I analyzed the scene where Simba talks to Mufasa after Mufasa has died.
http://youtu.be/maARmxjj3f0
You are brought into the scene through Simba's eyes being led by Rafiki to this magical place under the moonlit night, which creates a sense of wonder and mystery. Also, the first person perspective creates a sense of entering into the unknown. Quickly after there's a shot that shows Simba's reaction to where he is. Then there's a shot from below that shows Simba walking down to meet the water, and the camera follows Simba as he descends into the area of the pool. This shot creates a feeling of being watched from below, while showing the reactions of Simba and Rafiki.
At the start of the scene Simba and Rafiki both have back lights as Rafiki leads Simba to the water, where simba is supposed to see his father, but when Simba gets up close to the water he only has a key light on his face and a bit of a fill. The back light at the beginning is from the moon, and creates an intimate calm setting and also showcases the forms of the characters for setting the scene.
As Simba peers into the water, and the camera flips to show his reflection similarly to how one would show a new character. The pool at this point is similar to a character, and shows the difference between who Simba is and should be. There is a lot of tension, in the music and otherwise, because this pool is supposed to help poor confused Simba out.
In the close up near the water the moon light is taken away leaving one key light and a bit of a fill. This set up shows Simba's body while emphasizing his face and emotions, as he is disappointed from not seeing his father in the pool first time.
Then Simba gives up, sighs, and says that's only a reflection of himself. The shot for all of that happening is from above showing a more objective view where you can see both Simba and his reflection, although it is a bleak looking picture.
Then Rafiki gets very close to Simba, and. Simba is always on the right. Rafiki tells him to look once again into the pool, to look harder, and then points to the pool again as the camera swivels around. The pool this time is very dark and ominous looking, providing a mysterious hope. Waves begin to form in the pool, and there's an under the chin camera shot giving us a better idea of where Simba is and where his attentions lie. The next shot is of Simba's face with an emphasis on his eyes. Then back to the pool, this time only showing Mufasa.
The second time he gazes into the pool Simba's eyes are the most enlightened part of his body, and everything else is in moderate shadow emphasizing his perception. Then as Mufasa materializes in the water he appears with a strong key light on his face. Then the lighting becomes dark, and Simba's whole face is cast in shadow until he hears his name called by his father.
In the moment that he is called, there comes a strong light from above that grows stronger, and his father is riding on the clouds. The lack of light before his father's appearance emphasizes his despair in the moment, and the dim light that shines from above symbolizes some of his hope that grows. The director uses a head shot of Simba in the darkness and as the light grows it catches simba's attention and draws his gaze above.The camera goes to an establishing shot showing the grandness of Mufasa on the skies towering over his son creating this amazingly beautiful spectacle.
Mufasa's front is cloaked in darkness, but a bright light shines from behind him and grows brighter. At this moment he is a dim specter, and he says, "You have forgotten me"
Then there is a shot of most of Simba's body as he tries to tell his father that he hasn't forgotten him.
Then there is a shot of Mufasa's face, as if he is looking down at the camera surrounded by a swirling mess of dark clouds. Mufasa again states that Simba has forgotten him and then goes into greater depth. In this shot, Mufasa starts off looking down at us, but slowly edges downward to more of an eye level view, creating a greater intimacy.
Then it is back to Simba's reaction, asking how he can achieve what his father is telling him, which is very simple shot, similar to the shot before, except the light is much brighter.
Then it is back to Mufasa, but it is a full body shot showing all his majesty.
All the light is coming from the sky behind Mufasa, but it is bouncing off the clouds that swirl around him creating a brilliant golden, god-like effect. Again Simba's eyes are highlighted, as he listens to what his father tells him. This scene illustrates enlightenment from the supernatural very well, as Mufasa tells Simba to remember who he is.
Simba has a very close up shot after this, and then Mufasa has one mirroring it as he repeats "remember" and rescinds into the clouds.
Simba begs his father not to leave in a close up that then pulls out to see Simba running and the clouds rolling away.
The light behind Mufasa fades, as does his figure in the sky. Simba's face loses the highlight, and it appears as if a fill light has now become a key light. Again he picks up a backlight from moon to highlight his figure.
The most emotional part was when the light almost went out on Simba, and Mufasa showed up telling Simba what he needed to hear. That whole part of the sequence was done with just one key light, creating a great intimacy between father and son. Also there was a good amount of music that added to the emotionality of the scene. The intimacy was very created with very simple camera angles of faces,which allowed the emotion of the face to shine through. Most the emotionality was led by Simba's predicament, his hopelessness concerning his past and who he is, and his father reminding him who he is. Most of the story telling was just letting that shine through.
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