Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

provided by

This clip shows lobsters trapped in a lobster pot under the ocean as a large octopus slowly approaches. The octopus climbs into the pot and smothers one of the trapped lobsters, injecting it with an enzyme to soften its flesh, which the octopus then sucks up through its beak. Fishers haul up the pot to find an empty lobster shell and they kill the octopus.

Educational value points

• The western rock lobster industry, an aspect of which is depicted in this clip, is based off the coast of Western Australia, in the south Indian Ocean. The annual catch, usually between 10,000 and 12,000 tonnes, is mostly exported to the USA, Japan and Taiwan, with only a small amount reaching the Australian domestic market. The lobsters are caught using baited pots during the fishing season from November to June. To prevent lobsters from dying out, this lucrative industry is regulated by guidelines that include seasonal closures, minimum size requirements and a ban on the capture of breeding females.

• The clip shows how the octopus, a cephalopod mollusc most closely related to the squid, the cuttlefish and the nautilus, captures its prey. The octopus makes a quick pounce and envelopes its prey in its tentacles. It then injects a toxin produced by the salivary glands to paralyse the rock lobster, and an enzyme to break down the lobster’s flesh. The octopus uses its beak to tear the softened lobster meat into small pieces, before sucking the meat in through its mouth.

• By incorporating elements of the horror genre, the director presents an anthropomorphic view of the lobster and octopus, personifying the lobster as the victim and the octopus as the villain. The villain ultimately faces retribution for killing the lobster and meets the same fate at the hands of a fisherman. The voice-over narration in particular is used effectively to endow the octopus with human characteristics.

• Techniques from the horror genre, including sound, music, lighting, camera angles and editing, are used to successfully construct film narrative, particularly to build suspense and create tension. The film intercuts dramatically between shots of the octopus as it approaches and enters the lobster pot and shots from the perspective of the trapped lobsters.

• The clip incorporates music that supports the horror genre as well as sound effects unique to an underwater landscape. The opening scenes use music to signify action and build tension, identifying the octopus as the villain and the lobsters as potential victims. As the octopus approaches, the music increases in both volume and rhythm frequency, and by the climax has become frantic. The music ebbs after the attack has been made.

• The clip is an example of skilful underwater photography, particularly in the way light and shadow are used to create the underwater landscape and enhance the horror element. The soft blue tones in the opening scene and the use of shadows are familiar filmmaking techniques in the horror genre. Cinematographer Leighton de Barros won an Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) Award in 2000 for his work on this film.

This clip starts approximately 18 minutes into the documentary.

We see a lobster pot resting on the ocean floor. An octopus approaches.
Narrator But lobster is on the menu for other predators. Like fishermen, the octopus considers the lobster a delicacy. The octopus eyes the banquet and selects its choice.

We see how the octopus makes its way into the lobster pot.
Narrator Injecting an enzyme to soften the lobster’s flesh, the octopus sucks it out through its beak, like milkshake through a straw. All that is left for the fishermen is the empty shell.
Fisherman You octopus bastard!