Planning Cinematography - Miss Miller

Cinematography is when photos are put together by manipulating the camera lens, framing, scale and movement in order to make the audience feel a certain way. Cinematography is important in the film making industry because it is what makes the audience get into the film they are watching. Cinematography is when the camera bonds with the lighting to create a wide variety of feelings for the audience. For example, low angle is when the camera is positioned below a person or object, and therefore makes it look larger. This makes the object/person look inferior and stronger. It helps the audience to connote the personality and feelings of the object or character that they are filming. Another angle is high angle and this is hone the camera is positioned above the object or person, making it look smaller. This shows the audience that whatever the camera is filming is weaker. It can also show that there is some activity behind them that they are not aware of, therefore making the character being filmed powerless and oblivious as to what is happening in the background. A movement that is widely used within the thriller genre is point of view (POV) and this is used to the viewers the same image that the characters themselves can see. Panning is also used to show the camera following the character. I believe this is done to help the audience keep up with the story and also to allow the story to unfold as it will be an important scene within the film. A position that is commonly used within films is close ups, and this is when the character is zoomed in on. This is used so that the viewers can see the facial expressions of the person filmed. It allows a relationship to form between the audience and the character. The last position is shallow focus, this is when the main subject on the screen is visible, but the background isn't. This is widely used in thriller and horror films to show that there is something behind the character. It allows the audience to have something to share to the character but the character cannot be told and is therefore unaware. I believe that cinematography is used within films to create the elements of shock, surprise, suspense and tension to the audience. It also helps to create a variety of emotions for them. For example, if the close up position were to be used and the character filmed was crying, it would make the audience sympathize and get upset as well. It creates a strong bond between character and viewer.

As we are getting closer to making our opening thriller clips, we must plan ahead and i have finished most of the planning. However, i now need to think about what cinematographic elements i will use within my piece and how this will make the audience feel, what it does and how it is conventional. The word 'conventional' is widely used within the film industry to indicate how much something is expected when watching a film of a particular genre. For example, thriller films generally have a female victim, a male killer who is masked and the audience are rarely ever shown their face. Cinematography is a key topic to plan carefully in advance and this helps to produce excellent sequences because they way you use the camera is the way that your audience will see the film. So, if you use a variety of camera techniques to show the story, it will engage your audience more than if you used the same technique throughout.

Myself and Krista completed a spider diagram writing in notes how we would use these camera shots, angles and movements within our opening thriller sequence and where they would be used to create certain feelings for the audience. 

High angle shot, as previously discussed, is when the character is being shot from above them. For example, in the picture on the left, i can see that the camera was placed above James Bond's head in order for the audience to be looking down on him. When films use high angle shots within the piece, i think it makes the character look inferior within the situation in which they are being filmed. It makes them look weaker than the person they are hiding from. In thriller films, the victim is more likely to be filmed this way than the killer. It connotes to the audience that they are weak compared to the antagonist. This is conventional to the thriller genre because in thriller films, the 'hero' is made out to look inferior in the beginning, but usually beats the 'evil' character in end. So, they are made out to look very weak and vulnerable in the beginning. In our opening thriller sequence, myself and Krista have decided that we would use the high angle shot to show the hostage scene taking place. It will be used to film above the hostage, as stated already, this makes the man look weaker compared to the antagonist and therefore, connotes that the antagonist is superior. I believe that it evokes sympathy from the viewers and this then creates a relationship between them and the hostage. This is conventional within the thriller genre because the audience almost always see hostages within thriller films.

The next shot my partner and I have decided to use for our opening piece is the aerial shot. Aerial shot is when the camera is taken at an extremely high angle, for example, from a helicopter, or a person on top of a building. We have decided to use this at the beginning of our opening sequence when the hitman is being paid by the antagonist in the unknown location. This allows the audience to create a bond with each character that they are introduced to because they feel as though they know them better. This then creates enigma because the audience begin to ask questions because they want to know the rest of the story and have their questions answered. It also shows the story unfolding and gives the audience what they want. Also, it allows them to understand the image they are being shown because they know that what they see now is a reference as to what will happen later on in the film. I think this is conventional to the thriller genre because it sets the scene and makes the audience wonder what will happen next, this will have them gripped to the edge of their seats unable to control the excitement and this therefore creates tension as they want to see what happens. Aerial shots are conventional as they allow the audience to get a good view of where the situation that is about to occur is taking place. In films such as Halloween, in the opening sequence, the audience can see that there is a date and a place name, this shows the viewers where and when what they are about to show has occured. The use of aerial shots can be used to show this information.

