The art of cinematography creates perspective within a film.  Based on the use of different camera angles, the directors are able to choose what the audience sees, and form unique hierarchies between elements of the scene – including props, actors, and the setting (weather, location, etc.).  In Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film ‘The Shining’ – based on Stephen King’s original novel of the same name – Kubrick uses cinematography to amplify Jack Nicholson’s character’s developing insanity, and convey meaning.  

During the opening scenes of the film, Kubrick makes use of various continuous overhead establishing shots to cause a feeling of unease in the audience immediately. The shots are also almost unnecessarily dragged out, a typical convention of many scenes in the film, of which only increase the tense and foreboding tone, suggesting that the plot of the film progresses gradually and that an unknown, terrifying event is inevitable.

One of Kubrick’s most notable uses of cinematography within ‘The Shining’ are presented throughout continuous tracking shots where the camera follows Danny as he rides his bike around the labyrinth of corridors inside the Overlook hotel.  As the camera follows him, the winding halls gradually enhance the suspenseful atmosphere as they seem to ‘close in’ on the shot, creating a sense of claustrophobia and anxiety.  The camerawork also ingrains the idea that Danny and his trike are more-so stationary, and establishes the hotel as some form of spiritual entity, almost pulling him into the passageways toward an ominous fate.  Alternatively, it could be seen that the unsteady camera is the intra-diegetic gaze of the hotel, or the malevolent beings occupying it.  This conveys the idea that the characters are powerless to their fates; that their paths are already chosen.  

Another iconic use of cinematography within the film is during the bathroom scene, where Kubrick intentionally breaks the 180° rule when changing angles between Jack and a hallucination of Delbert Grady – a key antagonist in the narrative – to create verisimilitude between the two as they ‘trade places’ between shots.  This further establishes Nicholson’s creeping insanity as he reaches a tipping point before the climax of the film and leaves an audience questioning when he’ll ‘break’.  

Kubrick also uses cinematography to show a divide between Jack and Wendy during the typewriter scene, after a petrified Wendy reads Jack’s ‘novel’.  The scene presents various mid-shots of the couple individually as they exchange dialogue, never having the two of them in frame together – their separation evidently displaying their respective aggression and fear, alongside Jack’s disconnection from his family-oriented character at the beginning of the film.  Once again, this is used to heighten the suspense and tension moments before he becomes more bloodthirsty.  

In ‘The Shining’, Kubrick’s intent with his cinematography is crystal clear; to intensify the horror within the film.  This is prevalent with his use of dramatic, suspenseful continuous shots, his comparisons to the antagonists against the other characters by breaking the 180° rule, and the thin veil between ‘good and evil’ that he portrays throughout the film’s runtime.  In conclusion, Kubrick’s greatest tool in his camerawork was the audience’s anticipation, and using that, he created a horror masterpiece that still holds up today.

Mise-en-scene is key within film.  It helps develop atmosphere, builds up the world of the story, creates stronger characters, and adds realism to the narrative.  Within Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi cult classic, Blade Runner, mise-en-scene was imperative in manufacturing a realistic and expansive future in 2019 Los Angeles.  

Early into the film’s runtime, a key scene showcases the vast futuristic cityscape as a lone flying police car escorts Harrison Ford’s character, Rick Deckard, to the police station.   Before the police pick him up, the car is shown gliding through a large open area between towering skyscrapers, which feature buildings that bear several iconic company emblems on holographic signs and billboards, such as Pan American World Airways, advertisements for Coca-Cola, Cuisinart, and “Off-World” – a fictional company within the franchise that plays an important role with the human space colonies, a topic left untouched throughout the film. As the officers arrive at Deckard’s location, a Japanese noodle stand named “White Dragon”, some dialogue is exchanged between both officers, Deckard, and the presumed owner of the stand.  The dialogue consists of a mixture of languages spoken by the officers, and the stand owner translating it into English for Deckard before he is taken away.  A building for Koss Stereophones can also be seen in one of the opening shots for the noodle stand, another example of brand placement.  The shots of the police car once again floating above the city follow similar conventions as they did before, the only difference being the changes in camerawork, swapping between short-lived, handheld shots of Deckard and the driver/pilot of the vehicle in and around the cockpit, static shots and panning shots of the scenery, finished by overhead shots that pan over the police station as the car comes into land. 

