Research into editing styles - Miss Georgiou

Editing

I chose to analyse a clip from 'Orphan' because it presents many different editing styles which I will analyse in this blog.

A reaction shot is used to show that the mother is in pain, we can see this when she gets stabbed and the camera instantly jumps to her screaming face. This shows us the horrific pain she's in after being stabbed and also makes the audience feel sorry for her as the shot of her face indicates how much she is hurt, this reaction shot also makes the audience curious of what she can do to fight off Esther after being stabbed which creates tension. Pain and curiosity are themes linked to thriller films such as 'Orphan'.

Quick timing of shots are used to create an emotional impact on the audience and show the emotional impact on the mother, we can see this when Esther and the mother are fighting the shots last three seconds or under. This shows us the rush of the fight, and can represent the fast thoughts going through her head because she is in a very dangerous situation. It also makes the audience feel worried for her as she is in such a hazardous place and close to death, and makes them want to help her which is impossible but shows that the timing of shots can create an impact on the audience. The use of worry and suspense is conventional to thriller films.

Shot reverse shots are used during this clip to show the anger in the two characters, we can see this when Esther and the mother and fighting and the camera switches from character to character. This creates tension because it makes the audience want to know who will win the fight, also, it shows the hatred they have for each other because the shots represent them staring at each other hatefully. This makes the audience feel the same emotions as the characters, these feelings of hatred seen in characters are typical of thriller films as they often involve fights, arguments or confrontation.

Another reaction shot is used to shock the audience, we can see this when the little girl shoots the gun, this shocks the audience because you wouldn't expect her to use a gun at such a young age. It also shows us how much she loves her mother because she tries to save her, the shot jumps to her face to show how shocked she is because of the ice breaking and sound of the gun. These themes also are conventional to thriller films as they draw the audience in.

Research into cinematography Miss Miller

Cinematography

Cinematogophy is The art of movie photography and camera angles including both the shooting and development of the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnq_3jQa2VI

I chose to analyse the camera angles in 'The devil inside' because it has many different shots which show the audience alot about the characters.

A high angle shot is used in this clip to show the audience the room and whats in it. The working man's uniform shows us that Maria is in a mental institution which is mysterious and makes the audience curious of why she is there. Also the high angle shot could represent a security camera watching Maria in case she does anything bad, this makes the audience see her as very sinister which is conventional to a thriller movie. (0-1 seconds in the clip)

A zoom-in camera angle is used to show us Maria's face and more specifically her eyes, the focus on her eyes is used because she is looking at something or someone else who we cannot see who could be a demon or ghost which are conventional to thriller movies. This angle makes the audience feel scared because of the eeriness of Maria's character especially from this angle, and also they may feel intrugued to see what she is looking at. (3-6 seconds in the clip)

An extreme close-up is used is ued to show Maria's arm which has cuts on it. This creates a sense of mystery again, as of why she has cut herself. The extreme close up makes her arm cover the whole shot which looks very gory and strange which are conventional themes to a thriller movie. (16-19 seconds in the clip)

A close-up shot is used on Maria's face to create mystery and suspision. The shot shoes us her cut lip, messy hair and scary red eyes which scares the audience because she looks so sinister and possibly corpse like. This makes the audience wonder how and why this has happened to her and curious of the whole plot of the rest of the movie which many thriller films do. (23-24 seconds in the clip)

A handheld camera movement is used to put us in the daughters point of view, this is used to represent the shaking of the daughter due to her horror of seeing her mothers arm. The fear and terror from the daughter is passed on to the audience who share her feelings because of this camera movement which involves the audience, this is again conventional to thriller movies. (30-34 seconds in the clip)

Research into mise-en-scene Miss Georgiou

Mise-en-scene is everything you see in a camera shot in a film, it is made up of five different elements: Setting and iconography, costume,hair and make up, facial expressions and body language, lighting and colour and positioning of characters or objects. Mise-en-scene helps the audience into understanding the conventions of a thriller in more detail.

I chose a clip from 'The woman in black' analyse because it has many different mise-en-scene elements within this specific clip.

In my clip from 'The woman in black' the scene is set in a little girls room, we can see this from the use of the teacups and dolls. This is then contrasted by their deaths because you don't expect any violence or killings in a little girls room. This makes the audience seem curious of what makes the girls kill themselves which is conventional to a thriller because of the themes of mystery and horror. The iconography used; the teacups and dolls are normally used for girls to play with and have fun, when the girls see the woman in black and walk to the window, they break the dolls and cups as seen in the screen shot above; which makes the audience wonder what has happened to make them behave so strangely, and then eventually jump to their death.

We can see that the film is set in the 19th century because of the costumes wore by the little girls. The old fashioned, posh dresses and shoes which is seen in the screen shot above, show the audience what era the film is set in and gives us an insight of how the characters may act. The girls' hair are done it up bows which we can infer that they are well looked after and possibly live a wealthy life. All of the girls look pale and have the same skin tone which shows us that they could be sisters. Sometimes in thriller movies a family is attacked which could be conventional to a thriller film.

The body language of the girls when they walk up to the window looks as if they are being controlled, possibly by the woman in black. This shows the terrifying actions the woman can make the little girls do, their facial expressions also change from smiling to a straight face this connotes again, that the woman is controlling their actions. The body language of the woman at the end of the clip is still like she is dead, she also is facing away from the camera which is hiding her identity, shown above,

which adds mystery to her character and like many thriller movies, mystery is a main theme.

The colours used in the room and on the girls are very light and plain, the light colours used are contrasted by the woman in black. Black can represent death and horror, which is what the woman causes and the light colours are linked with happiness. This helps the audience understand what the woman does to innocent children just by using different colours. The room is lit by the back light from the window which the girls jump out of, after their deaths and when the camera zooms out, the light from the window darkens as if death has taken over the room because of the woman in black. These lighting features that create horror and mystery and key to thriller movies.

The girls are always in the middle of the shot, this shows that they are important and that they are the main focus of the scene. Contrastingly the woman in black is position in the corner of the screen even though she is a main character throughout the whole film even though we only see glimpses of her, which makes her very eerie, which is conventional to a thriller film because it makes the audience curious of her character.

My mise-en-scene research will help me when planning my own thriller opening.