Research into Cinematography - Miss Miller

Cinematography is the combination of camera shots, angles and techniques that are used to create a final media product such as a film. Cinematography alters the way a viewer sees a certain scene in a film and can also effect how they feel when watching it. In this essay I will be identifying and discussing several cinematic camera techniques used in a short scene in the 2010 thriller film Insidious. I have chosen Insidious to analyse because as I think that it is a good example of a film in the thriller genre that has been successful. This is because the film received generally positive reviews and was made the most profitable film of 2011, grossing $97,009,150 worldwide.  Reviewing a film as successful as Insidious will help me to create my own thriller sequence because I can evaluate why the film is successful and try to replicate the techniques used in my own work.

Insidious (2010)

One of the first camera shots of the clip is a high angle shot looking down onto the spinning ceiling fan. The camera is positioned above the object, making it look smaller and vulnerable while the audience are portrayed as more dominant. Later in the video clip there is a low angle shot looking up at the fan. The camera is then positioned below the object, looking up at it. This has the opposite effect to the high angle camera angle because the fan is presented as dominant and the audience are focused on as small and vulnerable and part as the scene.                                                                       Using these two angles changes the perspective; first the viewer watches the scene as though they are a character in the film: walking into the room, looking around it and up at the fan. Then the viewer watches the scene from above, down onto the characters to get a larger view of the whole scene and an idea of what is going on in the room. The low-angle looking up at the fan increases the height of the room and creates a sense of speeded motion. It gives the viewer a brief feeling of powerfulness within the action of a scene that they would relate to how they believe the characters are feeling and how they would feel in that situation. The shot produces insecurity and fear in the viewer because the fan psychologically dominates them. It lacks detail about the setting which adds to the suspension because the viewer does not know what to expect yet. In the high angle shot the fan becomes less significant as it is swallowed up by the setting and becomes a part of a wider picture: the entire room.

The high angle shot allows the audience to build a relationship with the characters because they feel a part of the scene. They put themselves in the characters shoes and therefore feel empathetic for them because they believe that they understand what they are feeling. 

A mid shot frames an actor from the waist up. In this particular clip, three characters are shown standing at the door and looking into the room. They are watching the scene before them much like the viewer is watching the film. This creates a feeling of apprehension for the viewer because they are anxiously expecting something bad or unpleasant to happen. Both, the viewer and the three characters waiting at the door feel nervousness and suspense as the dramatic expectation builds. Because the viewer can relate to those characters, they build a relationship with them as they are both unknowing of what is happening and what will happen unlike the other two characters who appear to know more information.

A high angle shot looks down on the woman standing above the boy and the camera gradually zooms in as she slowly looks up. She stares straight up, looking at something and it gives the effect that something is there that the viewer and some of the other characters cannot see. This allows the audience to focus more on this character. They start to see her facial expressions more clearly and understand that the elderly woman doesn't feel comfortable seeing what she does and it appears as though it is painful for her to see.

The camera than zooms out and shows the woman looking up at the ceiling. This confirms for the viewer that there is something there that only she can see. The audience now understand that the woman was looking at something supernatural because it appears to them and everybody else in the scene that nothing is there. This helps to create a sense of confusion and apprehension  because the audience is looking at something that can not yet be seen. This is conventional to the thriller genre because tension and suspense is produced for the audience. This keeps the audience engaged as they want to keep watching to find out what is there that they cannot yet see. They do not know what will happen next and so feel uncertain and expectant. The viewer is aware that the elderly women knows more information then they do which prevents them from building a relationship with her because they cannot relate to how she is feeling as secrets are kept from the audience. 

The first close up in this video clip is of the woman's face as she persists to stare up at something unknown and whisper incoherently. very little background is shown and the viewers concentration is directed at the womans face. Eveything else is just a blur in the background and the womans face is magnified, showing the importance of her facial expressions.From these expressions, the viewer can tell that she has seen something that is not pleasant and is making her fearful and uncomfortable.This also makes the viewer feel very uncomfortable about this character, adding to the dramatic effect.

Another close up shows the drawing that the man was creating as the elderly woman whispered at what she but nobody else could see. This is shown from an 'over the shoulder' point of view/angle. Because of this, the viewer feels like they are looking at the drawing from the womans point of view because they see what she can see and although the man has been drawing the picture for most of the scene, it is the first time that both the audience and the woman see it. This unravels for both what the woman could see above the boys bed.

After the woman has gabbed the book she hurriedly turns on the light and the camera focuses on the fan again. Gradual zooming in again takes place to focus on the subject and highlight the fact that if something is there is not something that can be easily seen by the human eye. The camera is slightly jerky and tilted replicating aspects of cinematography techniques such as canted angle and handheld. 

The image is slightly jerky and unsteady as the camera moves to focus on the fan that in also moving in an unsteady fashion.  This produces a sense of urgency and chaos which therefore portrays the frantic and panicked emotions of the mother and father. They are fearful and anxious at what was in the room above their son. Instability and imbalance is also produced by the camera techniques. This shows the audience that the parents are not in a clear frame of mind as they are worried and uncertain at what will happen to their family.