion states that, ʻWe classify sound to
what we see in the image (1994: 68). Here however we do not see a door, but
in hearing one, we can perceive that the characters of Dogville do see a door.
The fact that we can hear a door we cannot see, again draws great attention to
the filmʼs nature as an open construction because we know that this sound is
added in post-production. However, the fact that we clearly identify with the
sound as emitting from the action also, and somewhat paradoxically, instils a
degree of authenticity to the image.

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If we can hear what we cannot see, then surely this functions along similar lines
to any acousmatic sound we have experienced in other films. On the other
hand, the acousmatic sound of the door also functions very differently to the
acousmatic in more traditional narrative films, because it arguably creates what
Gregory Currie describes as perceptual illusion, which he declares as being that
which ʻ . . . occurs when experience represents the world as being a certain
way, when in fact the world is not this way and the subject knows itʼ (1996: 334).
In other films the acousmatic is relatable to the real world, in Dogville it is not;
sound is created without a source. If one does eventually forget about the
blatant construction of the narrative space in Dogville, it is due to a kind of
perceptual illusion Currie describes and that the film arguably solicits, in which
the audience knows the world of the film is not like that of the real world, but in
which the audience can nonetheless believe in.

The sound of the door is also problematic when considering Chionʼs definition of
offscreen sound. Chion states that,

In the narrow sense offscreen sound in film is sound that is

acousmatic, relative to what is shown in the shot: sound whose
source is invisible, whether temporarily or not. We call onscreen
sound that whose source appears in the image, and belongs to
the reality therein (1990: 73).

Considering this definition of onscreen and offscreen sound, it seems

reasonable to state that the sound of the door, is both onscreen and offscreen.
We see the action that the sound is married to, but we do not see the physical
material that makes such a noise possible. However, what this shot matched
with this sound does establish, as Chion highlights, is that this sound whose
source appears in the image, provides a way of understanding the reality of the
world of the film. We may not see the door, but the sound of one alerts us to the
fact that within the narrative of the film, a door exists.

This essay argues that von Trier employment of acousmatic sounds like this
one, are what propels the perceptual illusion to take affect in an audiences
experience of Dogville, because this creates a space that is more identifiable. If
we can hear the sound of a door, then the door exists within the world of the film
to a far greater extend for the audience, than if the door could only be heard, as
well as only seen by its characters.

Once Tom is outside his house, birds can be heard singing (Appendix A: Shot 9
- 24). Like the door, no birds can be seen, however, this acousmatic sound
functions differently to the door in that it is continuous and defines our location
in space as being outside. Currie posits that,

We recognize that people, houses, mountains, and cars are

represented on screen by exercising the capacities we have to
recognize those objects, and not by learning a set of conventions that
associate cinematic representations of these objects with the objects
themselves (1996: 328).

Although the sound of the birdsong in Dogville is arguably not strictly

represented on screen, we are able to identify with it, not because Tom has just
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walked outdoors, but because, as Currie rightly highlights, of our existing

capacities to recognise the sound as a referent of its source. Of sounds of this
kind Chion proclaims,

Let us call ambient sound sound that envelops a scene and inhabits
its space, without raising the question of identification or visual
embodiment of its source: birds singing, churchbells ringing (Chion
1990: 75).

Ambient sounds such as the birdsong here can therefore, according to both
Chion and Currie be accepted unquestioningly. The staged set of the film
however, is clearly indoors. We know this because of the absolute blackness of
the background of the mise-en-scene and the obvious artificiality of the filmʼs
lighting. Problematically then, the birdsong firmly denotes a spatial location that
is external in an image that is so solidly identifiable as internal.

Again sound and image in Dogville are experienced as functioning in a

somewhat contrapuntal manner. In aiming to develop an understanding of the
construction of narrative through sound, the following line of question posed by
Jerrold Levinson is of use in how audiences may make sense of this problem of
image and sound in Dogville. Levinson states that, ʻWe need to make a
distinction between what is fictional in a filmʼs story and what is fictional in the
world of the film. . .ʼ (1996: 263). With respect to this, we can consider whether
precedence of authenticity is given to the sound or the image. Non-diegetic
sounds are fictional in the world of the film; the orchestra and the narrator are
not present in what we see. A number of the filmʼs diegetic sounds (sounds that
are present in the world of the film) such as doors creaking and birdsong, are
fictional in the filmʼs presentation of its story. These diegetic sounds in Dogville
not being fictional in the world of the film can be argued to fictionalize the space
of the narrative. For example, without the use of the ambient sound of the
birdsong, the expansive imagery of the stage may not be troubled as being
anything than just a stage. It is this troubling that, and bringing it into question
that allows von Trier to define it as the narrative space of the film.

