Deconstruction - Camera Angles

For my deconstruction of camera angles, I wanted to specifically focus on a film within our genre, psychological horror, so decided to look at the trailer of Annabelle. In particular, I wanted to look at which camera angles were used, as well as how they are effective and some inspiration for the types of angles we could incorporate into our final film opening.



One of the first shots in the trailer is an establishing shot of the house. This is effective as it starts to highlight that the genre is psychological horror, as a convention of this is being set in a 'normal' neighbourhood. Also, showing the location in this way adds to the realism as the audience all have houses and so can relate.

Another shot that I liked was an extreme close up of the doll, Annabelle's face, in particular when the drop of blood falls onto her cheek and then drips into her eye. This shot has an eerie feel to it because the doll is generally associated with children, but also because the camera is so close to the doll, the inanimate expression is exaggerated.

I think this is also a very important shot in the opening, and is very effective. The use of the close up of two hands holding each other is comforting for the audience, as they are eased by the fact that the protagonist has someone who is in an attempt to look after her. The wedding ring can also be seen in this close up which highlights that the two are in love and married, again suggesting comfort and the feeling of safety. 

The long shot of the doll, Annabelle, in the bedroom is one of the best shots in the trailer. The mobile in the forefront of the shot, which is slightly out of focus, ensures the audience are aware of the presence of children in the family and the house. The focus is on the shelf, where multiple dolls are placed by the audience is immediately attracted to Annabelle, as she is the biggest doll. The use of a long shot enables the audience to see her face, without overly exaggerating her expression at this point in the trailer.

This shot is a close up of the dolls face, but as she only takes up a third of the frame, the audience are also able to see the room. The doll is also not face on to the camera, which suggests that she is staring at something else in the room. Although the camera focus is on the dolls porcelain face, the door begins to shut behind her and this means that the audience have to refocus on the door rather than her face, which can add tension to the scene. 

This shot is a low angle medium shot of a man carrying the doll through a dark street. The low lighting in the frame is effective as it means that the audience have to concentrate on what is in the shot, which adds tension as they don't know what is going to happen. Using a low angle shot also makes the audience feel inferior to the doll and the man, as the doll is towering over the camera and placing the audience into a position of fear.