Research into Cinematography - Miss Miller

In this essay I will be researching cinematography and how its effects a thriller scene. My research will be surrounding the cinematography in varies of clips taken from the film The Purge (2013). Cinematography is the use of camera angles and shots to create certain moods and atmospheres within a film. Cinematography is also the act of capturing photographic images in space through the use of a number of controllable elements.  These include the quality of the film stock, the manipulation of the camera lens, framing, scale and movement.  

A man hiding behind the brick wall

At 0:23:50 , the cinematographer zooms in onto the CCTV footage, as in the screen theres a man who runs and hides behind a wall outside the house. This creates suspicion as it focuses on the man who is hiding, suggesting that he is running away from something in particular and is afraid of it as he is hiding. The zooming in technique used shows the man is hurt as his body language is not stable as he tries to run. Also implies that the man hiding behind the wall is someone important in the film as they draw the audiences attention onto him to build a closer relationship. Furthermore, this is conventional in a thriller as an protagonist usually hides from the killer, so this suggests that the man is innocent which makes us sympathise him and weary for his safety out there.

Group of people walking towards house

A long shot is used at 0:31:40 when a group of people walk towards the Sandin's house. The use of this shot creates suspense and tension in the audience as this is they're first time seeing these people, so it makes them question who are they? and what do they want with the Sandin's. Moreover the group are holding hands which gives the impression that they're are all united and seek the same motive with each other, also some of the members are holding weapons such as a machete which suggests that these people are dangerous and are not welcomed by the family creating a threatening image towards the house and the audience. This makes a distant relationship with the audience as it is the purge night and these people are randomly turning up to the Sandin's house equipped with dangerous gear, so the audience feel tensed and curious of what they're going to do. A long shot is conventional to a thriller as it allows to show every character in the shot as well as the background, this gives the audience an insight of what is going on and also foreshadows what may happen e.g in my screen shot , the group of people may want to kill the Sandin's as it is Purge night. 

polite leader smiling 

In the scene at 0:45:16 theres a close up onto the ' Polite Leaders' face on an eye level. This shows the audience he's facial expressions as he's smiling whilst James is explaining why they have the bloody stranger is in his home. The close up clarifies that the ' Polite Leader ' is the antagonist in the film as his sarcasm through his smiling looks quite threatening towards James. The use of this close up shot is conventional to a thriller as it shows the audience the characters facial expressions making them feel nervous and anxious of what that character is going to do or what they are in possession with. This eye level shot is also a point of view shot from James perspective looking through the gap at the antagonist. Knowing that this is from the protagonist point of view, this shot automatically places the audience into James position, making them feel tensed and suspicious like he is. The technique helps create a closer relationship with James and a distant relationship with the polite leader as his facial expressions lead both James and the audience to not trust him. This is conventional for the thriller genre as it places the audience into the victims position which creates enigma to what is going to happen next as they don't have control on what to look at. 

James hurt and looking up to antagonist 

The Cinematographer uses a low-angle at 1:06:18 when the ' Polite Leader ' daggers a knife into James stomach and lowers him down onto the floor. This shows that even though both men were the dominate leaders in their groups ( James & his family , Polite Leader with his group), James is no longer dominate as the polite leader is the one who's taking control of the power by setting him on the ground. The low-angle emphasises James vulnerability in this situation as he has no control of his body, This makes the audience sympathise him even more because he was a fighter of the family and now the antagonist has taken his position away. A low angle is conventional to a thriller and is often used on the protagonist when defeated by the killer to show their lack of power in the situation making the audience build a relationship with the victim. It also allows the audience to see a characters facial expression and in the screen shot we can see that James is distressed and tired from his battle against the antagonist, this makes the audience feel sympathetic for the character as his the victim.

Antagonists armed with axes 

In this clip from 1:07:11 till 1:07:23 the cinematographer uses handheld camera movement when the two masked men are smashing their axes onto the walls and breaking pictures along in the hallway. This shows that they're are the antagonists as their trashing up the place, making a statement that they don't care they'll do and hurt whatever they want. The use of this technique is that it creates tension which makes the audience more engaged and curious about what they're going to do next in the scene. Also because of the jerkiness of the screen it makes the audience create a more distant relationship with the characters in this scene because the unsteadiness creates suspicion and weariness which makes the audience not trust the characters in the scene. Moreover, the handheld shot could represent the protagonist running away from the characters holding the axes, which makes the audience feel involved with the scene as it unsteadily follows where the antagonists are heading. A handheld camera is conventional to a thriller as it makes the screen jerky and unsteady making the audience feel on edge as the movements including on the screen are not clear so the audience are anxious about what is going to happen.

In conclusion, I have learnt that cinematography is very important as it is a combination of camera shots,angles and techniques that influence the affect on the film and how the audience feels about the characters and the atmosphere they're in. I believe that this research will help with my own thriller sequence as I've gathered various of information about cinematography and how it should be used in certain situations. I will definitely consider using this technique because it helps build a connection with the characters in the film and also gives the audience an understanding on whats happening. The cinematography used in The Purge was conventional to a thriller because it helped build the story and create suspense and tension throughout. When creating my own thriller, I will use many camera shots to help the audience evaluate what is going on e.g use a hand held camera when the protagonist is running away from the antagonist. I think the technique will be effective as it shows the unsteadiness of the girl running away and will help build a sense of urgency creating suspense within the audience. Another technique that ill be inspired to include in my thriller is a low angle, this will be used when the victim is in danger and the antagonist is looking down on her. This will be essential as it will portray the different types of position they both share, e.g antagonist and victim.  Overall, this post has taught me and gave me more on understanding of camera shots used within a thriller.