Planning Cinematography - Miss Miller

Brief plan of cinematography

Cinematography is very important in films as it is a combination of camera shots,angles and techniques that influence the affect of the film and how the audience feels about the characters. It 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. Planning for my cinematography is essential to do as it allows me to start thinking about what different types of camera shots I will be using in my thriller opening, that'll help the audience engage, relate and feel towards the film. If I was to not plan or have an idea of what I'm going to include in my opening scene, when it comes to actually filming it, it will be very time consuming and chaotic as I will be deciding the shots on the spot and members of the group may differ with they're own opinions. Also this may affect my actual camera performance as I will be rushing and panicking on what shots,angles or techniques to include and the actual outcome wouldn't be the best it can be. This would be a lack of organisation and in order to create a successful thriller opening, I will need to plan what I will be doing in able to make the work atmosphere calm but also the shots to be at the best they possibly can. 

Two Shot



Two shot - 'The shining' 

A two shot is a shot which consists of showing only two people clearly, this is usually used in interviews or when two presenters are hosting a show etc. Two shots help establish a relationship between to subjects, as they have an equal appearance in the frame. This could imply that the two people will provide a equal input in this scene but this does not always apply as one person could be dominate in the situation and the other could be following. Also, a two shot could be include a moving object or action, this helps the audience follow the interaction between two people without getting distracted by their surroundings. When creating my own thriller opening scene, I will use a two shot to show my two girls having a conversation at the bus stop about how they'll be getting home that night. I decided to include this specific shot when the two girls are together, as it shows fully what they're wearing and the body language & facial expressions they're expressing. Furthermore, the shot will capture the audiences attention as they'll be analysing the conversation between the two characters, with no distractions from the setting as there is only two people to focus on. In result, once the audience fully understand whats been said by the two girls at the bus stop, as one of them suggests to walk instead of waiting for public transport to get home, this alerts the audiences minds as they know what type of film they're watching and two girls walking home at night is not safe at all. This creates a closer relationship between the audience and the girls because of they're vulnerability and innocence, they know they'll be in danger if they're to walk home alone at night, so they would want nothing to happen to them. This shot is also conventional to a thriller, as it creates suspense and tension for the audience because they've gathered important information that could foreshadow what could happen later on the film. 

Panning


Panning

A panning shot is where the camera movement moves horizontally left and right about a central axis e.g follows a moving object. This is usually mounted in a fixed location on a tripod or shoulder, rather than a dolly-like movement in which the whole entire system moves. This technique helps the audience see what the setting is and helps follow the moving objects that are occuring in the frame. When creating my own thriller opening, I will include panning when both girls are walking down the street. This will grab the audiences attention and make them follow where theyre going, natrually making them watch every move they make. This if effective as it helps build tension as the audience expect something to happen that'll make them jump. Furthermore, the audience can relate to the characters as they subconsciously think that the same thing that may happen to the victims may happen to them which creates a sense of terror for the viewers. As panning shows the setting the characters are in, mine will be of the girls walking down a dark, isolated street to convey that they're alone and if anything was to happen no one could save them. This builds a relationship with the two girls, as the audience are in the beginning forced to focus on them, which could foreshadow that they're in danger so the audience will sympathise them. 

Extreme close up

Extreme close up of the characters eyes

In the original planning that we created(shown above at the top of the post) we put down close up instead of extreme close up. We decided to change this due to the dramatic effect the extreme close up has on the audience. A extreme close up shot is when a certain feature or part of a subject takes up most of the frame. When it is a close up for a person it usually means a close up of their face this emphasise their emotional state showing their facial expressions with conveys emotion. However, in a extreme close up, it generally magnifies beyond what the human eye would experience in reality.This makes the audience drawn into the subject's personal space and shares their feelings. In my opening thriller I will use an extreme close up when the antagonist opens his eyes, waking up from his flashback of a glimpse of his childhood. To support this I will include a loud sound to emphasises the impact of him waking up, this will provoke shock and suspense as the audience and the girls do not know what the antagonist is going to do next. This camera shot will be conventional to a thriller as it makes the audience draw attention to the facial expressions of the antagonist which help convey how his feeling and create suspense within the audience as they don't know whats going to happen next. As his facial expression through his eyes will be furious, this will portray anger and will shock the audience making them feel uncomfortable when they see him as they do not know why his angry and what his going to do to the girl who's just walked over to him. Also it'll have a dramatic effect because it is very artificial and it will make the viewers feel quite threatened as the frame is taken up by the characters eyes, creating a distant relationship with him as they feel he cannot be trusted.

