Planning Cinematography

Camera shots are important to include within a thriller film because they help to guide the audience through the film, by demonstrating different aspects of a film's setting, characters and themes. The camera shots are very important in shaping the meaning of the film. 

4 Different Camera Shots;

Close up- A close up shot contains only one characters face and only a fairly small part of the scene fills the screen. The use of this camera shot allows the audience to clearly see the character which  helps them to feel empathy for the character. In our thriller, we will use the close up when the protagonist is searching the forest to make sure she is safe from the antagonist. We chose to use this shot at this time in the narrative because we feel it will be important to show the characters emotions at this point, to let the audience know that she is scared and in danger. This shot will help make our thriller conventional because it allows the audience to build a relationship with the character, as they are able to clearly see her emotions, which will cause the audience to feel a closer bond with the character. They will also feel sympathy and empathy towards her, which is something the audience would expect to see from a thriller and it will help the audience to feel more engaged in the thriller.

Mid-Shot- A Mid-Shot shows the character from the waist up, with a little bit of background. This shot helps the audience to see the characters face more clearly and shows their interactions with other characters. We will use the mid-shot when our character is in the room and the male character walks in. We chose to use this shot at this point in the narrative to show her location and the situation she is in, for example, she is tied to a chair in an empty room. This is because this shot will show everything of importance in the room, whilst still giving the audience an indication of the females emotions. Being able to see the location and emotions all in the same shot is conventional to a thriller film because it helps the audience to understand the situation the character is in which helps them build the relationship with her, causing them to feel more engaged in the film, which is what the audience expects to feel when they watch a thriller film. An indication of the location, but not revealing the whole location is conventional to thrillers because it gives the audience and indication of where the character is and what sort of danger they may be facing, but there is also the enigma of the audience not knowing exactly where the character is, which draws the audience in and makes them feel engaged in the film.




Long-Shot- A long-shot shows the landscape, therefore giving the audience a more specific idea of the setting. There may or may not be a character within this shot. In our film, the long shot will be used when our protagonist is running through the forest, away from the antagonist. We chose to use this shot because it will show the audience exactly where she is, and how isolated she is. This shot gets across our theme of isolation, which will help to make our thriller more conventional of typical thriller films, due to the fact that she is alone and running away. This will show the audience will know that she is in a lot of danger and the fact that there is no one around to help her will build the suspense and tension. 





Deep-Focus- Deep-focus uses the photography technique of depth of field. Depth of field is the technique that shows one thing in the shot in focus, and the rest out of focus. This is used to portray the importance/significance of the character/object in focus. In our thriller, the deep-focus shot will be used when the male and female are both in the room. We will have the villain and the knife in focus to portray his importance in the narrative. This is conventional because it shows how important the villain is. The use of the knife also gives the antagonist power. Having the antagonist and weapon in focus and the background slightly out of focus and everything behind him partially concealed which creates tension and mystery and suspense, elements which are very conventional to thrillers as they are elements that the the audience expect to see as they draw the audience in and engage then further in the film.