In the second key scene this essay is concerned with, Grace attempts to flee
the town; hidden in Benʼs truck (see Appendix B). Most of the scene is
experienced from an aerial viewpoint. The shots see Grace in mid shot, laying
in the back of the truck, and in an x-ray like fashion, we can see her through the
tarpaulin she is hiding under (Appendix B: Shot 11- 16). During this scene, the
only instigation we have that the truck is even leaving the space of Dogville, is
through the filmʼs use of sound. Firstly, the acousmatic voice of the narrator tells
us, ʻCanyon Road snaked down the valley and away, and Grace went tooʼ.
Again, we are reliant upon the narratorʼs authority to gear us towards an
understanding of space in the narrative (Appendix B: Shot 11).

Once the truck stops, Ben enters into the back of the truck and explains to
Grace that they are parked in the town square of George Town; so she had
better stay quiet while he rapes her (Appendix B: Shot 13). During this moment
we can faintly hear the sound of peopleʼs voices. These murmured acousmêtre
support Benʼs description of their spatial location. Of narrative space and the
voice Mary Anne Doane asserts that,

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Just as the voice must be anchored by a given body, the body must
be anchored in a given space. The fantasmatic visual space which
the film constructs is supplemented by techniques designed to
spatialize the voice, to localize it, give it depth, and thus lend to the
characters the consistency of the real (Doane 1985: 164).

The scene above certainly provides an example that gives credence to Doaneʼs
statement. The voices being significantly lower in volume and difficult to identify
localises the audience as being in the space of the truck. Although it is arguable
that our location as provided by the image, suggests that perhaps we should be
able to hear the muffled noises of the sound with more clarity because our
viewpoint is spatially outside of the truck. Again, while we do not see the source
of the sounds and even if they were in frame in this film we may not see them
anyway, the spatial location of the characterʼs is made convincing
predominantly through von Trierʼs use of sound.

The voices of both Grace and Ben in this scene are slightly louder and crisper
than the voices in the opening scene examined above. The effect of this is that,
further to the tight framing this claustrophobic moment is shot in, the crisp clarity
of their whispered voices renders our position in the space of the image as
almost not being able to be any closer to the characters. We can distinctly hear
Benʼs heavy breathing throughout the scene and the sounds of his voice
reverberate slightly due to the wooden structure of the truck. Here sound works
in conjunction with the image to, as Doane posits, ʻspatialize the voiceʼ (1985:
164), we like Grace cannot escape the horror of this situation due to our spatial
location.

This essay will now consider the function of music in the scenes. It should be
noted that while this music may not articulate the space of the narrative in the
sense of it describing aspects of the filmʼs diegetic space; it arguably defines, or
at the very least contributes, to the manner in which the nature of the space is
constructed. In her discussion of Dogville, BainBridge notes that,

The influence of . . . Brechtian formulation of theatre on von Trierʼs

work in Dogville . . . is striking. As he himself has commented, “I was
also inspired to a degree by Bertolt Brecht and his very simple,
pared-down theatre” (2007: 145).

With regards to music, it therefore of interest to this essay to examine Brechtʼs

own theories of the function of music in cinema and how they can be viewed in
these two scenes.

In this scene, just before Ben begins to rape Grace, the non-diegetic music of
the string orchestra plays for around twenty seconds and bridges the dissolve
transition that cuts between Ben raping her, and his leaving the truck (Appendix
B: Shot 14-15). This music takes on a number of functions here. Brecht notes
that,

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. . . music can assume certain functions from the start, but they must
be reserved for the music. If, for example, music is to be and can be
used to express emotional states in people, then many actions are
no longer needed whose only purpose is to express these emotional
states (2000: 14).

In other words music can convey emotional states of characters in place of

some of their potential actions and reactions. In this scene the music can
therefore be seen to stand in for Graceʼs emotional reaction. While we see that
she is clearly uncomfortable, she appears to just lie there and accept her fate.
This interpretation is reenforced by this piece of music being the same as that
which is the first thing we hear in the film, in which the shot visually
encompasses the entire space of the Dogville. This creates a connection
between the two scenes and infers that in the space of the second scene, no
matter where we are told Grace is spatially located, or what the sounds may
convince us of, she is still really in Dogville. How can she not be?; Dogville is,
after all, the film we are told at the very beginning that we are watching. The
narrative space of Dogville is always the same as that of the film of Dogville,
and this use of music arguably alerts us to this. The music can here be seen
then to articulate Graceʼs reaction that this is after all ʻthe sad tale of the
township of Dogvilleʼ that the narrator initially described alongside this music,
and that being in Dogville, this is the treatment she has come to expect.

