Film Research- Panic Room

Camera

The establishing scene from this film use slow pans and gradual zooms of city scapes in order to both set the scene for the placement of the story, but also to establish the tone of the film, we see shots of a very modern, rich looking city, with huge sky scrapers and beautiful classic manors. This is significant as it shows the audience that this film is not based within the ghettos of a city, rather we realise that who ever the key figure is within the film, they are from money and live a life luxury or comfort.

Point of view shots are used when the mother and daughter first enter the house the majority of this film is set within, these shots are fairly conventional as they establish the environment from the point of view of the character, thus making us more emotionally engaged with them, but also allowing us to see experience the situation from their point of view.

Again, another conventional shot used in this film is the master shot (a two shot of the characters interacting, then over the shoulder shots of either characters faces as they react to the conversation taking place) this shot is effective as it aids the flow and pace of the film whilst also letting the audience understand how the emotions of the characters develop.

When the burglars first come to the house the use of a low angle zoom into the antagonists face is employed, this shot, alongside the music shows dominance and creates tension or apprehension, making the audience understand instantly that this character, whoever they may be, is not here for a good reason.

Editing

An interesting editing technique used in this film is to use the amount of wine within a glass to show how time is passing, when the scene starts we see the mother pouring herself a glass of wine, but as the scene continues, every minute or so there is a cut back to the glass, always with a noticeable depletion of liquid.

Another piece of editing that proves incredibly effective in this feature is the use of a low level tracking through the building when the burglars start to surround the house, the shots work their way around the house, moving through walls and under or between objects in a way that gradually builds the apprehension to the point where we see the antagonist enter the house, and the pressure drops entirely.

Sound

Throughout this film the use of orchestral music is used heavily, these pieces of music often build pace gradually, to aid the story and editing used to create tension, this is of course very conventional but extremely effective for films of this genre.

Mise En Scene

This film is not colourful at all; it is noticeable that throughout the entire film we mostly see plain greys, blacks and white. All the clothing worn by all characters in plain and either black or grey, the lighting used is not yellow but rather pale white, and all the objects within the house have little to no colour at all. This could be seen as conventional of the genre but I feel that it is such a necessity to this film's atmosphere and tone that to not follow this convention would have been almost foolish.

Of the three burglars seen within the film, one wears a black ski mask for nearly the entirety of the film, this makes the character dangerous to both us the audience but also, of course, the protagonists in the film. This is because of the sense of unknowing that surrounds him, by not being able to see his facial expressions his emotions become clouded and thus his intentions feel entirely spontaneous.