Ryan+Chong+-+The+Aviator+Diegesis+Analysis

This is my selection of non-diegetic elements in the 2004 film The Aviator directed by Martin Scorsese.

1) 2:18 - The text "Hollywood" "1927" appears on screen to provide the audience information on the setting of the scene. The text is non-diegetic because it is only visible to the audience and non-existent in the world of the film.

2&3) 3:57 - The text "Hell's Angels" appears on screen to inform the audience the name of the film that the character within the story is working on, a long with the character's progress on it. Like above, the text and music in this scene are not elements of the world of the story, rather just there to give the audience information (what to think, how to feel, etc.).

4&5) 4:27- 4:29 - Jazz music begins to play in the background as the airplanes take off, then it switches to a scene where the same music is actually playing. The jazz music, both relaxing and exiting generates a confusing mood for the audience. The music is followed by the image "Coconut Grove" to show the setting.

6) 10:22 - A Reporter starts reporting at 10:08 to what seems to be documentary footage, then scene changes to the story's film footage displayed on a canvas. At this point the reporter is still talking about is not longer in sync with the shot we see on screen. The reporter becomes a non-diegesic element as the characters of that scene are not able to hear the reporter's voice comment about their film.

7&8) 13:23- 13:58 - Jazz music starts playing to bring back to the audience the troubling situation that the main character was in in the previous scene. The music foreshadows what will come up next in the story, when the character is troubled by the fact that he waited a long time and could not find a place that had clouds for his shot. This is also the second year for the characters to film the movie as indicate with the on screen text, which is non-diegetic because the characters are unaware of the text's existence.

9) 20:59 - The reporter is reporting about the stock market crashes while the shot is of a red carpet area of Hollywood where celebrities are walking into the theatre which "Hell's Angles" will premiere in. The Reporter is the non-diegesic element of this scene.

10) 25:14 - This shot is an extreme close up of a flash bulb of a camera breaking after its use. A similar image is use prior to this to symbolise the crushing feeling of anguish in his heart. The first time a used flash bulb of a camera was crush, it was by the foot of the main character, thus making it diegetic; however, since this shot does not show any connection between the object presented and the world of the film, it makes this object non-diegetic: it only acts as a symbol for the audience to take note of.