The implementation of this scene so early into the film establishes the foreign world that the audience has been placed into and grounds it into our own reality as a potential, but attainable future.  Although now, as the year 2019 – the year the picture is set in – has since passed without any of the extreme technological advancements depicted, during the 1980s, this use of set design doesn’t make it seem so impossible, especially with the rapid boom of improvements in technology across the planet – mainly inspired by Japan.  Embedded marketing in this scene also helped anchor the film’s world into our own, consistent with brands such as Coca-Cola and Cuisinart, which are still active today.  Placing these brands onto futuristic mediums for advertisements, such as holograms and digital billboards, also aids in continuing to immerse the audience.  Furthermore, the increased mix of cultures displayed in this scene’s setting, costume and prop design presents sociological advancements to display a more “advanced society”, or at least a higher tolerance of other cultures, evident in the shots of the White Dragon noodle stand, its owner and the various languages exchanged in dialogue.  This could be linked to the ongoing Cold War, ending in 1991, and the United States’ conflict with Asia, Japan in particular preceding WWII.  Douglas Trumbull’s use of practical effects work to create what seems to be a functional flying car, using smoke machines to cover some of the apparatus used to raise it, and later displaying the cockpit with various props such as controls, digital screens and buttons that the pilot actively uses, which adds to the authenticity of the scene.  

Mise-en-scene and its role in the world-building of the film provides an audience with a more believable concept of what they’re watching; an unforgiving, dystopian world much like our own, where each individual has their own unique identity and culture and their own struggles regardless of the time period.

Match on Action

A match on action cut is a technique where the editor cuts the shot to another that matches the movement/action of the first shot. An example of this could be within Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, where this technique is frequently used to show Miles Teller’s character playing the drums, reinforcing the idea that he is working his hardest to achieve his dream as a drummer, with abrupt, violent movements throughout each shot that work almost as a montage.

Graphic Match

A graphic match cut is a technique that uses similar elements of two scenes to transition between them – using a visual match for scenes that could be in different locations or following different plots. A popular example of this would be within Randal Kleiser’s Grease when the boys are dancing on the car, displaying their bond as a group and the idea that they will follow each other anywhere.

Eyeline Match

Eyeline match cuts are used to show the audience what a character is looking at. It can create the effect that the audience are looking through the character’s eyes themselves. An example of this is in David Yates’ Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix, where Daniel Radcliffe’s character looks up to a darkening sky, and the camera cuts to what ominous sights he’s seeing. This creates suspense and tension and leaves an audience wondering what’s behind the camera.

1. Low: Full Metal Jacket (1987)

This shot from Full Metal Jacket shows the effect a low angle shot can cause on to the viewers; it gives the General a sense of intimidation and authority. It may also appear like he is looking down on the viewer.

2. Eye-Level: Gummo (1997)

The use of this eye-level angle in this scene allows the mise-en-scene and shot distance to speak for itself, as using an alternative camera angle may distract from the desired meaning; the mixture of the distance and mis-en-scene creates a lonely atmosphere, whereas throwing a high angle into the mix (for example) could distort the meaning into one of vulnerability or sadness.

3. High: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

This high angle shot adds vulnerability and frailty to ‘The Wretched’ people as they are gathered, desperate for water. It also portrays the people as lesser, like the viewer is looking down on them.

4a. Dutch tilt: Snatch (2000)

The abnormality and infrequency of this type of camera angle adds intensity to this scene, almost putting the viewer into Sol’s shoes and replicating the fear that he would be feeling. As we watch a film, we become accustomed to the horizontal camera angles that saturate most scenes. Therefore, if the dutch angle appears it is that much more of a shock to the viewer.

4b. Dutch Tilt: BEYOND THE 3RD WAVE (2021)

This usage of this dutch tilt angle from the Palace Skateboards 2021 video is used instead to accentuate the height and awkward nature of the stair set that is being skated, differing from the traditional usage of this shot.

Final project can be watched here:

https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/0ad63236-5842-4346-ae15-902dbe08bf2f

watch the finished project here- https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/bd84401d-69ee-4abb-a495-0be6ad76dc40

https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/6e89b7d7-c92a-4448-b4e3-ad1799f5fe8f

As a group, we filmed, acted, and (on our own) edited our own version of an early scene from Todd Phillips’ The Joker, using a script from a deleted scene.

We edited the project on Premiere Pro, and used it as an exercise to help with our editing and filming skills.

Watch it here – https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/5bc111c1-8786-44e6-aab4-9632e8818eff

Cinematography is the art of motion picture photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sensor or light-sensitive material inside a movie camera.