Research into cinematography - Miss Miller

In this essay i will be discussing cinematography in a clip of the film prom night. Cinematography is different shots and angles used in a film to mainly draw in the audience or for the thriller genre to build suspense. The clip i decided to use 6 minutes of the beginning of prom night as they are many different angles and shots used within that scene.

During prom night there are a lot of shots and angle used. Right at the beginning of the scene an aerial shot is used of the setting which is a large city at night time. It pans over the whole city giving the viewer an idea of the setting and the genre of the film however the setting in prom night isn't stereo typically conventional to a thriller film, it looks just like an ordinary town which in this case is a good thing so the audience will be more scared when something scary happens. I believe the shot is used to show the setting but to also trick the audience into believing it wont be scary so it can build up more suspense in the later scene.Its used specifically at the beginning of the film to show the setting straight away to the audience therefore they know what genre of the film it may be. It also gives the audience to focus on something for example in this scene it focuses on the car when the camera is in the air panning over the city which therefore can mean something could happen to the car giving the audience an idea of what is too come. An aerial shot is conventional to a thriller genre as it shows the setting which builds up suspense and tension for the audience as they don't know what is too come which is a key factor in a thriller film. The use of this angle doesn't really allow the audience to build up relationship with the characters other then giving them an idea of who is the victim as the aerial shot focuses on the car with a women in it which shows they may be the victims of the scene. Its conventional to a thriller as it shows the audience where its set which is a dark city meaning that its set in a stereotypical place.


Aerial shot.

At the end of the clip, there is a close up used of the young girls face (victims) It zooms up to the girls face to show her facial expression which is shocked.  It shows her emotion after her mum is attacked. It builds tension and suspense for the audience, they can also see she is very frightened which makes the audience feel exactly the same. Also using a close up shot allows the audience to build a relationship with the victim as they sympathize for the character because they can see she's upset. Its conventional to a thriller as close ups help show the genre of the film because facial expressions show what is happening and how the character feels. They can build a relationship with the characters as they can see how they feel meaning that they either sympathize for them or feel hatred towards them. Its conventional specifically to a thriller as its used on mainly victims which show there scared/hurt/upset therefore it builds a relationship between the audience and them because the audience sympathize for them.

close up of victim

During prom night a shallow focus shot is used on the killer at the end of the scene to create an element of excitement for the audience. It makes them more scared as they cant see who the killers identity is which also creates an element of suspense. I believe the shot is used to make the audience feel uncomfortable as they don't know who the killer actually is. The shot is used when the mother has been killed by the killer and the young girl (victim) runs outside to find the killer is behind her. This is a good use of shot as they audience would think that they would show the killers face clearly when really they keep the audience in suspense to create more excitement and to be more interesting. Its conventional to thriller as shallow focus shots are used to build tension and create suspense because the audience cant see all part of the scene which is key in thrillers. The shot doesn't really allow the audience to connect with the characters just to build suspense really well.

shallow focus of victim.

The last shot that is used is a Steadicam.. It is used mainly throughout the whole clip until it starts to build tension. Straight after a handheld shot is used to build lots of tension for the audience. Steadicam just helps to keep the film in order and so its easy for the audience to focus on something in the film. In this particular clip it uses a Steadicam camera shot on the victim through out the beginning of the scene to let the audience focus on her without any distractions. Its conventional to a thriller film as it allows the audience to focus on something for a long time then out of no where the camera jerks which builds tension and creates excitement for the audience which is key in thrillers. It allows the audience to build a relationship with the person there using a Steadicam on as it allows them too see there the main character of the film meaning they will focus on them.

I believe all the shots are used to mainly build tension and suspense especially a shallow focus and a Steadicam whereas a close up is used to create a relationship with the character and a aerial shot is used to show the setting of the film and what genre the film may possibly be. I believe all these shots are used because they all create different effects which make thrillers interesting for the audience. The only thing i would change is too make the inside of the house quite dark by using low key lighting to build tension. The clip has inspired me to use a shallow focus on the killer to create an element of excitement.