Research Into Cinematography - Miss Miller

Camera angles, positions and movements are used to make the audience feel a certain way. For example, the low angle is when the camera is below the character which therefore makes it bigger, this can make the character look heroic or powerful. I think is makes the characters feel this way because in terms of social class, the lower class always look up to the higher class, so it's as if the audience are looking up at him because he is wiser or is capable of doing more than the audience are. Shallow focus is when everything behind the character is blurred. This is so that the audience can concentrate more on what the un blurred person is saying rather than the background, the producers of the films want us to keep engaged with the story by keeping up with what has happened. So, they blur everything out apart from the one the audience are listening to so that the viewers don't lose our focus on the main plot of the story. Another is P.O.V (Point of view), this is when the camera shows the viewers the same image that the character sees. I believe this is an important movement because it allows the audience to feel as important as the character, and seeing things in their eyes makes the viewers engage more. It also helps us to spot clues and images that the audience would only see if the camera were to present the images to us in this way. I have chosen to use a scene from 'The Prisoners' as my example of cinematography because it has a varied amount of angles, positions and movements.

Within this scene, low angle has been used in this scene. Low angle is when the camera is angled to look up at the character. Within this image, i can see that the camera has been placed lower down so that the audience are looking up at him. This can be seen whilst he tries to enter a house where he believes a crime is being committed. This makes the character look and feel very heroic and powerful. Therefore, making the audience feel inferior to the character. The use of this character being displayed this way highlights the feeling of power and dominance. Also, low angle makes the character look taller and more important within the story. However, in thrillers, the villain is normally shot from a low angle and therefore, this is unconventional to the thriller genre. As i have previously mentioned, i think that it makes him look superior to the audience because the audience are looking down at him. He is about to try and stop a crime from being committed to save someones life, unfortunately, it was too late.  This makes him look and feel superior because this wouldn't happen in real life. I don't believe people would risk their lives for others. It shows him as brave and serious, so the audience can tell that something is going to happen in the next scene that could change his life. As viewers, it allows us to know that he will do something good in order to protect someone else. This makes us as the audience want to watch more to see what he discovers, this creates suspense and tension because the audience wait to see what is going to happen next, as they know it will be important to the rest of the story. The use of this technique is conventional to the thriller genre as they are often used to show just how sinister and scary the villain can be. However, in this scene, it is used to show that the character is superior which allows the audience to be happy as they know he will do well in the upcoming scenes to save the people. The use of the low angle helps the audience to build a relationship between the audience and the characters because the audience know that detective Loki is the hero, as he is being looked up at by the viewers. So, they know that he will help everyone that is in need of his aid, which means that the audience stay on his side throughout the scene.

Close ups are also used in this scene. Close ups are when the camera is close to the subject that it is filming. The camera has zoomed in on the little girl because she is dying. The way the audience see the little girl is important. This is because it shows us how she is feeling. Emotions are shown throughout this part. The viewers can see that she looks very pale which can connote that she is hurt or feeling ill. The audience know that in the end of the scene she is injected with something that will kill her. Close ups are used so that the audience can see the facial expression of the character that is on camera. The viewers then understand how she feels and can guess what will happen next by the way she is lying down. When emotions are shown on the screen, this triggers feelings of empathy towards her and begin to feel sorry for the girl. Some close ups are used for longer amounts of time than others, this position was quite long and this is good because it gave the audience enough time to understand what is happening without being behind in the story. The use of this creates suspense and tension as the audience await to see if the hero of the story can save the little girl in the photo above. This technique is conventional to the thriller genre because it is used to capture detail in the important scenes. Therefore, allowing the audience to feel certain types of emotions. The use of close ups allows the audience and character to build a relationship because for example, in this photo, the face of the little girl is shown and she looks weak and ill, so, the audience feel sorry for her and want her to feel better. So, they build a relationship because the audience doesn't want the little girl to die.

