Defamiliarized Battle Scenes

So, as I was thinking further on some other applications of defamiliarization in our culture. One example that came to my mind was the movie 300. This film is very intense and a great battle movie, but what made it so interesting to me was learning about the actual filming of the movie itself. The entirety of the film was done in front of a green screen. Thus, almost the whole movie is strictly special effects. In an interview on StudioDaily, the VFX director of the film Grant Freckelton discusses the various ways and techniques in which he went about making the visual aspects of the film. One of the main things that the visual production of this film does to the audience is that it draws their attention to the entire setting of the battle scenes. The characters almost protrude from the screen. The surrounding environment coincides with the mood of the battle. For example, when the Spartan soldiers fight the Immortals, the whole scene is dark, gray, and overcast. Freckelton clearly did this to add to the dramatic effect of the battle with the Immortals. These soldiers (the Immortals) had never been defeated and greatly outnumbered the Spartans. By situating the setting this way, Freckelton caused the audience to take into account the entirety of the scene, not simply the fight. In other places throughout the film, the setting of the scenes equally effects the viewers perceptions and defamiliarizes them to typical battle scenes from other films.

Article about Freckelton's Techniques

Battle with the Immortals