Research into Cinematography - Miss Miller

Camera angles in thriller films are used to create suspense and make the audience focus on certain things in the film. The camera angles make the film more dramatic as they point things out that maybe the audience wouldn't of noticed. They also create tense scenes as they blur images out and then make them reappear when the audience least expect it. This is very conventional for thriller films as the aim is to make the audience jump and be scared and camera angles do this by using different techniques to build up suspension. Close ups can be used to show the expression of a face and this creates suspension as the close up could be of the killers face or of the victims face. Other techniques could be used to show the power of a character or show the weakness of a character and this is used to show the audience who are the higher status characters or which characters are vulnerable. This would create suspension as the audience was automatically think that the vulnerable characters would be seen as the victims.

An example of a thriller film is Final Destination. This film was released in 2000 and became very popular for its thrilling scenes. In the film, Shallow focus is used when the gymnast, Candice, is shown in the whole image while the rest of the characters are blurred out. This is conventional because the main character is always in the centre of the camera so that the audience are drawn to that character. It also shows that she is the main character in that scene and so the audience aren't focused on other characters but instead they are focusing on her. This is also conventional in thriller films because the main character is usually associated with the one that dies and so the audience would automatically think that something is going to happen to her and not the other characters. By using shallow focus it means that the audience pay attention to the main character and can feel nervous of scared for them if anything does happen. Using shallow focus also engages the audience as the audience would know who to look at and it tells the audience that something bad is about to happen to her as the camera is focusing on her and none of the other characters. The audience become completely focused on the main character and watch every move she does to see if she has done anything wrong which could possibly lead her into something fatal.

High angle is also used in the film and this is shown when the camera looks down on Candice from the ceiling. This shows the girl as vulnerable and that something bad is about to happen to her as she looks less powerful and small. This is conventional to a thriller film because the camera shows the setting around her which makes it seem like something in the room is going to hurt her but the audience don't know what yet and so it creates suspense as to what is actually going to happen to the girl. It also builds suspense as the girl doesn't seem like anything is wrong and so continues to do her gymnast routine but when the camera looks down on her the audience can see how vulnerable she is. This engages the audience because the audience know that something bad is going to happen to her and this leads the audience feeling nervous for her as they don't want her to get hurt. The audience are intrigued to find out what happens next to Candice, and so continue to watch the film to find out what is going to happen.

Close up is also used in the film when the camera shows the powder that Candice puts on her hands before going onto the bars. This is conventional as by using the close up of it, it automatically makes the audience think how that is going to link to something bad happening. It also shows that the powder is very important as it has its own close up which make the audience focus on it more than they would on other things. By using the close up it makes the audience think that somehow the powder might be linked to the death that could take place.  This engages the audience as they know that something bad is going to happen with the powder and so it leads them into suspension as what is going to happen next. It also makes the audience feel nervous for the girl as they know that the powder is bad for her but she has already put it on and so the audience feel tense as they don't know what is going to happen.

Tilt is used in the film when the camera moves up Candice's body and stops at her hands where she is playing with the elastic band. The elastic band snaps and her facial expression changes to shocked. This shows that something sudden it going to happen as the elastic band broke suddenly. This is conventional so a thriller film as it shows that the girl is vulnerable because the elastic band is a symbol of her life and how it is going to end suddenly The elastic band could also symbolise death or something snapping as the elastic band snapped.The moving of the camera up her body also shows her fragile looks and shows how she is delicate and fragile which could mean that she could easily get hurt. This is conventional as in thriller films a lot of the time someone gets hurt of injured and so pain is associated with a thriller film. This engages the audience as the audience would automatically think that something serious is going to happen and the facial expression on Candice also gives the audience the impression that she knows that where she is is dangerous. The audience are engaged as they would want to find out what happens next to Candice and so continue to watch the film to find out what happens.

Zoom is used in the film when Candice is dancing around the nail, The nail drops from the ceiling and onto the beam in which Candice is doing her routine on. She is doing her routine and as the nail drops, the camera zooms on to where the nail has landed on the beam. This shows that the nail is important as the camera has zoomed on it. It shows the nail as dangerous as there is a close up of the nail which could be linked to Candice's death.
This is conventional as an important object has been highlighted which shows that it is linked somehow. It is also conventional as in thriller films, objects are highlighted that the audience might not of noticed but are still a key element towards a death scene. The nail is also shown as dangerous as the sharp bit is pointing upwards which means that Candice could step on it at anytime and this engages the audience as they are left in suspense to see whether Candice will step on the nail. The audience are scared for Candice as they don't want her to step on the nail and so they are left on edge to see if she steps on it or not. The audience also want to see whether the nail could be the cause of something bad that might happen and it leads the audience thinking how the nail could be linked.

To conclude cinematography is used to engage the audience by highlighting things that the audience might not have noticed before. It is used to create suspense as close up shows the dangers of certain things and it is also used to show facial expression whether it shows facial expressions of a vulnerable girl or the facial expressions of a killer. It is also used to highlight the main characters so that the audience are focused on them and no one else in the film. It shows who the main character are and makes the audience think that the main characters are going to be the ones that get killed or could be the killer. It also builds up tension for the audience and makes them feel nervous for the characters in the film.. It is also used to make something seem more dangerous than it is, for instance in the final destination scene, both the powder and the nail were shown as dangerous but the audience didn't know at the time how they could be linked and so this lead the audience into suspension as what was going to happen to Candice. The constant use of close ups in the scene made every little thing seem dangerous and the audience felt suspense as to where Candice was going to step on the nail or not. Cinematography is also used to highlight the status of the characters. In a thriller film, it is conventional to have the girl seen as vulnerable which is shown in final destination through the use of high angle when the camera looks down on her. Thriller films usually have a man as the killer or in this case it was an object. Camera angles are used to intrigue the audience and build up suspense as t what is going to happen during the film and what is going to happen next. It makes the audience wonder what could happen and how certain things which are highlighted throughout the film, are linked together.