Films have the potential to engross an audience and create a mixture of emotions. These can be seen in a variety of ways; “Gallipoli’ used a range of techniques in such a way that it created an amazing atmosphere by involving the audience emotionally and portraying a story. Peter Weir utilised camera techniques to illustrate the emotions of the characters as well as to build suspense into the plot. The use of silence allowed the viewers to read the tension between the characters and impact the audience emotionally. Weir allowed music to carry the plot throughout the film, enabling viewers to bond with the characters’ feelings. Techniques were used accordingly with the plot and mood of the film in order to connect with the audience.
Effective tools used by film makers to capture the interests of viewers are camera techniques. Peter Weir enables the audience to appreciate and comprehend the way the film conveys its ideas and feelings through a variety of camera techniques. Extreme close-ups were used more often at Gallipoli than at the other settings to develop the suspense, allowing the viewer to empathise the emotion and pressure surrounding the Diggers. The preparation of ammunition brings us back to reality, along with handshakes and embraces demonstrated the value of mateship. Near to the final scene, close ups of the soldiers placing their treasured items in trench and writing letters showed a mixture of fear, bravery and the reality of war, this created a huge impact for the audience through the eloquent use of the camera. Recurring images of the whistle blowing and shots of running feet from the start of the film were used again in the final scene as though the other shots were a foreshadowing for this event. The whistle and feet symbolised Archie’s journey, his willpower and determination were summed up in just this scene. The final shot used in the film