In my essay I will be discussing cinematography in thrillers and how each camera angles portrays the different conventions of the thriller genre and how it does this. Cinematography is the art of motion pictures, this includes the shooting and development of the film. I shall be analysing a clip from the film 'SAW', I have chosen this clip as I believe it shows the stereotypical conventions of a thriller, suspense, shock, and surprise.
It begins to show conventions of a thriller at the very beginning of the clip, it does this by using a mid shot, inside the shot you get a good view of the man's facial expressions which look shocked, also you get to see the background behind giving you a slight hint to the environment he is in, which is gloomy and covered in pictures however you cannot see what is on them. This already begins to build up suspense as the viewer can see the sense of shock on the man's face which lets you begin to picture what he can see, it also builds suspense by not letting the viewers able to see what is on the images.
In the clip, an eye level shot is then used as he explores more of the room he is in, this gives the viewer a point of view sense and reveals more of the setting in which he is in. This lets the viewer see the rest of the room which he is in, still not giving any clues away about the scene, this enables the viewers to feel the male's fear as you can see as much as he can. This helps build up the suspense within the scene as you can't see ahead of him and as the tension builds up the audience know that something is going to happen, this is a convention of the thriller genre.
Throughout the clip a handheld shot is used, this gives the viewer the effect that he is being watched/followed throughout the whole of the clip. By doing this it implies that the male you're watching is the victim, this then leads the viewer to expect something to happen to him, however as you watch him explore the dark setting you have no idea what will happen to him and when it will happen. This builds on the already existing suspense created in the clip, a convention of a thriller film
During the clip a close up is used when the doll appears, this close up shows the doll and part of the office chair that he is sitting on. This is used so the viewer concentrates on the doll, showing that it could be symbolic later on in the film, this almost instinctively creates a fear for the doll as it is used as a shock. The use of iconography is a typical convention of a thriller film as it is used to scare the viewers, for this instance it is a doll and could scare the viewers as anyone could own a doll and it is used to shock in this scene.
I believe the angles and shots used in the clip are all used to help create the convention of suspense in the film, I believe they all succeed in this as they all allow the viewer to feel the fear of the character, and create the atmosphere of suspense, this is the reason I chose to analyse this clip over others.
You have shown a clear understanding of various camera angles and their purpose, providing good and accurate screen shots to back them up. You have used the SEE essay structure well and explained your purpose and finding of this research.
ReplyDeleteYou need to elaborate on your points further to show a better understanding.
To improve your post you need to:
1) Elaborate on points further, explaining the elements created and specific purpose of each shot
2) Relate all points back to the audience and explain how they help them build a relationship with the characters and relate to them and the setting
3) Be careful of silly spelling mistakes, grammar etc.
You have related points back to the audience well but still need to make sure you are explaining how and why the relationship is built between them and the characters.
ReplyDeleteCheck spelling etc.