Planning Cinematography - Miss Miller

Cinematography is the art or technique of moving photography including both the shooting and development of the film. It is used to build a relationship between the audience and the characters through all of the different camera shots/angles used, which helps the audience gain an understanding of the film. If we didn’t plan the cinematography, we would not be able to film the scenes proficiently.

Our groups camera angles consisted of a point of view shot (POV), zooming in & out, a high angled shot, an extreme close-up, eye-levelled shot, and an over the shoulder shot.

POV Shot -

A POV shot is used to let the audience view what the character is seeing, putting them in their shoes. Our group decided to use a POV shot for when the little group looks at objects that remind her of the past causing her to have flashbacks, this gives the audience a clear perspective of the little that these objects link back to past memories and events. By putting the audience in the characters shoes this connects them as they are put in their current situation, like when the character is experiencing flashbacks it will make them seem more real to the audience therefore their emotions will be intensified. Point of view shots are conventional to thrillers because they make the audience feel as if the events happening to the characters are also happening to them, this leaves the audience feeling tense and on edge as they are put in the position of the victim, it also makes the audience sympathize towards the victim as they are feeling their emotions and understand their situation.
 

 

 

Zooming in & Zooming out -

Zooming in is where the camera moves towards an object/person the camera is focused on. This is to create the high significance of the object/person drawing the audience’s attention into it, building a closer relationship between the topic and the viewers. Our group used zooming in to familiarise the river in our narrative which has a lot of importance in our thriller clip. It was also an easy way to shift the scene from within the forest to the scenery of the river. Zooming in is conventional to the thriller genre as it involves and engages the audience with what the camera is focused on, allowing them to understand the subject more. On the other hand, zooming out is used to create an emotional distance between the audience and the character/object by moving away from it. Our group decided to use zooming out near the end of our narrative, where we zoom out from the high angled shot looking down on the little sisters dead body. We done this to emphasize the vulnerability and timidness of the little girl, also intending to build up tension. This is conventional to thrillers as it gives the audience time to reflect and wonder what they have just witnessed, building suspense leaving them feeling very confused. When the camera is zooming out of the little girls dead body it leaves the audience with many questions running through their mind leaving them feeling on edge as they are witnessing her life come to an end.

 

 

 High angled shot -

A high angled shot is where the camera is positioned above the object, making it appear smaller. High angled shots are stereotypically used for the victim in thrillers as they need to be portrayed as small and vulnerable, therefore in our thriller clip we decided to use a high angle mostly when showing the little sister as she is the victim in our narrative. An example of a high angle we are including in our thriller clip is during the underwater fight scene, the victim would be shown struggling, giving the audience the impression that she is feeble and weak, these aspects are typically highlighted in the victim during thrillers. Our group wanted to use a lot of high angles for the little sister to make it clear to the audience that she is the victim, leaving them empathizing for her throughout the opening scene of our thriller as something bad is bound to happen to her at one point meaning the audience are left feeling on edge until it does. High angles shots are also used to show that the victim is beneath their killer to show the killer has full control and a lot more strength than the victim, leaving the audience feeling tense as the victim is in a hopeless situation. They are conventional to thrillers because they are used as an indicator to viewers that the character being shown is the victim, connecting the audience to them as they are left feeling sorry for them.

 

Extreme close-up -

An extreme close-up is when an image fills the screen so that no background is seen, this put pure focus on the object/person. Our group decided for extreme close-ups to occur a few times in our thriller clip. The first time was an extreme close-up of the little girls hand to show the blood on her fingers, this makes it obvious to the audience that she has been cut on her head which may have been overlooked by them when shown in her reflection in the river. We used this shot showing the blood as blood is conventional and stereotypical to thrillers, blood leaves the audience feeling nervous causing them to worry for the girl and her life. Another extreme close-up we used was of her eyes to show the shock in them after witnessing herself being killed in the underwater fight scene, then fading into the same shot from the flashback to reality. The 2 extreme close-up of the little girls eyes are used to emphasise the shock and surprise she is in, shock and surprise are two aspects that are conventional to the thriller genre, this should build up a suspenseful filling atmosphere. Extreme close-ups are generally used a lot in thrillers as they draw the audience’s attention on significant things, making the subject clearer.