There Will Be Blood blog post

The Paul Anderson film There Will Be Blood, consists of many different elements that help both intensify and dramatize the film as a whole. For instance, Anderson's decision to open the film with fourteen minutes of just silence, not only served as a setup of the environment Daniel Plainview was in, but it also helped bring the audience into that particular world. Most directors choose to incorporate dialogue fairly early on in their film as a means of introducing the characters to the audience right from the get-go. By introducing Daniel and the circumstances he is in all through silence, Anderson was able to set-up a clear tone of the film; that is a tone of struggle and intensity. During these first fourteen minutes of silence, the audience is able to really focus in on all that Daniel is doing and what sort of setting he is in. Anderson also used a combination of wide and close frames to show that Daniel was in an environment with nobody else around him, which allows an audience to wonder and question as to what may have happened previous to this first encounter with Daniel. Another element that plays a very important role in helping dramatize the film is the element of music. Anderson used a variety of different styles and tempos of music, perhaps as a means of helping indicate that something is going to happen in the near future or to help show the current mood of a specific character. One example of this is when Daniel is standing on a field with a group of men and he makes eye contact with Eli as he makes his way toward Daniel. Although the music isn't very loud or grand in this scene, its sudden change in tone helps portray Daniel's feelings toward Eli. Before Eli meets toe to toe with Daniel, the music is a fast-paced orchestra that sounds neither happy nor sad, but allows one to wonder what is going to happen next. However, the moment Daniel spots Eli and we get a closer shot of Daniel and two of the men behind him, the tone of the music suddenly shifts. No longer is the audience wondering what type of mood the scene is going to have, now it is clear through the angry expression on Daniel's face and the dark tone of the music that their encounter is not going to be a positive one.