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Andrew Nguyen

Jeff Winch

Cinematography 1

14 October 2016

Analysis Paper: Panic Room

Panic Room is a suspenseful film like most David Fincher films. The suspense can be

seen in this particular clip due to visual decisions brought to life by the cinematographers Conrad

Hall, and Darius Khondji. The feeling of suspense is achieved through visual techniques such as

camera movement, camera placement, and lighting.

To begin, the camera movement helps bring suspense visually because the camera only

moves at the times of high tension. For example, the camera begins static as Meg Altman (Jodie

Foster) falls into bed, but when the burglars appear, the camera begins to move. This gives the

audience a sense of anticipation because the audience is moving along with the characters on

screen giving the sense of urgency and as well tension. Another moment where camera

movement emphasizes the tension is when the camera crashes in onto Jodie when she realizes

the threat within her home. The audience receives the dramatic and suspenseful emphasis due to

the cameras movement.

Secondly, camera placement is used strategically to evoke certain emotions within the

audience. For example, when a character has a higher ground on the situation, the camera seems

to be placed at a lower angle giving the characters a powerful dynamic, but most of the time the

camera is in a neutral angle. For example, in the beginning when Jared Leto pops his gum, the

robbers have higher ground while Jodie has the disadvantage of not knowing they are in the

house. It is when she sees the security cameras thats when she begins to have higher ground on
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the situation because she knows where they are in the house. This gives the audience a

perception of the characters on screen, therefore the audience can get a feeling of intimidation

from the low angle.

Lastly, the film has an overall dark tone and mood and to contribute to this effect is the

lighting. This scene in particular mirrors some visual styles from film noir especially with the use

of window shadows on the wall, and the general dim low key lighting. The only difference with

this film and film noir films is that instead of heavy contrast the fill light is softer while some

characters still linger in the darkness like film noir. An example of this moody lighting is when

Meg walks into the panic room to turn off the light. Meg lingers in the darkness while there is a

harsh backlight coming from the window. This lighting style gives the audience a sense of

mystery and fear which also contributes to the theme of suspense.

In conclusion, Conrad Hall, and Darius Khondji gives the audience a perception on

suspense which can be seen in this scene through clever cinematography techniques. The camera

moves in only times of tension which emphasizes the dramatic moments within the scene.

Furthermore the camera is placed to give the audience a sense of power within the scene. And

lastly, the scene has a dark low key lighting technique that adds an ominous undertone

contributing the suspenseful theme.