Cinematography Analysis of 2 Extracts from Different Eras

The Blob

(1950s)

"The Blob" is an independently made American horror/science fiction film from 1958 depicting a giant amoeba-like alien that terrorises the small community of Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

When watching the extract or most likely the film the audience will be able to see that there has been a close-up shot used within the first 12 seconds of the scene to show the actors' reactions to the film they are watching which allows the audience to see how the actors react to watching what appears to be a horror movie with the medium shot being used to show their body language which appears as though they are very comfortable with watching the movie and are not at all phased by what does appear to be a horror movie. We then see that there is another type of shot used at about 0:15 seconds which could be described as a tilt shot but not a full one due to it only going up. The scene then cuts to a big close-up shot to the air ventilator on the wall showing the amoeba-like creature coming through it which connects to the title of the film as this is in fact "The Blob".

There is a close-up shot of the man in the projection room who is operating the film, he appears to be distracted by his book and the movie and does not notice until he turns around what is actually going on around him; this is shown at 0:49 - 0:59 seconds where we continue to see a close-up shot but this time of "The Blob" growing larger and attacking the man. A close-up shot is seen near the end of the extract which shows the audience the actors' facial expressions which shows them to be very disgruntled and annoyed due to the movie having stopped playing oblivious to what has happened to the man in the projection room.

Seen at 1:16 - 1:22 is another close-up shot showing the audience that "The Blob" is getting ready to attack the audience who are watching the movie who are unaware that this is happening.

The Faculty

(1990s)

"The Faculty" is a 1998 horror/science-fiction film about a fictional high school; Herrington High School at which the faculty and staff have become taken over by alien parasites.

Within this extract taken from the film "The Faculty" there is first a big close-up shot of the girl who is listening to the other girl talk which shows that her face is sort of distorted and blurry therefore connoting to the audience that the girl who is listening is more important within this part of the film, this is put into force when the other girl says "Aren't you tired of being something you're not?, I know I am", through the use of the big close-up shot the audience are able to see the other girl's facial expressions which show her to be quite scared when reacting to what the other girl is saying to her.

There appears to be a type of low angle shot shown when the alien is revealing itself, showing it to be a great importance connoting to the audience that they should be afraid of it. From 0:23 - 0:28 seconds and then again at 0:33 seconds the audience are able to witness the alien revealing itself as it shows the arms and the face; there is a big close-up shot of this as the audience are allowed to see the girl transform into the alien showing them what the alien looks like in full view.

To me it looks as though a crane shot has been used at 0:31 - 0:32 seconds, even though this type of shots are usually used at the end of a film, I think the director probably used it here to allow the audience to see more of the setting, it then allows the scene to go into a tracking shots where the audience see the male and female actors running away from the alien.

...Key Differences...

* More big close-up shots are used within the extract taken from the film "The Faculty" than the film "The Blob" which allows the audience to see more of the features of the alien within "The Faculty".

* Within the extract from the "The Blob" there is a type of tilt shot as we see the camera going up whereas in the extract from the film "The Faculty" there are no tilt shots shown at all, instead there is a type of crane shot which allows the audience to see the setting as a whole. 

* There is not much movement seen within the extract from the film "The Blob" which inhibits any tracking or crane shots being used. 

* There is a low angle shot used within the extract from the film "The Faculty" which lets the audience know that they should be afraid of the alien. 

* The tracking shot used within the extract from the film "The Faculty" allows the audience to see that the actors are running away from the alien while in the extract from the film "The Blob" there are no tracking shots used at all as the actors do not know that they are about to be attacked by an alien and therefore do not run. 

* There seem to be more close-up shots used within the extract from the film "The Blob" which shows the actors' facial expressions when they are watching the movie.