Planning Cinematography - Miss Miller

Cinematography is used to build a relationship between the audience and the characters through all of the different camera shots/angles used, which helps the audience gain an understanding of the film. We needed to plan the cinematography we wanted to use in a lot of detail, to make sure it created the effect we want the audience to feel. Without planning the cinematography, we would not be able to film the scenes efficiently as if we decided during the editing stage that we needed a different camera angle, we would not have the footage to change it.

Some of the camera angles we have decided to use in our opening thriller clip are;

• Point Of View (POV) shot
• Zooming in & Zooming out
• High angled shot
• Extreme close-up
• Eye-levelled shot
• Over the shoulder shot

POV Shot - 

A POV shot is used to show the audience the same image as a character within the footage. We have decided to use a POV shot every time the little sister looks at things such as the tree and the scarf on the branch which triggers the flashbacks she experiences. I hope that by using this shot, it will help the viewers feel closer to the little girl as it puts them into the mindset of her, allowing them to see what she sees. This will then make the flashbacks the audience witness seem more real and so the emotions they feel will be heightened. POV shots are conventional to thrillers because they make the audience feel as if the events on screen are happening to them, which means more tension is built and so the effect of certain aspects in the clip will be even bigger. 

Zooming in & Zooming out - 

Zooming in is where the camera moves in towards an object to create importance and to draw the audiences attention into a closer relationship with the subject. We used zooming in to introduce the river in our narrative as it was a quick and easy way to change the scene from in the forest to the river. It is conventional to the thriller genre as it engages the audience with the scene, allowing them to react to everything they see.

Zooming out is where the camera moves away from the subject in focus to create an emotional distance. We decided to use zooming out towards the end of our opening clip, zooming out from the high angled shot looking down on the dead little sister. I hope this will help to show the inferiority of the victim, as well as building suspense. It is conventional to thrillers because the audience are given time to reflect and question what they have just seen, which builds the tension as they feel more and more confused. The audience connect with the little girl, as when the scene ends with the zooming out of her being dead, they are left wondering 'is that it?' and are on edge because they want to help her. 

High angled shot - 
A high angled shot is where the camera is positioned above the object, making it look smaller. We decided to use a high angle mainly when portraying the little sister because stereotypically in thrillers, high angles are used to portray a victim looking vulnerable. An example of a high angle we want to use in our thriller clip is during the underwater fight scene. This would show her to be struggling, giving the audience the impression that she is weak, which is a common feature in victims. I wanted to use high angles frequently when showing the little sister, so viewers would associate high angles with the girl being the victim, and so would always focus and feel sorry for this character. High angled shots are conventional to thrillers because they are usually an immediate indicator to viewers that the character shown is the victim. The audience can then emotionally connect with this character as they know they should feel sorry for them.

Extreme close-up - 
An extreme close-up is when an image fills the screen so that no background is seen.  We decided to use extreme close-ups 3 times in our thriller opening; Once to show the blood on her hand and once to show the shock in her eyes after being killed in the underwater fight scene, which then fades into the same shot from the flashback into reality.

We used the extreme close up of the hand with the blood on it to make it clear to the audience that she has a cut on her head, which they may have missed from the reflection shot in the river. The audience will then question how she got this cut, and should feel nervous and worried for the little girl.  This should expand on the emotional connection viewers already feel towards this girl, and will make them feel scared for her. This shot is conventional to thrillers because it helps viewers to focus on the blood which is another convention in thrillers.


We used the extreme close-up of the 2 shots of the little girls eyes to emphasise the shock she is in. This should create a suspense filled atmosphere, and when the same shot is used in the reality section, the audience should feel confused: 'if the girl has just been attacked, how can we see her after the attack?' The shock we see in the girls eyes will be reflected onto the audience due to the confusion they are already feeling.
Extreme close-ups are used a lot in thrillers and are conventional as they help to focus the audiences attention on certain things, which may also be other conventions, such as the blood. 

Eye Level Shot - 
An eye level shot is when the camera is positioned at eye level with the audience to make them feel more engaged with the scene. We have planned to use this eye level shot when the killer is pulling the little sister out of the water, having just attacked her. We decided to use this shot as we hope it will show the humanity in the killer as he/she is trying to save the girl. This should confuse viewers as they will wonder why the killer is saving the girl when he has just attacked her and so they will begin to question who he is and what his motives were. This will help viewers look closely at the killer and should help them to find something to connect or relate to him with as to why he done it. The confusion the audience feel will build tension, which along with the shot focusing their attention on the event, is why this shot is conventional.

Over Shoulder Shot - 
An over the shoulder shot is similar to a point of view shot as it shows the audience who or what the character is looking at, whilst the character is still in the frame. One example of this shot that we are going to use is towards the end of the thriller opening clip, when we see the little sister (her shoulder is covering part of the frame), looking down at her dead self on the floor. This should confuse the audience the most out of the whole clip, as they will think and wonder 'why and how is the little sister looking at her dead self, if she is still alive?' This confusion will build a lot of the tension, especially as this, along with the zooming out shot mentioned above, is how the scene will end. The audience will want to know what has happened and how she ended up looking at her dead self on the floor.
 This shot is not used as much as a POV shot as POV shots can be more conventional. However, the POV shot would not create the same effect as all you would see is the little sister dead on the floor, and not the sister looking at herself, dead on the floor. I would therefore say that whilst this shot is not the most conventional to thrillers, the emotions and the mood it creates, such as the tension built atmosphere make it conventional.


I think that by using the various types of cinematography, we have made our thriller clip more interesting which will help to keep the viewers engaged. The shots we have used such as the high angle, help to indicate who the characters are; The victim is always portrayed using a high angle and so the audience will immediately know to be sympathetic towards her. Using the same shot frequently to present a particular character will mean the audience always act in the same way, emotionally towards her, creating a strong connection. The use of specific cinematography is conventional to thrillers, as the majority of shots help to either create/build tension and suspense, confuse the audience and/or provoke a response from them. It is this response from the audience which makes the shots conventional.

Planning the cinematography has helped me as it gave me a clear idea of the styles of cinematography I wanted to use when filming, and why I wanted to use them. It made me think about the response I am trying to get from the audience, instead of simply choosing the cinematography to ensure I had used a variety. It will help me when filming, as I now know what the audience should be feeling in every shot and so can help the actors portray a particular emotion that will help to provoke this response.