Analysing suspense sequences - Blackout and It Follows

Extract

[...] Once the monster is seen the editing is much faster and noticeable. This builds the tension with the audience, because the lack of editing begins to feel uncomfortable, and once the shock happens the fast editing makes sense because the character is frightened. There isn't much variation in the shots, they are pretty much all the same, which gives a realistic effect on the audience. D. Sound There is some music in Blackout, which is diegetic as it comes from the record player that the monster turns on. [...]

[...] This is because the director, David Robert Mitchell wanted the audience to feel like they were helpless observers of the events that play out in the scene, we can see what is going on but there's nothing we can do to help them. The character is usually in the centre of the frame, and looking towards the camera, and moves slowly backwards like they are frightened but don't want to freak out the people around them. The lighting is natural, coming to the dusk of the day with the small amounts of sunlight left to light the scene. Later on the lighting changes to dark, with the only source of light coming from the headlights of a car. [...]

[...] Analysing suspense sequences – Blackout and It Follows I. Blackout A. Setting Blackout is set within a medium-sized apartment, with the main locations we see being the bedroom, the kitchen, and a storage room. The bedroom is small, the bed in the middle with a small amount of space on either side. Bedside table with a lamp, some books and a framed photo of a person. The kitchen is neat and tidy, everything organised and nothing left out in the open. [...]

[...] The Frame The entirety of Blackout is shot from the point of view of the character, so most of the shots are medium wide shots. It uses casual and calm lighting in the beginning, yellows and oranges from lamps and ceiling lights. Almost all of the lighting is removed when we first see the monster, which is done to build tension with the character and audience, and is replaced with a single white light pointing wherever the camera is pointed. [...]

[...] Camera Work and Editing The point of view throughout is of the audience, which is used to create a disconnection between the character and the viewer. It does go to the characters point of view for one shot, where she is looking towards her car as if there is something there that we can't see, but other than that it is always from the audience's point of view. The scene is edited rather slowly, with the first part being one long shot that never cuts away. It only begins to cut when she is truly alone, and she is at her most frightened. E. [...]