Brecht also argues that, ʻUsed carefully, [the] principle of a separating the
elements of music and action could provide the narrative film with some new
effectsʼ (Bretch 2000: 14). This theory of the separation of music and action is
clearly displayed throughout Dogville. In this scene, the fact that the music only
last twenty seconds and that it masks the sound of Ben raping Grace produces
an almost matter-of-fact-ness about the nature of the space she is occupying,
which as argued, is always the film Dogville. Rather than hear the sound of the
rape and experience its full duration, we experience it cut short against the
orchestra. Here, and throughout the film, elements are separated. The most
notable and as highlighted throughout this essay, being sound and image.

To conclude, this essay has examined a number of ways in which von Trierʼs
use of sound in Dogville is exemplary in defining narrative space due to his
difference of approach in employing techniques founded in traditional narrative
film-making and gearing them towards the creation of a different kind of
narrative space. It has considered the influence of Brecht and Brechtʼs own
theory of the function of film music, in conjunction with von Trierʼs notable uses
of acousmatic sound effects and the acousmêtre. In summation it has
highlighted that narrative space of Dogville is defined in a manner that manages
to both disguise the filmʼs artifice, and at the same time, bring it to the fore of
the audienceʼs attention through its creation of a complex relationship between
the illusory narrative space of Dogville and the inseparable and knowable space
of the film Dogville.

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Bibliography

Bainbridge, Caroloine (2007) The Cinema of Lars Von Trier: Authenticity and
Artifice London: Wallflower Press

Brecht, Bertolt (1947) ʻOn Film Musicʼ tr. Silberman, Marc in Silberman, Marc
(ed.) (2000) Bertolt Brecht: On Film and Radio London: Methuen

Chion, Michel (1994) Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen (1990) tr. Claudia

Gorbman New York: Columbia University Press

Chion, Michel (1999) The Voice in Cinema tr. Claudia Gorbman New York:
Columbia University Press

Currie, Gregory (1996) ʻFilm, Reality, and Illusionʼ in Bordwell, David and Noel
Carrol (eds.) (1996) Post Theory: Reconstructing Film Studies Madison,
Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press

Doane, Mary Anne (1985) ʻThe Voice in the Cinema: The Articulation of Body
and Spaceʼ in Weis, Elisabeth and John Belton (eds.) (1985) FIim Sound:
Theory and Practice New York: Columbia University Press

Levison, Jerrold (1996) ʻFilm Music and Narrative Agencyʼ in Bordwell, David
and Carrol, Noel (eds.) (1996) Post Theory: Reconstructing Film Studies
Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press

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Filmography

Dogville 2003 Lars von Trier (2003) Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands

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Apendix A: Key Scene 1

Shot 1

What we hear: Silence

What we see: The title card fade to black.

Duration: 10s

Shot 2

What we hear: Music: string orchestra.

What we see: The prologue title card, telling

us what will happen in this section of the film.
Duration: 8s

Shot 3

What we hear: Music continues. Narrator

introduces us to the town and describes
some of its history and opinions of its
residents. The childrenʼs skipping rope hitting
the floor. Tomʼs fatherʼs radio. Dialogue
between Tom and his Father. The click of
Tom turning off the radio.

What we see: An arial view of Dogville that

appears like a blueprint, populated with the
towns residents and a few items of furniture.
This is clearly not a realistic representation of
the town described by the narrator. The shot
slowly zooms into a CU of the radio in Tom
Edisonʼs house.
Duration: 1m: 16s

Shot 4

What we hear: Tomʼs dialogue continued

What we see: The interior of Tomʼs house

from a exterior position. The furniture and
Tom and his Father.
Duration: 2

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Shot 5

What we hear: Tomʼs dialogue.

What we see: CU of Tomʼs face.

Duration: 3s

Shot 6

What we hear: Tomʼs fatherʼs response. The

creaking of his glasses and the pages
turning of his book. The ticking of a clock.
The narrator.

What we sen e: Tomʼs father putting on his

glasses, talking to Tom and turning the pages
of his book.
Duration: 11s

Shot 7

What we hear: The narrator continued. The

creaking of Tomʼs chair and the ruffles of his
clothing

What we see: Tom sitting down at his desk

and putting on his jacket.
Duration: 20s

Shot 8

What we hear: The narrator continued.

