Techniques and Perspectives

• View of Mountains crest- Overhead shot

  • Sherpa- it proves how tall and dangerous the mountain is
  • Client- shows the raw beauty of the mountain, which entices so many tourists per year.
• There is overcrowding on Everest as people line up to continue Climbing- Birds eye view

  • Clients- depicts the increase of people who wat to partake in the expedition each year
  • Sherpa- Shows how their role has increased dramatically, and shows how they are extremely outnumbered, which is dangerous as they have to care for so many people
  • Nepalese Governemnt- The allowance of so many people onto the mountain suggests they rely on this tourism to keep their economy stable.
• Icefall scene- Establishing shot, Panning Shot, Timelapse, Diegetic sound


  Sherpa- putting themselves in danger
• This scene shows the fight between a European climber and a sherpa.

  • Sherpa are not being treated properly, despite the work they do.
  • The paying clients do not understand the spiritual significance of ‘Chomolungma’
  • Russel is forced to either defend his Sherpa for punching the client, or ruin his reputation by getting angry at the client.
• Diegetic sound - Sherpa praying, the snow crunching under their feet, Fire being burnt.

  • Once again proves the Sherpa’s spiritual connection to the mountain, and gives the audience an insight into their culture.
• The Sherpa is continuing the journeto camp 2 but it is now day time which means it's more dangerous than it was at night- hand Held shot

  • The Sherpa are putting themselves in danger for the sake of the climbers
  • Russell is their boss, and by making them do this, it suggests he takes advantage of the Sherpa for his business benefit.
• This is when the rescue team is going to search for the people in the Mountain- Panning shot, Non diegetic sound

  • The Sherpa have put themselves in so much danger that one of them has died
  • Shows the amount of people involved, since their are also many sherpa in the rescue team.
• The doctors attempting to help the injured sherpa- Slow motion filming

  • Sherpa perpesctive
• interviewing people the avalanche- close ups

  • Russel perspective
  • Foreigners perspective
• News Reports playing over a time lapse of the mountain- Time lapse, Non diegetic sound

  • Nepalese government- they rely on this to underpin their economy, so it is a news headline when something happens.
  • Family perspective- they have to read the news to find out about the deaths and deal with the grief.
  • Russell perspective- his business is under scrutiny after this terrible accident- he cannot ruin his reputation any further.
• The village following the death of two sherpa- Intertitle ( A Khumjung, two people have just died here), Extreme long shot, Non- diegetic sound


  Shows the family and village perspective following the death. It presents a dark and gloomy atmosphere, with the soundtrack mimicking this, suggesting the grief they are now in. The long shot also shows the entire village, depicting their close relationship with each other.
• Families talking about their experiences with danger due to the sherpa lifestyle and career- Slow pan down, Mid close up, Low lighting, Non diegetic sound


  Family perspective- many of them have lost people due to Everest- one of the Sherpa who passed away had just recently become a father.
• The shot shows a mountain and non diegetic sound of newsreporters stating that the Sherpas are “boicotting”. And that they may ruin the

  Everest industry- Non diegetic sound, Wide shot

  • Foreigner perspective- they cannot climb without the Sherpa
  • Nepalese government- they may ruin the industry, and this would have negative affects on the government.
  • Russell- he makes a living based off the Everest Industry so he would lose all his money and reputation.
• Work has halted and noWork id being done due To the conflicting perspectives and a timelapse it used to show this- timelapse

  • Perspective of all- because of their conflicting perspectives, they cannot move forward.
• A flashback appears, Depicting the length sherpa have been working on

   everest for- flashback

  • Sherpa perspective- their ability has been abused for so many years, and they are tired of the government and tourism agencies taking advantage of them.
  • Nepalese government- The industry has played a huge part in the economy of the county for so long, so it would be severely detrimental if the industry was to fall apart.
• Russell is explaining how there s ‘militant’ sherpa and the climb may not continue- Close ups, Non diegetic sound

  • The Sherpa have been pushed to breaking point, and with no one agreeing with them, they decide to stop working and go on strike.
  • The paying clients can no longer finish their expedition and close up shots show the disappointment and confusion on their faces.
  • Russell is unaware of what to do in this situation, as he has to explain to his clients that they can go no further. This is the second time he has done this in three years.
• Russell: 'The Sherpa will 'break their legs''
• The Sherpa are adamant that they will not resume climbing, despite Russell and the government trying to change their minds
• Russell's reputation is under immense scrutiny
• Russell has to make up a lie that the Sherpa's 'legs will be broken' in an attempt to make it seem like it wasn't partly his fault that the expedition has fallen apart
• The foreigners listen to Russell and face the fact that they will not able to climb any further and will have to return home without summiting
• The foreigners have wasted up to $100 000, and for many of them, this was their 2nd attempt, with the 2012 season also being cut short