research into cinematography ( Miss Miller )

Cinematography- the art of photography and camerawork in film-making.

During this essay I will discuss the cinematography of a certain clip: this includes the use of angles, movement and camera shots. The clip I have chosen is from The silence of the lambs. I picked this as it goes from a quiet scene to a lot more action. This provides various camera shos, angles and movements to analyse.

The first camera angle in the clip was a high angle shown at the start. This is where we were shown the police officer's from a higher angle in front of the lift. This higher angle makes the character seem smaller, as though we are towering over them. By doing this it makes the characters look vulnerable and weak. It also fore shadows what could happen. In this case the vulnerable police officers are deceived by Hannibal Lecter and they lose two of their colleagues. It conveys a sense of surprise as we see what should be organised, official police officers turn to be vulnerable and confused. This all intensifies the situation of the escaping Hannibal Lecter.

Secondly there was a use of a hand held camera shown as the police climb the stairs to investigate the shooting sound and missing officers.  As they ran along the corridor and ran up the stairs the camera switches to a hand held. The effect of this is that it highlights the panic of the situation: the sudden movement of the camera creates a sense of chaos for the audience. This emphasises the feeling of fear and suspense as the viewer is keen to find out what their reactions might be to the deaths of their partners. By creating chaos and panic it elaborates the danger of Hannibal Lecter and the importance of the situation. 

Also included in this clip was a zooming in camera movement on the lift dial. The dial shows where the shooter of the gun may have been or even where Hannibal might be. The fact the camera zooms in on it shows the audience that it is important. This builds up tension for the viewer as we find out Hannibal's where abouts and as we worry over his plans. In addition to this, by zooming in on the dial for this length of time it could highlight the fact that it is the center of attention in the room full of police officers. The fact that the movement of Hannibal is creating this huge sense of panic between the officers further more creates suspense for the audience as we see how dangerous he is.

A camera shot included in this sequence is an extreme close up. This is applied on one of the young police officers face to show his facial features. The police officer looks very scared and the extreme close up highlights this anxiety shown. This has been done to show his facial features in great detail, by doing this it emphasises the officers panic over the situation. All of this again shows the great danger of Hannibal and creates a sense of fear and suspense over what might happen. The close up also creates sympathy towards the young officer which exaggerates the effect that later events have on the audience. 

In addition to the forms of cinematography stated, the clip also included a point of view (POV) shot. This was used to show exactly what the officers can see as they enter the horrific death scene. It shows the gruesome image of the dead officer hung up over Hannibal's prison cell. The main reason this is done is to highlight what has happened with the death of the officers. It emphasises the horrific situation that the policeman are in. The shot means that we are put into the perspective of the officers, by doing this a relationship is built between the audience and the characters and a great sense of fear is created as we see the danger they are in.

To conclude, I think that the this sequence is mostly full of cinematography used to build tension and suspense for later events in the film. This is done by highlighting the anxiety of the police officers through showing their facial expressions and by highlighting the chaos of the situation. I emphasises the danger of the situation and builds upon the importance of Hannibal Lecter's escape being prevented. My analysis of the cinematography in this clip should greatly help me to highlight a facial features of characters and to create a sense of panic and chaos when it comes to creating my own thriller.