Cinematic Elements of Super 8

  In Super 8 I noticed that there are a lot of cinematic elements present throughout the film, such as the lighting, the camera shots, special effects and sound effects. There was a strong use of lightning throughout the film. The majority of the major events in the film are at night, such as the train crash, Alice's abduction and the film's finale. The lighting helps paint a tone of mysteriousness and ominousness, especially with the first two scenes I listed. During the train scene for example, the Key light would be the large light that the kids brought themselves. The back light would be the lights above them on the train station, and the fill would be the lights next to them near the phone booth.

   There are also multiple instances when shots use focus in order to convey something that would be normally evident. Another use of the darkness was the amount of lens flares, and how much they stood out. Because it was dark during the major scenes, the lens flares were way more evident. These lens flares are useful to immerse the viewer more, as it's something you would see if you were actually there. For example, during the scene where the camera focus' the cube in the foreground, rather than on Joe in the background. This is an example of soft focus. An example of deep focus would be when they're filming the scene in front of the train crash, which shows both them and the crash in the background.

   Throughout the film, there is an emphasis on camera shots where it moves with the characters. These are point of view shots, as they make the viewer feel as if they're running with the characters on screen. There are also a lot of different angles used throughout the film. An example of a low angle shot in the film would be when Alice and Joe are standing together, staring at the alien's ship at the end of the film. This creates a hopeful and triumphant mood, as the characters appear more dominant. There are also a lot of scenes in the film where

The diegetic music of the film is late 70's music, typical of the time period, while there is also use of nondiegetic, ominous music during suspenseful scenes. An example of another nondiegetic sound would be when the cube shakes, but none of the characters hear or see it. Overall, the film was able to achieve a suspenseful mood with it's immersive camera shots, dark lighting and ominous nondiegetic sounds.