research into editing styles

Research into editing styles.

I will be discussing the editing styles used in the thriller genre. I have chosen to analyse The Orphan- Esther’s death. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDWTQajOiuw. I have chosen to analyse this scene as the editing styles are important in making it as intense a scene as it is. 

The first editing style is a montage, this editing style is used as the fight in the scene starts, and it puts shots together very quickly. This use of a montage builds up suspense and excitement for the audience. The quick editing styles as the character Esther runs over to attack the other character, the quick editing styles help build a relationship with the characters as you can see in detail what is happening, and what relationships the characters have. This style is effective in creating excitement amongst the audience; this style of editing is relevant for the thriller genre because thriller films rely on suspense and excitement for the film to be enjoyable. That is also why I feel this style of editing is used.

A shot reverse shot is used in this scene after the mum comes out of the frozen lake and the girl jumps up and holds onto her, this shot shows the girls face while she is speaking, then it cuts quickly to the mum and then cuts to the little girl who is watching while standing up. This shot is good as it builds anticipation and suspense for the scene and the audience feel excited after the intense fight scene and want to see what will happen to the mum. I think this editing style is used to show the emotions of the three characters in the scene and to show the audience what the situation is and what the relationship between the characters is at this point. The editing style is effective at creating suspense and excitement in the scene. This editing style is relevant in the thriller genre as the quick shots of the characters give the audience enough of an idea of what is happening in the scene and the relationships of the characters, which is important in the thriller genre as suspense is helped if the audience know what the relationship with the characters is like.

The editing style of linking shots is used when the mum is under water, the linking of shots show her under the water then they quickly jump to the trying to break the ice from under the water and when the mum get out of the lake. This relates well to the thriller genre as it builds up suspense in the scene to see if the women will be able to get out of the water, or if see will drown. This use of editing styles helps build the relationship with the characters for the audience as they want her to survive and not drown under the ice. I feel the linking of shots is used because they help build the suspense for the audience and make the audience more engaged, which is typical of the thriller genre as the suspense is the focus for the films.

The kuleshov effect is used to give a meaning that the trouble with the girl has ended and that she was killed. The audience can see this third meaning form the two shots of the women kicking the girl in the face and the girl not moving and sinking into the bottom of the lake, the final shot is of the girl staring lifelessly into the camera and the women and her daughter walking away. I feel this editing style is used to make the audience decide if the girl is dead or not, but the final shot does make it quite clear, I feel the editing style is also used to make the audience glad that the girl could have been killed so she doesn’t try to kill the other characters any longer. This is relevant to the thriller genre as the editing style makes the audience involved in the scene as they are not fully shown what the outcome is but they can decide if it is the end, which is a convention of the thriller genre.

Summary.
Overall this clip has given me inspiration of what different types of editing styles would be effective in my  thriller film and how to use the editing styles to create more suspense in the thriller film. These types of editing are very effective in thriller films as they effectively and simply create suspense and they are used to effect the audience in many ways. Each editing style does a specific job that creates a relationship with the characters and the audience. 

  

Research into Cinematography- Miss Miller

Cinematography.

The thriller scene that I decided to analyse is called 'The Sloth Victim' from Se7en, I decided use this scene as it displays the effects that camera shots and angles can have on the audience.

The use of eye level shot in the scene is important in the scene as it is the first time the audience sees the room. The eye level shot makes it seem like you are looking in on the room, this makes the audience feel as if they are part of the scene, the use of eye level shot is clever for that reason as it helps build suspense for the audience. The shot is positioned so the audience can see the bed clearly, this shot is used to continue the suspense of the scene as the room is dark and messy. The suspense that this shot helps to create is conventional of the thriller genre and the cinematography used is a simple way for film producers to create the suspense that thrillers need to engage the audience.

Two shot. The two shot shows the two detectives directly after they are called into the room by the police officer, the two characters that are called in are made to be important as the camera angle is slightly lower to make them appear to be more powerful. The two shot is used to specifically focus on the two detectives and show the audience the situation with the importance of them and by lowering the camera angle it show the audience that they are important. the focus is on the two main characters rushing into the room, this is further building suspense in the scene. This shot is important for the audience to build a relationship with the characters , the relationship between the characters and the audience is important for the suspense in the film, as when the audience don't feel a relationship with the characters they wont care about what happens to them in the film, so there won't be the element of suspense.

