Research into editing, Miss Georgiou

Editing:

There are various ways in  which editing is used in the thriller genre. Editing in the thriller genre usually contributes to the mood or feeling in a particular movie

There are different type of editing, for example:

• Reaction shot: Moves away from the main scene to show the reaction of a character.

• Montage: The speed of editing, when shots are quickly joined together to add  effect to a particular scene.

• Straight cut: When the camera quickly cuts from one scene to another.

• Wipe cut: An image replacing another without dissolving

These few examples show the impact that editing has on the thriller genre, because these editing techniques contribute in a director producing an effective movie for the audience intended whether it be teenagers, children or a more mature audience, these editing techniques still make an impact on the film.

The clip that I analysed the editing styles of was the lawn mower scene from the movie Sinister.

A straight cut is used right at the beginning of the clip when the camera moves from the house immediately to the CD, the impact that this has on the audience is that the audience feel a sense of sudden tension from the speed of the cut which foreshadows that something negative is about to occur in this scene of the film, this is conventional to the thriller genre because these editing styles convey the purpose of the scene to the audience more which is to create a sense of fear within them.

Timing of shots is used in the clip when the camera begins to get get shaky whilst zooming in to the house at the same time, this creates a sense of confusion throughout the audience making them feel the tension of the scene. This is conventional to the thriller genre as the purpose of thriller films are to create emotions such as fear and panic within the audience.

A wipe shot is also included in the scene when the camera rapidly diverts from the family in the sitting room to the patterned door with the torch light facing towards it.

This also gives the audience a feeling of anxiety emphasises on the fear that is supposed to be felt during the clip, the rapid diversion of the camera causes the audience to immediately focus their attention to the object or character that the camera is facing, this is equally conventional to the thriller genre because in thriller films, the camera is usually positioned in the direction of the object or character intended for the audience to focus on.

In conclusion, the research of the Sinister clip will contribute to the making of my own thriller clip because  I will be able to use a range of editing styles like a wipe cut, straight cut, montage and reaction shot in order for my clip to have of an effective impact on the audience, these editing styles make a great impact on my thriller film as using these editing styles will improve the quality of the film that I am producing.

Miss Miller, Inception clip (Media Essay)

In this Essay, I will be discussing cinematography in the thriller genre.

Cinematography is the art or technique of moving photography including both the shooting and development of the film.

The clip that I chose to  analyse is from "Inception" , the scene "Ariadne learns how to build dreams".

I chose to analyse this particular clip because I feel that there are a wide range of camera angles and effects used.

The camera is positioned at a high angle which makes Ariande (the main character of the scene) appear to be gazing at something very high above her ; this is effective to the thriller genre because it gives the audience the impression that there is something overwhelming above her. This creates a sense of fear making the audience feel a sense of paranoia; the audience feel unsure of what will occur next in the scene as the camera shot makes the scene seem very unpredictable to the audience.

The handheald shot is also used to add emphasis when Ariadne is walking hastily out of fear, this shot creates jerky and unsteady moments to produce a sense of urgency.

Steadicam is used right at the beginning of the scene which is effective to the thriller genre because it shows that at the beginning of most thriller scenes: the tension builds up gradually and doesn't begin straight away. Each of these cinematography effects add to the thriller genre as they leave the audience with suspense, fear of the unknown interest. 

In conclusion, cinematography is conventional to the thriller genre because is has the ability to add the element f surrealism to thriller films; by using a range of different camera positions, causing events in a scene to come across in a more exaggerated way which adds to the the scene.

Mise-en-scene/Miss Georgiou

Mise-en-scene is the arrangement of scenery representing the place where a play or movie is set, it is a French term, properties of mise-en-scene include lighting and facial expressions, body language, hair, costumes and props. The movie clip that i will be analysing is from Black Swan.

This part of the scene is set in a dance recital performance.The setting of a scene is conventional to the thriller genre because the audience is given the idea of the type of event that is likely to take place.

The entire scene is mainly based on low key lighting in order to add a sense of depth and intensity to the scene.There are silhouettes in the background of the scene which shows that the main focus is the character in front of the background as the main spotlight is on her. The low key lighting used in the scene is to add focus on to the main character, this makes the audience feel as though something negative is going to take place involving the main character. Low key lighting is conventional to the thriller genre because it is used to enhance scenes such as murder and fighting scenes and these scenes are vital in the thriller genre.

The main costume used in the film is a feathered leotard  suitable to the film because it is called Black swan and this causes these the audience to link the name of the movie to the character. Costumes are conventional to the thriller genre because the audience is able to identify which character in a movie is the murderer or victim by the clothing that they are wearing.

The word low key is used in cinematography. Low key lighting is also used to create a chiaroscuro effect.

The main character is positioned at the centre of the dance scene; where as the other dancers are behind her; this makes the audience aware that the character that is in centre position is the character that is vital to the particular scene and the character that the audience should be focused on at that moment. Positions are conventional to the thriller genre because the audience of the film are able to identify the key characters in scenes just by looking at the way that characters are positioned in scenes.

The background of the scene shows denotation which represents darkness and negativity which could occur in further scenes of the film, this causes the audience to make the main character (Black Swan) their main focus. The denotation of the background translates that this scene is full of negativity. Denotation is conventional to the thriller genre because thriller films are usually, tragedy themed and denotation used in thriller films emphasise the purpose of the scene to the audience.

The main characters facial expression portrays fear and pain as the audience notices her bleeding at the end of the scene as she is dying.Facial expressions used in the thriller genre cause the audience to feel emotionally connected to the character that the scene is focused on in that specific moment. If the character's facial expression shows pain or heartache, the audience tends to feel more sympathy towards them as they may feel as if the character is the victim in the film.

The connotation in the movie is very fast and deep, the sounds are very short but in low pitch which adds more effect on the doom that is being felt in the clip.This is conventional to the thriller genre because connotations in thriller films are vital because this gives the audience an idea of what the film is about without them necessarily being focused on the scene but just by the pitch of sounds included in the particular scene.

The colours used in the film are mainly red, black,grey and white (much like most thriller films). These colours give the audience an idea of the mood of the film which is tragedy. Colours used in thriller films are conventional to the thriller genre because they are able to determine the mood of the film.

In conclusion to this, mise-en-scene will be vital in the thriller clip that i am creating because Setting, iconography, facial expressions and positions etc will make my film more effective to the thriller genre.