constructing dogville

Matt Migliorini ©2011

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Exemplary Constructions of Narrative Space Through Sound

in the Film “DOGVILLE” as examined in two scenes an introduction and a conclusion

Matt Migliorini

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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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


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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


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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


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constructing dogville

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