The third technique myself and my partner Krista have decided to use within our piece is the canted angle. This will be used to show the hitman waking up on the floor as he is taken hostage. This creates the element of confusion to represent how the character is feeling at this exact moment in time. It helps the audience to feel what the character is feeling This is conventional to the thriller genre because it allows the audience to understand how the characters within the scene are feeling. For example, to the left, the image is clearly canted, therefore making the scene look shaky and disorientated. This can perfectly describe the situation as the characters in the image. This is often seen in thriller films as it can often describe the victims well. Also, when there are fight scenes or chase scenes, the audience often see canted angles being used to highlight the element of confusion that the victim within the scene may be feeling. This then creates that relationship between the audience and the character because they can relate as they are being shown the same thing and this allows them to build a relationship with the characters on screen because they often feel sympathy for the victims, who are often used in canted angle shots.  Using this angle helps to portray a psychological theme as the audience know that the man is confused. Psychological themes in the thriller genre are good themes to use because they allows the audience to think about what has happened and stay synced in with the story. This allows the viewers to wonder what happened and how the man ended up there.

Close ups are often used in thriller films. A close up shot is when the characters face is filmed rather than their whole body. This is done so that the audience focus on nothing else other than the facial expression of the character being filmed. Myself and Krista will be using this within our opening thriller sequence to show the emotion of the antagonist smiling when he sees his wife's dead body on the floor. The camera will zoom into his face to show his delight and evilness. This will make the audience feel slightly uncomfortable towards the antagonist because they know that he is troubled and it makes the audience fear him as they do not know what he is capable of. This helps the audience to create a relationship with the antagonist because because they feel slightly sorry for him because deep down he is heart broken about his wife cheating on him. Also, the use of the close up shot can make it clear to the audience how they are supposed to feel when they see the image on the screen. For example, if the character shown was crying, this would make the audience feel emotional. As they are feeling what she is feeling, they build a relationship with that character because they don't want them to feel upset. This is conventional because it creates tension as well as emotion for the viewers due to the fact they see the personality of the character and therefore feel as though they know the antagonist well enough to see that he is capable of anything. The use of close up shots is conventional within the thriller genre due to the fact that it can express how someone is feeling as it zooms in on their face. It is conventional because when victims are about to die or have just witnessed the 'evil', their face is automatically zoomed in. This is typically seen in thrillers to make the audience feel uneasy or scared for the victim, because they can see their facial expressions.

Point of view is often used in thriller films because it allows the audience to see the same thing that the character does. This is when instead of filming the character, all the viewers can see is what is in front of them. This is the last technique that my group and I have decided to use in our piece to show the hitman walking up to the woman. This shows the view of the killer. This is conventional because it creates suspense and mystery as the viewers are left in the dark as to why the man is actually killing the woman when he could have just ran away. This then allows the viewers to create a special bond with the hitman because they are technically in the same position that the character is in. So, they feel as though they know that person better. Also, if this is used by the antagonist (the audience see what they see), this would them make them fear that person even more knowing what is about to happen next. This makes the audience build a relationship of fear with the antagonist as they do not know what they are capable of doing. Point of view is conventional to the thriller genre because it is one of the only ways to make the audience see what either the victim see or the 'evil' person see. Also, i have noticed that when films use point of view shots, they either use it when the 'evil' person is looking for the victim, this makes the audience fear what happens next because they know that the victim isn't far from where they are looking. Or, they use pov to show the victim hiding or running away from the antagonist.

In conclusion, i believe that using these particular camera angles, shots and movements will not only allow the film to look better but they also participate in making the audience feel the elements of surprise, suspense, shock and tension and this is very much needed when creating a thriller opening sequence. These techniques are conventional to the thriller genre because they are widely used within the film industry to portray certain images to the audience and this gives them a particular reaction which will make the piece a success. I think the planning of cinematography within our film was helpful because it allowed us to think our ideas out to see how each technique would effect the audience. Thanks to the planning, we were able to re think some our ideas and therefore, our opening thriller sequence will be even better than expected.