Camera angles

The following frames are examples of camera angles that have been used to create atmosphere.

Firstly, some high angles from the film The Birds of Alfred Hitchcok. The first one is the typical one, a very wide shot that makes us feel uncomfortable as we know well that the protagonist is heading to the danger. Furthermore it creates tension and expectation. You want to see the car getting the place as soon as possible in order to find out what expects at the destination.

Another high angle. The classic one. The girl takes refuge in the telephone box while the birds are attacking. She can't give away and the shot creates a very strong sense of claustophobia and anxiety. Her status changes completely as she is hopeless and vulnerable. Besides, the scene is very exciting and dynamic and conveys perfectly how the birds are flying without any order.

Finally, we can also find a low angle that helps to show the characters more powerful after having survived to another violent act of the birds. Given that they have taken over control again, the anlge builds up a very quiet atmosphere and you can fell some relief after a long period of time where tension and uncertainty were the main features.

The following shot comes from a Spanish film called Tierra. As it happened with the wide shot mentioned before from The Birds, this is in my opinion a standard frame that shows how desperate is the man that needs help urgently. The hig angle represents well this feeling and gives the character a very weak role in all the scene. It could help more if they would have been represented a little bit tinier than that but it can be said that it works well.

To conclude, one more shot from a high point of view. It is from the film Teen Wolf and alters dramatically the relationship that we have with the character, with his status changing from a very powerful shopkeeper that doesn't want to sell drinks to a young guy to a non significant man who is being threatened by an unknown force - in this case, a werewolf - and his willingness is totally manipulated by this.