Thursday, 17 December 2015

Camera angles deconstruction - student-made scene

I am deconstructing a student-made scene because it enables us to see how effective others are at making the film look professional using camera angles, and to see how filming will be for us (if we can incorporate any effective camera angles that we see).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RtH0oiBerk

This scene opens with an establishing shot of the area to show where the scene will take place. The shot fades out into the titles, then back into a pan mid-shot of two characters as they walk together. This again fades into a screen with the two actors' names, building suspense as it cuts away from the scene. It follows them to a bench where the camera then tilts downwards as they sit down to keep level with them. There are a few shots of the couple together before it fades again, adding possibly more actors' names.
 
Paralleled with a sinister non-diegetic soundtrack, there is a point of view shot from the killer as he looks through trees at the couple from behind. This cuts to a shot of the couple laughing, adding a sense of danger and tension because this contrasts to what may happen to them. There is a mid shot of the two standing up and walking away from the bench / log they were on, and then another killer POV shot as they start to walk through the woods.
 
The killer's POV shots are handheld to make the shot look more natural like it is what someone is seeing exactly, and the shakiness makes the killer seem more unstable mentally. There is then a long shot of the killer in the woods, and we're unable to see him because of it being so far away and the branches of trees covering him up. This boosts the suspense momentarily as we see the killer.
 
Another still, long shot of the couple walking hand in hand, showing the setting again. The setting is calm and peaceful and the snow makes it look very clear, however it's surrounded by many trees making it look more isolated. There is a side-on shot of the couple as they look out over the lake which is full of ducks and birds.
 
Immediate suspense and dread is felt as there is another killer POV shot and he is right behind the couple, walking up to them slowly. It again fades to another credits screen like it has throughout, making us anticipate the next scene because it has cut away at the most suspenseful part. There's another side-on shot of the couple and the girl steps forward and out of the shot, then a very quick mid-shot of the boy and the killer right behind him about to kill him (which made me jump). This cuts away to the title of the film.
 
Camera angles are very important in this film opening as they allow the scene to establish so we understand what is happening and what may happen next. This shows us that they're very powerful to the scene so we will have to think about the specific ones we will use in our scene to make it as effective as possible.

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