Alien: Scene Analysis

Alien is a Sci-Fi Horror film that was made by director Ridley Scott back in 1979. It was a very unusual Sci-Fi film for back then because back then what was considered Sci-Fi were things like Star Wars, no element of horror had really ever been put with it, so this was a step forward for Sci-Fi films.
Now, I could talk about the entire film here, but I'm just going to talk about one scene. In the film the crew find out that the Alien is moving around through the Air Shafts, so Dallas decideds to go into them himself and find the creature and burn it out..
The scene starts off with a long shot of the camera looking down the Air Shaft, with Dallas crawling up the shaft with his flamethrower. The clip is very low key lighting, the only bit of light available to you is from his torch, so you can very faintly see Dallas crawling up the air shaft, this builds suspense, that the Alien could jump out at any moment, or be right behind him, and us as an audience wouldn't know. Non-diegetic sound is used, a music track, just a piano note played again and again, it's very quiet but also very scary/creepy which creates even more tension because it builds suspence. The editing used is very slow zooming in on Dallas, to see what he is doing.
Cross cutting is then used, to show Dallas communicating with the others whilst he is in the shaft and the others are on the ship locating where him and the alien are and also so he can discuss what he can see.
The next shot used is the camera on the other side of the shaft and the entrance to the shaft slowly closing, with Dallas' face slowly disappearing, this gives off the effect that it's too late to turn back now, it's a life or death situation, either find the alien and kill it, or find the alien and be killed. Diegetic sound is used showing the doors closing, and the non-diegetic music soundtrack is still being used to keep that tension going.
Cross cutting is once again used, it shows a close up of the rest of the crew looking at the device they have to see where Dallas is in the shaft.
In the next shot, Dallas is moving quicker up the shaft, the camera is tracking, moving with dallace facing him and the camera is moving backwards, this makes you feel like you are there with him, it shows the darkness of the shaft, and how tight the shaft is, and how claustraphobic it can make you feel. The music is much tenser now, quite a lot louder and faster, it's like a very low trumpet sound, which infact creates a lot more tension. Diegetic sound is also used, a beeping, coming from the device being used to track Dallas' whereabouts. The camera then stops moving, all the same sounds are being used, but you here more diegetic sound, Dallas breathing heavily, shows there isn't much oxygen in there and it's very warm and very uncomfortable, also you see Dallas' movements more clearly, that he is struggling to move forward, as I said before, it's uncomfortable for him.
A point of view shot is then used, of him viewing the hatchet to the next junction, diegetic sound used asking the rest of his crew to open the door to the next junction, using this shot gives the effect that you are in his shoes, that you are there in the shaft with him.
The camera switches back to Dallas, and a single trumpet noise is made, adding suspension to the scene, the camera says still, and Dallas moves closer and closer to the camera, the only sounds heard are diegetic ones, beeping from the device, and Dallas' breaths getting louder and louder as he moves closer to the camera.
Later on in the scene, one of the crew members announces they have a signal as to where the Alien is, so slight hope is restored and the audience are able to lay back a lot more and relax because the tension has slightly gone, but then she announces the signal was then again lost. As this as announced high pitched music is used and it gets louder and louder, this creates a feeling of panic, that once again the Alien could be right next to him again. Cross cutting is used also on a member of the crew, zooming on her face showing she is shocked, and scared for him as there is now an easy chance he will die.
The shot is once again put on Dallas, who is sitting down waiting for the go ahead to start moving again when they have retrieved a signal, a close up is used on his hand as he relaxes it onto the floor, and he touches a gooey substance. As he looks at the substance, he realises it's from the Alien, and once again a high pitched non-diegetic soundtrack is used to create panic and fear, because the Alien is obviously very close by. Also, as Dallas touches the goo, non-diegetic sound is still being used from one of the crew members who says 'take a look around, are you sure it's not there? It's got to be around there somewhere' this is ironic, because as he realises that it's near by because of the goo, she is also saying that he is around there somewhere, so it gives the audience the impression that the Alien is near him.
As Dallas is still sitting there, he announces that it's too risky and he is going to get out there, at the same time, faster paced orchestral music is being played, which suggests that the Alien is getting closer and closer, which creates suspense. A point of view shot is then used of the device being used to track the Alien and Dallas, she announces it's moving right towards him, at this point the music is getting faster and faster creating an incredible amount of panic. The editing becomes faster, going from him, back to the reactions of the crew, Dallas' shots are of him sitting there still, not knowing what to do, this shows vulnerability and fear, which makes the audience scared. The shots of the crew members also show fear, which is what the audience can relate to, because there just listening/watching him, hopefully able to survive. Non-diegetic sound is being used during this, one of them is the orchestral music being played, at quite a steady pace, but still creating the suspension, and the beeping of the device used to see the Aliens movements, it's a constant beat, which also could represent Dallas' heartbeat, show's that his adrenaline is up and that he is scared.
One of the crew members tells him to move, so he starts moving, cross cutting is used on both Dallas', the crew members and the device, the crew members are all just stood there listening to what's happening. The non-diegetic music used is much faster, as is the editing, which is used to create action and suspense. Also, the woman who has been telling Dallas where the Alien is, her voice is being used as a non-diegetic sound panicing and shouting at him telling him to move. This is creating fear and suspense for the audience as we become more and more afraid of his death, and start to panic as he does.
A single shot is then used, just as he got to the bottom of the stairs, this is used to set the scene of where he is, and to show he is panicing, shaking and looking for the alien. Low key lighting is still being used to give it a horror effect. The non-diegtic sound of the woman and music are both still being used, to keep that suspense and fear going throughout the audience. As Dallas turns the other way and shines his torch you get probably a millisecond glimpse of the Alien standing there, but that's too late to notice as a cut edit is used to a close up shot of the alien reaching out for Dallas screaming. At that point everything is silent except for the aliens scream, this makes the audience jump out of there skin, and just after that, the suspense has gone, leaving the audience amazed and dazzled and also scared.
A static screen is shown, then a clip is shown of the crew members, which is scared, confused, panicing and crying, which makes the audience get a feeling that Dallas has been killed, the only sounds used are diegetic ones of the crew members shouting 'Dallas, Dallas' and weeping, which ends the scene in a very dramatic way.