Research into cinematography- Miss Miller

Insidious- Face Of Fire

The cinematography in the clip Face Of Fire from Insidious

In the opening of my chosen thriller clip we witness mid shots and zoomed in shots of the two parents. This is used to make the emotions and facial expressions of the 2 parents clear to the audience so they can fully begin to understand the way they are feeling. By doing this the audience is given an insite of the characters and the situation they will be emabarking upon which thus results in a greater understand from our part meaning the presentation is more suited to its purpose. 

When the lady is waking, the screen we are displayed is jerky and unsteady as a handheld camera movement is used. This makes the shot used have an element of instability which, then creates an atmosphere of insecurity making us as an audience be uncertain and wanting to discover more. It suggest unprepared, unrehearsed filling of reality and can provide a sense of dynamics, immersion, and in this case instability or nervousness which is conventional to a thriller film.  


 As the setting changes to the characters walking down a dark corridor in the middle of the night and into the young boys bedroom; The camera angle is not only hand held therefore jerky and unsteady like stated previous but also, shows the point of view of the lady waking. This shot is called a POV shot and it creates a relationship with the character as the audience is put into the characters shoes. This is conventional to a thriller as it creates a sense of uncertainty as you are in the characters positions and you are expecting something bad to happen as the scary music makes the audience feel uncomfortable quite comparable to how the character must be feeling. Alongside this the sudden jerks of the camera are comparable to the sudden plot twists and scares that are interweaved within a thriller movie making this choice of shot insanely relevant to the chosen genre. 

An other the shoulder shot is used to show the point of view of the character but in a different way than stated previous. This allows us as an audience to witness what the character is seeing through their eyes as we view the event of the mask (iconography) appearing the same time as them. This is then followed by a reaction shot of the character who was sneaked up upon so we can compare the characters feelings together to develop a stronger relationship with them both. By being able to view the event from both characters points of views we are allowed to witness everyone's version which, therefore allows us to understand everyone's current position (at that time) further. This is conventional to a thriller film as having a relationship with the character makes whatever happens to them more effective. If we weren't to have formed a relationship with the characters the events that happen to them would not feel relevant nor worth viewable to us but, as these two camera angles combined are used; we are given that in site and opportunity to be throughly involved and participated. 

At the end of the clip when the event of the grandmother seeing the 'face of fire' the director has chosen to use a long-shot.  A long-shot is used to show all of a larger object as well as the large amount of background and the people in it. In this case it is used to show us everyone's reaction to the focal characters reaction. By doing this we can see the true impact of the situation at hand and the characters we have built a relationship with and the effect it has had on them. This makes us as an audience fear for them and the upcoming things to occur. This is conventional to a thriller clip as it allows us to see the atmosphere and emotion in the location chosen which, then thus creates a thriller like suspense.