MasterShots Vol 1 by Christopher Kenworthy

Author:Christopher Kenworthy [Kenworthy, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781615930876
Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions
Published: 2012-04-29T00:00:00+00:00

7.1

BUILDING TENSION

One way to create suspense is to stare into empty space, expecting something to appear. To make this even more frightening, you can hide the view from the audience for a while.

In the example shown here, the character is staring into an empty corridor, listening for sounds of approach. That is frightening enough, but is made more tense by beginning the shot with the empty corridor out of view. As the camera slides along behind the character, and we finally get to look down the corridor, the tension is unbearable.

The move itself is nothing more than a simple track and pan, but knowing when to use this is key. It doesn't work if you're actually revealing something in the corridor. If you reveal a big alien at the end of the corridor, as the camera slides across, that simply leaves the audience feeling cheated, because they were excluded from information known to the character. By tracking across to show empty space, the audience shares the character's unease.

Your character should, therefore, be staring through a doorway, down an alley, or into another space. Set up your camera low to the ground, to increase the sense of vulnerability. Frame your character on the left, and maintain this framing as you track across. When the move is complete, your character will either turn and run, or walk into the empty space.

Alien Resurrection. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 1997. All Rights Reserved.

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