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In the 1960 film
‘Psycho’, director Alfred Hitchcock builds tension throughout using a variety
of mediums. As the first clear cut thriller within film history, ‘Psycho’ is in
fact the film which set the classic conventions of the genre so, as expected,
has all of them. The action takes place in a lonely out of the way location in
the middle of nowhere. It’s far from the city in a quiet area where nobody
would hear anything suspicious because you don’t have many neighbours and the
ones there are live far off.
Additionally, Hitchcock uses the use of titles
to build tension in ‘Psycho’. In the opening titles a date is displayed which
has no year; suggesting to the audience that the film can still feel very
relevant, as if the events within it could happen at any time and place. The
time is written in words, and makes it seem like a police file within the
aftermath of a crime. This contradicts with the effect of the date missing the
year, marking when everything happened precisely. This could lead to the
audience becoming confused as they are not sure when exactly this happened,
building tension as they do not know when anything will be happening further on
in the film. When the opening credits roll the screen and text is at random
being split into bars, they are moving around constantly. Even the bars are
unstable, sometimes splitting sideways and other times vertically. This
reflects the dual nature of Norman Bates, hinting at the later revelation of
his split personality. 
Lastly, Hitchcock uses Mise-en-Scene to build
tension. In the opening shot Marion looks passive and is lying down on the bed,
foreshadowing her fate. At first when we see her she is dressed in white which
suggest innocence to the audience. In a later scene this changes and we see
that she is wearing black underwear when she is getting dressed to leave with
the money that she stole. This helps to build tension as black suggests death
and danger. Once again whilst Norman Bates is watching her through the
peephole, she is wearing black underwear again; she is a doomed woman. His
watching through the peephole also reflects the beginning of the movie where
the audience ‘secretly’ watched Marion through a window in her underwear,
hinting that Norman is the killer.
In the 2005 film
‘The Constant Gardener’, director Fernando Meirelles uses a variety of mediums
to build tension and create confusion. As a mystery/spy thriller, ‘The Constant
Gardener’ has many busy settings and jerky camera angles to confuse and
distract the audience. The majority of the action takes place in a busy village
in Kenya. The villagers are vulnerable and will do anything it takes to get a
tuberculosis drug (dypraxa), this means they see the English as helpers and
don’t see them as a threat to them or each other.
Additionally,
Meirelles helps to create tension through the use of sound and music. Even
before the film has properly started there is a sound of a car engine shutting
off. This creates tension as the audience do not know where the sound is coming
from, the scenario could be completely harmless and meaningless but to the
other extreme it could be foreshadowing the main outcome of the film. When
Justin and Tessa are on their way to Kenya during the flashback, the train that
they are on is very loud and disorientated. This paired with the busy
environment of the Kenyan village distracts the audience and confuses them even
more. In a car chase fast paced music is used to create suspense and tension as
the audience don’t know who it is that is chasing Justin, this is later
revealed to be Tim Donohue. I think that the best use of music in the film is
when Justin is being assaulted by Tessa’s potential murderers; happy music is
being played in the background. The use of this music creates a disjointed
atmosphere.
Furthermore,
Meirelles uses Mise-en-scene to help create suspense, confusion and tension
throughout the film. At the start of the flashback, when Tessa and Justin have
only just met, there is a romantic setting which drags the audience away from
the main plot. This helps to create suspense as the audience forget that the
film is mainly about a murder and gives a false sense of security. The audience
also know that Tessa will die, as shown by the opening scene. This creates
tension as the audience do not know when this will happen. The flock of
frightened birds at the end of the first scene is shown again when Justin is
killed, showing that the birds are a symbol of death.
In the 2004 American independent drama film 'Mean Creek', director Jacob Aaron Estes uses a variety of mediums to build tension and suspense throughout the film. As a drama film with elements of a thriller, 'Mean Creek' uses lots of point of view camera angle and uses the use of silence at times of suspense. The film builds tension right from the start when George is first portrayed as a 'bully' when he beats up Sam in the opening scene. From the beginning the audience know that something disastrous is going to happen, whether it is to Sam or George.
One way that Estes
creates a sense of tension is through the use of camera angles. The film uses
many close up shots of characters to show emotion, which also helps the
audience feel sympathy towards them. When George becomes part of the
main action in the film (about half way through) his handheld camera is used to
show some point of view camera angles. The POV angles help the audience to feel
closer to the action; also we get to see what it is like as George falls into
the river, again making the audience feel sympathy and a sense of fear. There
was a very high angle shot of the group of teenagers standing around George’s
body, showing how alone and vulnerable they were. It was similar to when Sam
was lying on the ground with other children standing over him, and even though
this time, he was the one standing over someone else’s body, it still seemed as
if he was completely powerless in the situation due to the high angle shot.
Furthermore, Este creates a sense of fear and suspense
through the use of camera movement. Lots of slow camera movement is used
throughout the film which helps to create a sense of fear as the audience have
longer to think about what is going to happen next. After George’s dead body
was dragged to shore, the camera moved slowly from one scene to the next in one
continuous movement, rather than flashing quickly from one event to the next
like when Rocky was in the water and the rest of the group were rowing to
shore. This slow camera movement shows that there is not much
action taking place which could suggest that there is nothing more that can be
done to bring George back to life. When George uses his handheld camera there
is very jolty and jerky movements of the camera which again brings the audience
closer to the action and gives a sense of real life.
Additionally, Estes creates a sense of unease through
the use of sound and music (Link to music). When the children/teenagers first come to the
conclusion that George is dead there is a very calm atmosphere and sad
melancholy music is played. I feel like this music and lack of action gives a
lets the tension lower as there is no longer a sense of an unknown conclusion.
This tension is replaced by sympathy and sadness. On the other hand, the use of
silence in this scene builds tension as the audience is more in the dark about
what has happened as no one is talking about it. The lack of sounds makes the
reality of George’s death and magnitude of their problems obvious. As the police
are digging up George’s body, George voiceovers with a speech that he had said
to his camera previously about people not understanding him. This makes the
audience feel even more sadness towards his death as they now know that he was
just a misunderstood boy who only wanted to fit in and make friends.
Lastly, Estes builds tension through the use of
mise-en-scene and the use of titles/credits. In the opening credits/titles an
underwater scene is shown which foreshadows the foreseeable events later in the
film. These credits give an eerie atmosphere and fear of the unknown. Later on
when they are first on the boat there is a relaxed and calm setting which
distracts the audience from what is about to happen and makes them think that
maybe this boat trip might turn out peaceful. However, the audience may think
that the setting is too peaceful and may sense that something bad is destined
to happen. Also, the setting on the boat is very isolated meaning that the
children are alone and have no access to help if something happens, making them
very vulnerable. This gives off a sense of fear to the audience. After George’s
death Millie stabs a snail that is next to the word ‘snap!’ that has been
engraved into a rock. This shows a release of anger and a reflection of how
Millie feels. 
.jpg/220px-Psycho_(1960).jpg) |
| Horror (Psycho - 1960 |
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| Spy (The Bourne Identity - 2002) |
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| Psychological (Black Swan - 2010) |