Close up shot is used within this scene, the shot focuses on the detectives face after he was called into the room by the police officer. The use of this shot makes the audience anticipate what he could have possibly seen, creating suspense. This links to a thriller genre because the shot makes the audience anticipate what the character is looking at, as the audience have only seen the reaction. This shot is effective as it makes the audience imagine what he is looking at which could be frightening or not depending on the anticipation of the audience.

Again the close up shot is used, the main focus is on the photos the detective is looking at. The shot is focusing on the photos the detective is holding and the facial reactions of him, the photos are the main focus as it shows the audience what the detective is looking at and the that the photos are more important than the facial reactions in the scene. Conventional thriller films often focus on the facial reactions of the characters to implement fear of the characters into the audience.

The close up of the face of the police officer as he is examining the body with a torch, he is trying to find important detail of the body. He looks scared and shocked of the condition the body is in. The shot is used to focus on the facial expressions and the face of the body, as it is filling most of the shot. This shot builds up the suspense because the audience are anticipating something to jump out on the police officer.

Research into mise-en-scene- Miss Georgiou

Research into mise-en-scene.

My clip is a scene from 'Shutter island', it is a thriller film and it uses Mise-En-Scene to show meanings and provoke responses from an audience, which happens in many ways. I chose this film as it has an interesting storyline and the scene I chose is a fast paced scene with action and shots that tell the audience about the characters in the film. Mise-En-Scene is made up by five elements which are, Settings and iconography. Costume, hair and makeup. Facial expressions and body language. Lighting and colour and positioning and lighting. 

Settings and iconography.

This is an important element of Mise-En-Scene as it is where the shot is taken, this can set the mood of a film entirely. Iconography is mainly props or certain points in a the set used for the film. The clip uses settings and iconography effectively as the props used in the screen shot below show the audience that men with the guns are in a position of authority over the others as they a taking responsibility for what happened in the scene as they begin to rush over to what happened, the guns also prove that they are in a position of authority. The use of the props and settings in this film are clever as they show the audience clearly who is more important in the scene, which helps to build the plot of a film. The setting is also important in the scene as it sets a mood for the scene, for example if the shot is in a dark forest, it could be scary to the audience who might anticipate something bad could happen in  a dark setting, whereas if the setting is bright and colourful the scene might not have the same effect on the audience.

Costume, hair and makeup.

The costume, hair and makeup in the scene is important as it shows the audience many things about the film, the costumes they wear, for example the type of clothes or the way women have their hair shows the period the film is set in and the situation they are in, for example if the characters are being attacked their hair might be messy and their clothes might be ripped. The scene uses costumes well, to show the audience what situation they are in, as the all white suits shows that they are working together.

Body language & facial expressions.

This element of Mise-En-Scene indicates how the character is feeling, this helps build a connection to the audience. The body language in this scene is popular in thriller films as it helps build suspense and makes the audience anticipate what might happen in the scene. This is shown in the scene as the characters are seen rushing around hiding. The genre of thriller is continued as a girl appears that stares into the camera with a blank facial expression (shown below) which could be scary to some so this is a good use of body language and facial expressions, as it helps to continue the suspense of the film for the audience.

Positioning of characters in a frame.

Positioning of characters is important in thriller films as it can draw attention to character in a scene to show their importance over someone, and it indicates the relationships with the characters. This is important to building the plot in a film to show a characters relationship with other characters and there personality. The shot below from the scene shows the audience the relationship between characters in the shot. They are holding hands in this shot which shows that they are friendly with each other, and that they are equal. The positioning of the two characters in this shot helps to add suspense in the scene as they are staring at the camera. This makes you feel like they are looking at you. This helps to continue the suspense and the genre of 'thriller' in this scene.



Lighting and colour.

The lighting in films is important, its used to highlight the character in the shot, to let the audience see what is happening in the scene. In the thriller genre lighting is used to help build tension, and can be used to focus on something in a scene that the audience might not have noticed originally.
This screen shot on the right is a good example of the dark lighting used in this scene. The dark skies help add a tense atmosphere, which is typical of the thriller genre.