Over the shoulder position is used within this scene. The audience can see the detective looking at an old photo with the camera looking over his shoulder. Over the shoulder angle is a way of showing us the point of view of the character and it allows the audience to see what they can see. Whatever the characters show the camera is always something that brings out emotions to the viewers. It makes people feel as though they are part of the scene and helps the audience to know what is going on because they can see from the characters eyes. As the audience watch the over the shoulder positioning in the scene, they are sped up and know exactly what is going on so that the scene can proceed and the viewers won't be confused with the story line. This creates tension for the audience as they wonder who the man in the photo is and what will happen next in the story, also, the use of seeing the man in the photo can connote to the audience that something to do with this character is important to the story and that they come into use in the next scenes. This technique is conventional to the thriller genre because it is very useful in creating tension for the audience. It is used so the audience can see what is happening as soon as the audience does. So, the audience feel as though they are part of the scene, and they then feel connected to the character as they try to help them. The use of over the shoulder allows the audience to build a relationship with the character because the audience are allowed to see what the character sees, so they feel the same emotions as the character, which allows them to be more alike. Which allows them to build a strong bond.

In this scene, the tilting of the camera is used. The tilt is used so that the audience can see the man taking the gun out of his pocket. The taking out of the gun can connote to us that something bad will happen. However, the fact that the audience are shown the gun and that the character has brought a gun means that he knows what he is doing and is prepared for the worst. The viewers feel as though he is a hero in the scene because he is trying to protect people from a crazy woman. This creates mystery and curiosity as the viewers want to watch more to find out what happens, this is shown when the detective takes out the gun, the audience are prepared for the worst but must wait for the bad things to happen. So, suspense and tension are heightened because the audience have to wait for what will happen next. This technique is conventional to the thriller genre because it creates a lot of of tension for the audience because it allows them to concentrate on what they can see upon the screen. The use of the tilt shot helps to create a relationship between the audience and the characters because the characters feel as though this is a way of signifying for a victims help. For example, it is often seen in thrillers to connote that the camera is a helpless victim on the floor looking up at the character on the screen. So, the audience feel as though the camera is acting like the little girl, vulnerable and weak, so, the audience are trying to tell him to go and find her so that he can help her. The creates a bond between the audience and the characters because they feel as though they know that in the end, her will help her.

The next camera angle/shot used is the midshot within this scene. Mid shot is when the camera is when the character is shown from the head to their hips. The use of this shot shows some part of the subject in detail. This allows the audience to feel as though they are still looking at the whole subject rather than just a part of it. This is often used when the character wants to deliver information, also the camera space is tight, it does allow room for hand gestures and slight movement. The use of this shot allows the audience to listen intently on what is being said by the character on the screen. As the detective has just entered the house, and there is silence within this part of the scene, the audience feel as though something bad is going to happen. So, their eyes are glued to the screen in order not to miss out on anything. The camera technique creates tension for the audience because they must wait for the important and sinister scenes to occur. They know that something bad is going to happen due to the fact that there is mostly silence within the scene, this means that the audience are gripped to their seats to try to figure out what is going to happen as wait for the bad scenes. This technique is conventional to the thriller genre because it allows them to see the elements of mise en scene, eg, clothing or props used by that character shown on the screen. This allows the viewers to understand what type of a person that certain character is. The use of the mid shot helps to create a relationship between the characters and the audience because it allows them to get to know that character properly. As previously mentioned, the viewers are able to see the clothing amongst other things that can define who that character is. So, it is easier for the audience to see and tell who they are, quickly building a bond as they know that the character on screen is a good person.

In conclusion, i believe that cinematography is key to making a good thriller film, it allows the audience to really think about what things mean and think outside the box rather than making everything very simple to see. Within my thriller opening sequence I will definitely include close ups in order to show the emotions of the characters and therefore create emotions for the audience. They will create suspense and tension because of the way that they are shown on screen, the audience will understand based on the shots/angles used that this is important to the story and that they must listen carefully in order to keep up with the story.