Current Events > Alright armchair cinematographers of CE. Here's a question.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I know I can use high and low angles to imply fealings of dread, depending on which character is in the foreground and which is in the background.

But is there any way I can imply that one character is evil with camera angles/motion, or is this simply to be implied by the dread?
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Black aura
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At best, you can imply a dangerous antagonist maybe? I'm no cinemaphile, but I haven't seen abject evil as expressed via camera angle.
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Play with light to put their faces in shadow at a suspect angle.

You can also have a centrally-seated person surrounded by a cavernous shot as it zooms in on them (think Clockwork Orange, or basically anyone bad on a throne you've seen in a movie)
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Go for a really slow zoom in while physically moving the camera back at the same speed as the zoom. Very slow and subtle.

A long take focusing on the evil guy's face watching the good guy leave after their conversation.

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Start behind them then bring the camera slowly their side to their front
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lighting and colors
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Lots of good suggestions ITT, thanks.
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It can be aided by editing. The true antagonist appears in the solo cuts, and the facade when sharing the frame with other characters.
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Lateral movement counts for something too:
https://nofilmschool.com/2016/02/left-or-right-why-characters-lateral-movement-screen-matters-film
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Shadows and single shots, less over the shoulder shots. Evil characters can be shot from a lower angle for a more menacing feel. Dolly close to the face could help too depending on the scene. Maybe even a dolly zoom.

Actually a dolly zoom on the not evil character would probably be better depending on the scene.
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You could try implying someone is evil with good writing instead

*gets chased out of topic*
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nexigrams posted...

You could try implying someone is evil with good writing instead

*gets chased out of topic*

Oddly enough, your joke post is kind of the reason I ask. I'm a total amateur, so this may be a well-established concept, but I'm toying with the idea of making every part tell the story. That includes the writing for sure, but it also includes the camerawork, the aesthetic designs of things, the music, etc.
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