What we see: Tom arranging his desk. The

inside of Tomʼs neighboursʼ houses from
from the position of inside Tomʼs house.
Duration: 5s

Shot 9

What we hear: The sound of Tom opening

his front door. Tom saying bye to his father.
Birdsong.

What we see: Tom moving to open a door

where there appears to be none when he
leaves his house.
Duration: 5s

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Shot 10

What we hear: Olivia greet Tom. The ruffle

of clothing.

What we see: Tom and Olivia looking at one

another. The interior space of Oliviaʼs house,
the entrance to the mine, part of the interior
of Tomʼs house, and a fence.
Duration: 2s

Shot 11

What we hear: Tom greets Olivia. Birdsong.

What we see: Tom, part of the interior of

Tomʼs house, the top of Oliviaʼs head, a tree
in the background.
Duration: 2s

Shot 12

What we hear: Tomʼs dialogue continued.

Oliviaʼs response.

What we see: A CU of Olivia which pans to

a CU of June.
Duration: 3s

Shot 13

What we hear: Bird song continued. The

ruffle of Tomʼs feet. The Narrator

What we see: Tom wave and walk of into the

street. The interior of two buildings and a
some of the towns residents.
Duration: 7s

Shot 14

What we hear: Bird song continued. The

Narrator continued. Foot steps. Tom greeting
the children.

What we see: A wide view of the town and

its residents. A large proportion of the towns
interior and exterior space.
Duration: 11s
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Shot 15

What we hear: Tom greeting Chuck.

Birdsong continued. Chuckʼs response.

What we see: Tom looking at Chuck. Chuck

walking home. The interior of the houses and
the surround space.
Duration: 6s

Shot 16

What we hear: Chuckʼs repsonse. Birdsong

continued. The drag of Chuckʼs feet.

What we see: The back of Chuck. The

camera moves to a CU of Chuck looking at
the floor.
Duration: 8s

Shot 17

What we hear: Birdsong continued. Chuck

ask who gave the dog a bone with meat on
it.

What we see: A rectangle marked out on the

ground with the word dog, a rendering of a
dog, a chain and the bone of a tray.
Duration: 4s

Shot 18

What we hear: The children respond to

Chuck. Birdsong continued.

What we see: Three children and what

appears to be rock.
Duration: 1.5s

Shot 19

What we hear: Chuckʼs response. Birdsong

continued.

What we see: The interior of Chuckʼs house,

his wife in his house, zooms out to reveal
Chuck.
Duration: 2s
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Shot 20

What we hear: Birdsong continued. Chuckʼs

response continued

What we see: Chuck, and then quick pan to

his son Jason.
Duration: 2s

Shot 21

What we hear: Birdsong continued. Chuckʼs

response continued. The creaking of the
wood on Chuckʼs back.

What we see: Chuck gesture to his son.

Duration: 1.5s

Shot 22

What we hear: Chuckʼs response continued.

The opening and closing of a door. Birdsong
continued.

What we see: Jason enter his house and

make the gesture of opening the door that
we cannot see.
Duration: 3s

Shot 23

What we hear: Chuckʼs response continued.

Birdsong continued. Tom speak.

What we see: CU of Tom.

Duration: 5s

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Shot 24

What we hear: Birdsong continued. Chuckʼs

response to Tom. The sound of a door being
opened.

What we see: Chuck make the gesture of

opening a door that we cannot see.
Duration: 7s

Shot 25

What we hear: The slamming of a door.

Birdsong continued. Soft footsteps. The
Narrator

What we see: Chuck enter his house and

make a slamming of the door gesture. Pan to
Tom walking down the street, away from
Chuckʼs house.
Duration: 15s

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Apendix B: Key Scene 2

Shot 1

What we hear: Birdsong. Chuck responding

to Grace. The ruffle of her clothes. The
Narrator.

What we see: Chuck leaving. CU of Grace.

Duration: 2.5s

Shot 2

What we hear: Narrator continued. Birdsong

continued.

What we see: Ben, his truck and the interior

of a building, from an exterior position.
Duration: 2s

Shot 3

What we hear: Narrator continued. Birdsong

continued. The ruffled moving of something.
Ben whisper Graceʼs name.

What we see: Ben fiddling in his truck.

Grace move toward his truck.
Duration: 10s

Shot 4

What we hear: Narrator continued. Birdsong

continued. Footsteps.

