Research into Cinematography - Miss Miller

Cinematography

Cinematography is the art of camerawork and photography in film-making. It plays a massive part in the making of a film especially of the thriller genre. Cinematography can be used in different ways to enhance a film's audience reach. When used in a film of the thriller genre, it tends to make them more tense, jumpy and edgy. Cinematography, complimented with other elements included in film-making for example, sound, can create a stronger impact by creating suspense, surprise and shock - 3 conventional elements in a thriller film.

Within this essay, I am going to analyse a clip from 'House At The End Of The Street'. 
I specifically chose this clip because I noticed a portrayal of many different uses of cinematography. The cinematography is used throughout the clip to make the scene more tense and empathetic for the audience. 

At the very beginning of this clip there is a panning shot. This is from outside of the window and pans upwards showing the girl washing dishes in the sink (as screenshotted). This allows more of the surroundings to be in the same shot, making the audience more aware of the setting. At the end of the panning shot it ends up in darkness making the audience feel on edge and slightly suspicious. Furthermore, a relationship is built between the audience and the character as they feel scared and sympathetic for her. The shot is also at a higher angle at one point and show demonstrates the lack of power this character may have at this time. This strengthens the relationship between the audience and the character as they feel more attached to her now, knowing her lack of dominance at this time. Using this shot is a typical thriller convention as this makes the audience wonder what is happening and also creates a sense of foreboding as black connotes danger and possibly death. Moreover, the setting in a thriller is vital to it's narrative from the way it is usually isolated. Having a panning shot illustrating the majority of the setting in just one shot strengthens the conventionality of the sequence of the thriller genre. 

I noticed many handheld shots in the clip for example, the ones screenshotted. 

The first one enters very quickly and sharply with extremely jolty movements. It looks as if it is also a point of view shot, as it gives the impression that someone is running in the forest, so the camera is acting as if it's the view of the person running. A girl in a white gown is also seen running in-front, which (even though the gown is white which connotes purity and hope) creates suspicion and tension as her identity is not visible. The audience build a relationship between the character as they are unsure of who she is so they are weary of her existence however, keep close watch to see is she reappears as she must have some relevance. 

The other handheld shot is from the outside of the window looking at the girl who is peering out of the window (as screenshotted). It is not as jerky as the first handheld, however, creates the feeling that someone may be watching the character slyly. This creates a relationship between the girl and the audience as the audience feel worried for her and a sense of entrapment is created as it is as though the audience are outside in the freedom and the girl is in the house, looking out, as if she is trapped. This also makes the audience feel as if they are in the scene and so they feel empathetic towards the characters - especially the girl. It creates the idea that the girl is looking out but someone is also looking in at her - creating a tense atmosphere.

These handheld shots fit the thriller genre because they create that sense of suspense that a good thriller needs in order to make the audience feel on edge and unable to predict what will happen next. The shots also connect the audience with the characters more too, as they are made to feel a part of their situation and create empathy towards the characters on-screen.

Probably the most used type of shot in this clip was the medium shot. For example, when the girl looks out of her door and also when she is looking out and her friend jumps out on her - both of which are screenshotted. However, they could also be passed as eye level angle shots as, if you were looking directly at this character this would be the level in which you would look at her at. An eye level angle shot makes the audience feel more part of the scene and fits the thriller genre as it shows a way of seeing through the view other characters may view a scene - there are normally a large amount of characters in a thriller. 
Back to medium shots, this type of shot allows for roughly the waist up of a character to be seen and so all the expressions and gestures can be shown. The audience are able to get to know the characters a lot more with the use of a medium shot as they are more familiar with any personal continuous gestures that a specific character may have, for example. It also allows for part of the setting to be shown on screen, meaning that although not the majority of  the setting is shown, it is enough to show where the character roughly is. In the screenshotted examples, the character(s) are clearly positioned in the centre of the shot. With the character(s) in the centre, the audience's focus is on them and so they are able to appreciate what the scene offers to its full extent as the main main movement/activity is occurring central of the shot. These shots fit the thriller genre as there are often many characters and many movements that need to show detail. A killer is usually lurking in a thriller film and so the use of a medium shot can show the killer, setting and victim all in one shot. 

Furthermore, an over the shoulder shot is used in the clip, where the girl has just turned on the television. It builds up suspense as the shot gives the illusion that someone is watching from where the camera is positioned. In addition, it enables the audience to be able to see the setting and what's going on in-front of the girl, however, still be able to notice the girl's presence. A reltionship is therefore built as the audience are experiencing the same thing as the character. This creates empathy towards her and gives the audience a better idea of the situation the girl is in. This shot is conventional to the thriller genre to use this type of shot, as there are many 'jumpy' scenes which may be conducted successfully with the use of over the shoulder shots. This shot also builds tension and suspense due to the fact that although you can see the girl and a rough view of the surroundings, you cannot see what is actually directly in-front of her. So even though she is in shot, she actually shields some of the setting from the audience and so this builds tension because something could be lurking that is off screen at that moment.



A bird's eye view shot is also included in this clip. It's shown when the reoccurring girl in the white gown appears running up (isn't clear if up or down) the stairs - this particular shot appears extremely quickly, almost in a flash. The shot shows the girl's lack of dominance as she is demonstrated in this shot to appear smaller. This could be because she is young or that she has no identity, so audiences are made to feel weary of this character. The relationship between the audience and this character is weak as the audience don't have a real feel for her emotions and do not know her as a character in detail, the are made to feel suspenseful from the lack of knowledge they have of her. For the thriller genre, this shot is ideal as it gives the idea of perspective and gives a different look on a scene. For example, if this was a medium shot of the girl running up the stairs, you would be able to see clearly how the girl moves, as well as seeing more of her character physically. Whereas, using a bird's eye view shot, the audience is still restricted as to what they can see of this character and so creates an element of suspense.


Another shot portrayed in this clip is a shallow focus. This is illustrated when the girl opens the door and looks out. The focus on the girl emphasises her character's presence and so the audience and made to feel focused on her and her movements. A tense atmosphere is created through the fact that the surroundings are blurred so not everything in the shot is clear to the audience. This creates a sense of foreboding and that something soon after this shot is going to jump out or make an unexpected appearance. The audience are able to build a relationship with this character through this shot from the way that the setting is shown as blurred - this demonstrates the unknowing of what may be unknowingly lurking in the setting. The audience therefore feel worried for the girl and unsure of what is going to happen to her. This is conventional to the thriller genre as you want the audience to not expect the next event that will happen. With the use of these shots audiences feel on edge as they are unaware of what will happen next and so this shot is often used in many thriller films to create this very effect. 

I believe that all of these shots and angles/movements are used in thriller films because they contribute to creating tension throughout, which is what you want to create for an ideal thriller. Creating this build up of tension is vital in a thriller film because you want to shock the audience as much as possible, so to prolong the wait before something shocking or 'jumpy' occurs is key and is created through the use of cinematography. This clip in-particular has inspired me and is going to influence me when I make my thriller opening from the variety of shots and angles/movements actually included within it even though this was a very short clip. I really liked the way the point of view and handheld shots were inputted as they created suspense and made the audience feel empathetic towards the characters - I will use these shots in my thriller film. I feel that these two particular shots engaged and gripped the audience the most and therefore would contribute to my thriller in a positive way and to ensure success. The input of cinematography is extremely important for the making of a thriller and so will play a big role in my opening sequence of my own thriller.