Gojira: Preparing the Oxygen Destroyer Scene Analysis

Gojira: Preparing the Oxygen Destroyer

Shot 1: We start with Serizawa descending in his diving suit through a medium close-up. We know it’s Serizawa because the lighting highlights the oxygen destroyer he is holding. He descends behind a rock and we hear bubbles as we cut to:

Shot 2: A POV shot of the rocks passing in front of Serizawa as he descends. We cut to:

An example of the camera refusing to show Ogata fully.

Shot 3: A medium close-up of Ogata descending. It is important to note we only get to see from the torso down for the brief moment we see Ogata descending and no POV shot follows as we cut to:

Shot 4: A similar shot of Serizawa descending but with his full body in the frame as we waves to Ogata off to the right of the frame. We also hear bubbles again here as we cut to:

Shot 5: An almost exact replica of shot 3 with Ogata descending but a refusal to show his whole body. Only from the torso down is shown with his head located off of the top of the frame. We cut to:

Shot 6: A medium close-up of Serizawa holding the oxygen destroyer out towards the middle of the frame as he himself is turned to the side. We cut to:

Shot 7: A medium shot of Ogata plummeting off-screen to the bottom of the frame as Serizawa follows off to the right of the frame. Serizawa slides down a rock wall to the right of the frame that enters slowly until Serizawa lands next to Ogata in the middle of the frame. We cut to:

Shot 8: A medium shot of fish swimming away from the camera and then we cut to:

Shot 9: A similar shot but with the fish swimming directly in front of the camera. We then cut to:

Shot 9: An official on the boat talks into a receiver in the center of the frame and then listens for a response by putting a hand to his ear. We cut to:

Shot 10: A close-up shot of Emiko looking worried down and to the right with her eyes beginning to tear up. She swallows with difficulty and continues staring down and to the right. We cut to:

Shot 11: A voyeuristic long shot watching Godzilla from behind a couple of rocks. We only see his back for a time until he turns slightly and looks toward the camera. We cut to:

Shot 12: A medium shot of Serizawa on the right and Ogata on the left moving towards the camera with difficulty. We cut to:

Shot 13: A close-up shot of Serizawa moving his head from right to left until he stares directly into the camera, his face seeming determined and grim. We cut to:

Shot 14: A similar shot but of Ogata who inversely moves his head from left to right. Ogata moves slower and the shot ends with Ogata still looking slightly off to the left with an almost confused expression on his face. We cut to:

Shot 15: A POV shot of Ogata (if it is match-on-action) rapidly looking from left to right at the rocks before him. We cut to:

Shot 16: A medium close-up tracking shot of Ogata moving left to grab onto something. We cut to:

Shot 17: A similar tracking shot, this time with Serizawa. We cut to:

Shot 18: A shot of the surface bubbling in a similar fashion to Godzilla’s first attacks at the beginning of the movie. We cut to:

Shot 19: A medium close-up of Ogata moving similar to shot 16 but slightly closer. We cut to:

Shot 20:A similar shot of Serizawa moving but with the camera closer. As he releases a stream of bubbles we cut to:

Shot 21: A medium shot of Serizawa and Ogata standing next to each other. They turn to look at each other briefly before facing the camera again. We cut to:

Shot 22: A close-up of Ogata with his face visible moving his head from right to left in a way mirroring shot 14. As he looks slightly off to the left the camera pans over to the right until Serizawa’s face comes into view following Ogata’s line of sight. We cut to:

Shot 23: A long shot of Godzilla standing. The camera tilts upward from the bottom to slowly reveal Godzilla. The shot is murky and Godzilla is almost entirely in shadow save for a light coming from the right of the frame. Godzilla moves his arm down slightly but it is difficult to say exactly which way Godzilla is facing due to the murkiness of the shot. We cut to:

Shot 24: A medium tracking shot similar to shot 17 but in reverse as Serizawa is backpedaling from left to right. We cut to:

Shot 25: A medium shot where Ogata is at the left of the frame and looks rapidly to the right and then to the left in front of him. We cut to:

Shot 26: An almost identical shot to 24 but closer of Serizawa backpedaling. We cut to:

Shot 27: A medium close-up of Ogata backpedaling. The bubbles of air seem to mark each cut here. We cut to:

Shot 28: A medium shot of Serizawa moving off-screen to the right while Ogata comes in from the left and follows Serizawa’s movements to the center of the frame. The dark emptiness of the sea fills most of the space above them within the frame. We cut to:

Godzilla's slow movements in a shot similar to his first appearance.

Shot 29: A medium shot of Godzilla with the lower half of his body hidden behind rocks. The shot is somewhat similar to shot 23 but with more clarity. Godzilla is facing towards the camera but positioned slightly to the left of the camera and appears to be moving forward slightly. We cut to:

Shot 30: A medium tracking shot of Serizawa and Ogata backpedaling with Serizawa displayed prominently in the center and Ogata displayed below with his lower half off-screen. Ogata gradually raises himself as they backpedal to become almost on equal level with Serizawa. We cut to:

Shot 31: The official from earlier now looking downward and to the right slightly. Another official nearby turns and motions to someone behind him. We cut to:

Shot 32: A medium close-up of Dr. Yamane looking downwards in concentration with two men on either side of him following his gaze. We cut to:

Shot 33: A medium close-up of Emiko looking downwards similar to shot 32. We cut to:

Shot 34: An official looking down like shot 33. We cut to:

Shot 35: A long shot of all of the previous close-up subjects gathered over the edge of the boat with Emiko and an official holding Serizawa and Ogata’s ropes. The press photographer turns to look up at a nearby official. We cut to:

Shot 36: A shot identical to shot 18 with the surface bubbling. We cut to:

Shot 37: A shot similar to shot 29 of Godzilla. He moves to the left past a rock wall to look forward and to the right. The shot is similar to previous long distance views of Godzilla earlier in the film. We cut to:

Shot 38: A medium shot of Serizawa standing behind Ogata and to the left. He pats Ogata on the back. The camera pans to Serizawa as he fiddles with the oxygen destroyer and pans back to Ogata as he ascends into the center of the frame. As Ogata ascends off-screen to the top, Serizawa holds the oxygen destroyer above his head as one would a trophy. We cut to:

Shot 39: A POV shot of Ogata’s ascent. We start with a view of the rocks that becomes blocked by bubbles that fill the screen as the rocks leave the bottom of the frame. We cut to:

Shot 40: A medium shot of Ogata by himself ascending in darkness with bubbles above his head. We cut to:

Shot 41: A blur of bubbles cover the screen. We cut to:

Shot 42 A medium close-up of Ogata’s face ascending from the bottom of the frame to off-screen at the top as he screams Serizawa’s name. We cut to:

Shot 43 A medium shot of bubbling near the boat before Ogata pops up to the surface. We cut to:

Shot 44: A medium close-up of Godzilla’s legs moving forward to the left. There’s a slightly murky quality again to the shot. We cut to:

Serizawa "presenting" the oxygen destroyer.

Shot 45: A medium shot of Serizawa still holding the oxygen destroyer above him like a trophy. We cut to:

Shot 46: A close-up shot of Serizawa similar to previous close-ups of him except with the oxygen destroyer clearly in view in front of him now. We cut to:

Shot 47: A medium shot of Godzilla that starts from his head with his hand raised and tilts down to his feet like in shot 43. He moves to the left and we cut to:

Shot 48: A medium close-up of Godzilla’s foot lifting up and moving to the left. As his foot falls, we cut to:

Shot 49: A medium close-up of the oxygen destroyer on the ground. Bubbles start pouring out of the right side slowly at first, and then rapidly increasing in speed. We cut to:

Shot 50: A medium shot of the oxygen destroyer hidden slightly behind rocks as large clouds of bubbles emerge from it and ascend upward. We cut to:

Shot 51: A blur of bubbles similar to shot 40. We cut to:

Shot 52: A medium shot of Serizawa backpedaling to the right until his back meets a wall similar to previous backpedaling shots. We cut to:

Shot 53: A medium close-up of Serizawa’s face staring slightly off to the left like previous shots. We cut to:

Shot 54: A medium close-up of Godzilla rearing his head back in pain as bubbles obscure the screen. We cut to:

Shot 55: A less clear close-up of Godzilla tumbling in the water as bubbles obscure the shot. We cut to:

Shot 56 An identical close-up to shot 52. We cut to:

Shot 57: A similar shot to 54 of Godzilla tumbling. We cut to:

Shot 58: A long shot of everyone on the boat. Emiko is on Ogata’s shoulder as he screams “Serizawa” into the receiver. Everyone turns to look towards Ogata except Dr. Yamane who is fixated on the water. He turns briefly when Ogata feels he isn’t getting a response. We cut to:

The explosion of bubbles, now signifying the end instead of the beginning.

Shot 59: An extreme long-shot of the boat. A large mass of bubbles form around the boat in a similar fashion to how the boat in the first scene of the movie was taken out.

            The scene does go on for a bit longer but I feel as if I’ve gone on for a bit too long as it is. What’s important about this scene is the deliberate attention to Serizawa while setting up the oxygen destroyer before the audience or the characters know he’s about to sacrifice himself. Ogata is often clipped off-screen while Serizawa is placed in the center of the frame in his entirety. The bubbles of air representing their breaths, while often just at cuts to new shots, are loudest when Serizawa is dominant in the frame. Also of note here (and of more importance as the scene goes on) is how Godzilla is portrayed as a voyeuristic target from a distance. He clearly sees Ogata and Serizawa but his movements towards them are very slow and almost hesitant. When Serizawa sets up the oxygen destroyer he does so of course in a sacrificial way because we know he’s giving up his life to protect the design of the oxygen destroyer from future hands. However, it also seems through the editing of the scene that he’s presenting a sacrifice to Godzilla. The way Serizawa presents the oxygen destroyer to Godzilla and the way Godzilla almost calmly notes Serizawa’s actions leads to what I assume is a mutual understanding that they both don’t belong in this world anymore. Back on the boat, Ogata and Emiko are worried about retrieving Serizawa while Dr. Yamane, in focusing on the water, almost seems to understand arrangement occurring below without actually being able to see anything. The mass of bubbles at the boat resemble the destruction from the first few scenes of the movie but here they symbolize the end of the chaos rather than the beginning. The fact that this occurs during the day instead of at night, reemphasizes the fact that this is a positive sign rather than a negative one. The ending on the water hopes for a peaceful end that everything will stay below the surface, but Dr. Yamane in his firm almost emotionless stance on the boat sends a cautionary sign that this could all very well happen again if humankind isn’t careful.