What we see: The proportion of the town

and its residents. Benʼs truck.
Duration: 6s

Shot 5

What we hear: Ben speaking. Movement of

clothing.

What we see: A CU of Ben in profile which

pans to an imperfect shot of Graceʼs face.
Duration: 7s

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Shot 6

What we hear: Benʼs voice continued

What we see: CU of Ben which pans to a

CU of Graceʼs face and then tilts down to her
hands.
Duration: 6s

Shot 7

What we hear: Graceʼs response. The ruffle

of paper.

What we see: CU of Grace handing Ben

money.
Duration: 1.5s

Shot 8

What we hear: Birdsong. Benʼs response

folowed by Graceʼs response.

What we see: Ben and Grace at the back of

Benʼs truck. A few of the residents of the
town visible in the background.
Duration: 2.5s

Shot 9

What we hear: Ben and Grace talking. The

ruffle of material.

What we see: Ben covering Grace with a

tarpaulin in the back of his truck.
Duration: 8s

Shot 10

What we hear: An engine. Non digetic

music: string orchestra.

What we see: An aerial view of the truck

moving which zooms into a dissolve of the
next shot.
Duration: 10s
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Shot 11

What we hear: Engine continued. Non

digetic music continued. The rattle of crates.
The Narrator. Bell tolls. What we see:

What we see: An aerial view of Grace in the

truck, seen in a kind of x-ray like manner
through the tarpaulin. The truck rattling.
Duration: 22s

Shot 12

What we hear: Engine continued. Non

diegetic music continued. The rattle of crates
continues. The crunching of an apple being
eaten.

What we see: An aerial view of Grace in the

truck, seen in a kind of x-ray like manner
through the tarpaulin. Grace eating an apple.
The truck rattling.
Duration: 9s

Shot 13

What we hear: Engine continued. Non

diegetic music continued. The rattle of crates
continues. Music fades outs. Engine stops.
Car creaks. Quite muffled voices. Scraping
of wood. Benʼs heavy breathing. Ben and
Grace speak.

What we see: The truck stops rattling. A

crate is removed and Ben enters the truck.
Ben and Grace talk.
Duration: 1m: 47s

Shot 14

What we hear: Quite muffled voices.

Scraping of wood. Benʼs heavy breathing.
Ben and Grace speak. Benʼs thrusting and
moaning. The non-diegetic music plays as
she is being raped.

What we see: Ben move closer to Grace.

She strokes his arm. Ben rapes Grace.
Duration: 1m: 59s

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 Matt Migliorini ©2011

Shot 15

What we hear: The music fades out. The

muffled voices return. The sound of
movement against the wood of the truck.

What we see: Ben leaves the truck.

Duration: 13s

Shot 16

What we hear: The Narrator. The engine.

The engine stops. The squeak of a brake.
The bark of a dog.
What we see: Grace asleep. The truck
rattling. Grace waking up.
Duration: 37s

Shot 17

What we hear: The movement of material.

Chuck speaking.

What we see: A sharp aerial zoom out from

the previous shot with the residents pulling
off the tarpaulin.
Duration: 7s

Shot 18

What we hear: Chuck speaking continued.

Bird song.

What we see: Chuck and a number of the

other residents looking into the truck.
Duration: 5s

19
 Matt Migliorini ©2011

Shot 19

What we hear: Chuck speaking continued.

Birdsong continued. Movement against wood
with slight creaks.

What we see: Grace sitting up framed

between the two men that have now raped
her. Zoom in to CU of Graceʼs face.
Duration: 10s

Shot 20

What we hear: Birdsong continued. Muffled

movement of feet.

What we see: The back of Chuck and

Grace. Zoom in on CU of Benʼs face.
Duration: 2s

Shot 21

What we hear: Birdsong continued. Ben

speaks.

What we see: Starts with Ben and quickly

pans over a number of the faces of the
townʼs residents.
Duration: 8s

Shot 22

What we hear: Birdsong continued. Ben

speaking continued. Movement of wood.

What we see: CU of Ben fiddling with the

side of his truck.
Duration: 8s

20
 Matt Migliorini ©2011

Shot 23

What we hear: Ben speaking continued.

Birdsong continued. Movement of wood.

What we see: Grace in profile.

Duration: 3s

Shot 24

What we hear: Ben speaking continued.

Birdsong continued.

What we see: Grace looking around for

something.
Duration: 2s

Shot 25

What we hear: Birdsong continued

What we see: Tom standing in the street,

with his back to us.
Duration: 3s

21