Handheld shot

A Handheld shot is when the camera is held by hand to create a more "home made" or dramatic feel to a shot. This shot often has a jerky feel and also makes the audience feel as their part of the scene, rather than viewing it from a detached, frozen position. In my thriller scene, I will include a handheld shot when the girl who's just witnessed her friend dead on the floor,is running through the forest to get away from the antagonist and scene. This will make the audience put themselves in the action as the shot makes them view the victim running. To accompany with this shot, they'll be a realistic heavy breathing sound, to show the urgency and importance of her running away from this stranger. Also, the sound is efficient as it makes the scene look more realistic, so the audience will be able to relate to the girl running and pay more  attention to whats to come next. This technique will automatically help build a relationship with the character as the audience will feel that they're apart of the scene making them feel tensed and scared like the protagonist does. This is conventional to a thriller as it allows to create suspense, tension and shock as it helps put the audience in the characters perspective making them engage more to the scene and build a closer relationship to her as they would want her to get away from the antagonist as far as possible. 

P.O.V (point of view) shot

Woman protecting her children

A point of view shot is simply a shot that shows a view from the subject's perspective, showing what the character is looking at which is represented through the camera. This shot is very effective as it allows the audience to be put in the characters place and relate to them which makes them more engaged and alert of what is going to happen.  In my opening thriller I will use a point of view shot from the antagonists perspective when he is standing in the way of the girl in the forest. This will help establish to the audience that he is the antagonist as from his point of view we can see the girl screaming which means that she is very scared of him. Also this will help create a closer relationship with the victim as she is seen from his view petrified, the audience can relate to her emotion and connect with how she's feeling through this technique. Moreover , the use of this shot will create suspense and tension as you do not know what the character behind the camera is going to do next making the audience feel on edge. A point of view shot is conventional to the thriller genre as it builds up tension because you do not know who the person who's viewing the scenery is as the camera is set from their perspective and also what is going to happen to them.

Long Shot

Boy walking through forest

This is a shot that shows the full entire human body, with the head near to the top of the screen and feet near to the bottom. Not only does this shot focus on the character, it also shows plenty of the background detail of where that person is in. When creating my own thriller I will use a long shot when the dark figure, antagonist is standing in the way of the protagonist in the woods. As this will be shown from the protagonist perspective it will shock the audience as I will also use the same sound effect that was used when the antagonist was waking up, to link them together and help the audience establish that the dark figure is the boy who was laying down. Moreover this will have an impact on the audience as they'll feel suspicious and tensed on why the boy is going after the girl, making them emphasise the protagonist in the situation, building a closer relationship with her and                 rooting for her to find her way out of this chase.

Planning cinematography as a group was very helpful as it allowed each and every one of us to express our own ideas and convey which ones would be perfect to make our thriller opening successful. The shots we used help show the different perspectives from both our characters i.e point of view from the antagonist looking at the protagonist in the woods. This shows the massive contrast of power between the two character representations as the protagonist is running whilst the antagonist is just standing there. This is very effective as it will make the audience relate to the protagonist making them feel fearful. Furthermore, in our plan we have selected a good amount of techniques that will help provoke the elements of a thriller: suspense, shock and surprise within our opening scene. I believe that if we included the shots correctly, our opening scene will be conventional to a thriller as the cinematography helps create enigma as well as the three main S's which makes the film seem more interesting for the audience to carry on watching to solve the mystery. I found that planning was very essential to preparation of filming our sequence as it allowed us all to share our own ideas that will fit perfectly with our narrative. Also this post helps to give us a guideline of what to do and include when filming so when actually creating our sequence it wont be to chaotic and everyone will know what they're doing, so I will definitely refer back to this post in the future to remind myself what to include.