The 3 Essential Elements of Suspense Explained — How Fincher, Carpenter and Refn Create Suspense

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How to create suspense in film — A breakdown of three different methods using suspense scenes from movies like Zodiac, The Thing, and Drive.

What is Suspense: Elements Explained ►►
Sound Design & Editing in Drive ►►
StudioBinder Blog ►►

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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro to Crafting Suspense
00:53 - What are the Elements of Suspense
02:30 - Chapter 1: Suspense with Sound
06:37 - Chapter 2: Suspense with Editing
11:45 - Chapter 3: Suspense with Cinematography
16:23 - Final Thoughts/Takeaways

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HOW TO CREATE SUSPENSE IN FILM

You know those moments in a movie when you hold your breath, your muscles tense up, and you can barely keep your eyes on the screen? There is nothing quite as thrilling as a good suspense scene. And to understand how they work, we have to pick apart their elements. In this video, we’re going to look at some of the best suspense scenes from movies. Specifically, three scenes that each use a different filmmaking element to guide the suspense: sound design, cinematography, and editing.

SOUND DESIGN FOR SUSPENSE

In Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, there are a few white-knuckle scenes. In the pawn shop robbery, the heist happens off-screen as we simply wait outside, in the quiet, with Driver. It is the lack of sound that keeps us on edge. One of the key ingredients in suspense is uncertainty — how will this scene end? And because we hear nothing of the robbery inside, our uncertainty remains high. The gentle but insistent ticking of Driver’s watch reminds us that time is running out but the quietness overall makes it feel like something bad is going to happen. And it does.

EDITING FOR SUSPENSE

Editing is usually the star of the show when it comes to creating suspense in film. Time is another essential element and how long the editor delays the outcome dictates the amount of suspense. In John Carpenter’s remake of The Thing, the iconic blood test scene is a taut and claustrophobic set piece. With very little sound design or music, it is the editing that really builds the suspense. By keeping each shot of the suspects in the same, tight close-ups we get no relief from the tension. Additionally, this consistency of close-ups also keeps our suspicions even across all the suspects. Finally, as MacReady proceeds with the first test, we cut back and forth between the blood and the reactions over a dozen times, delaying the result and tightening the suspense.

CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR SUSPENSE

In our final example, we look at the iconic Zodiac basement scene where Graysmith finds himself in the presence of the potential killer he’s been investigating. Here, it is the cinematography, including the lighting, camera angles, and camera movement, that creates such a terrifying scenario. As soon as Graysmith realizes Mr. Vaughn might be the Zodiac, the lighting seems to shift from even and neutral to high-contrast and horror film-esque. First, he is trapped in a close-up with Vaughn looming in the background. As they enter the basement, the low angle shot brings the ceiling on top of Graysmith, trapping him even more. And the lighting on Vaughn gets more and more sinister until he disappears completely into the shadows.

The best suspense scenes in movies use one or all of these techniques to draw out the time, elevate our uncertainty, and raise the stakes (and our heart rates).


#FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking

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♬ SONGS USED:

"Dream of Arrakis" - Hans Zimmer
"Merlin's First Test" - Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson
"Secret Weapon" - Evgeny Bardyuzha
"Nightcall" - Kavinsky
"Tick Of The Clock" - Chromatics
"The Border" - Jóhann Jóhannsson
"Main Theme - Desolation" - Alan Howarth & Larry Hopkins
"Burn It" - Alan Howarth & Larry Hopkins
"Contamination" - Alan Howarth & Larry Hopkins
"Conspiracy Theories" - Jean Pol Cornelis
"Graysmith Obsessed" - David Shire
"Graysmith's Theme (Piano Version)" - David Shire
"Confrontation" - David Shire
"Kinotrope" - Luke Melville

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Music by Artgrid ►
Music by Soundstripe ►
Music by MusicBed ►

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