Jon Rohrbaugh

Raiders of the Lost Ark 57:33-1:01:00
“Uncovering the Well of Soles”

I have chosen to evaluate a scene from Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana and Sallah uncover the Well of Soles where the lost ark is hidden. We open the scene at 57:03 with Indiana leading a team of diggers up a hill to the spot where they will dig for the ark. As the scene opens we hear the diegetic sounds of the diggers and commotion taking place in the background. We also hear non-diegetic music that will be referred to as the “ark theme” playing as Indiana climbs the hill and has his men start to dig for the ark. The slow and sort of creepy tone that makes up the ark theme reminds us of the continuing quest for the ark and
The non-diegetic music lowers to a creepy tone once again but then spikes into a high pitch flute sound at 1:00:22 as the camera pans over the creepy view of the snakes. The non-diegetic music continues into a low-pitch brass sound which continues to provide a creepy feel but also foreshadows the evil that lies ahead. At 1:00:42 the camera lifts back to Indy as he rolls over and delivers his famous line; “Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?” Sallah then crawls over to Indy and at 1:00:59, Sallah utters over the non-diegetic music, “Asps. Very dangerous. You go first!” This line then cues the diegetic sounds of a snake rattling and a loud boom of thunder which cues the end of the scene. Throughout this four minute clip, there are tons of diegetic sounds and a lot of non-diegetic music. The sounds and music play a huge roll in this scene as it builds emotion for the find of the Well of Soles yet foreshadows the danger and adventure that lies ahead in the remainder of the