LoPretzel Productions
Cinematography Portfolio

Get Out. This movie got rave reviews, both on Rotten Tomatoes and from everyone I told that I was watching this

movie, earning it an overall 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and landing it #6 on the top 100 movies of all-time list. Get Out follows the main character, Chris, as he goes for a weekend getaway with his girlfriend, Rose, to meet her parents. Everything seems well and good... until it's not. However, this turn isn't a surprise, as any viewer who has seen the trailer or movie poster can see that this film is more than a romantic comedy. Get Out was produced by Blumhouse, which is a famous production company for horror/suspense films. They also produced The Visit (one of my favorite horror films) and Split. 

The film begins with a scene of a black man walking down the sidewalk, before he is kidnapped and put in the back of

a white car. Later on, we find out that this guy that was kidnapped was named Drey. However, he is at the family get together with Chris and Rose under the name of "Logan". He is hypnotized and is acting as if he is this woman's boyfriend (he was hypnotized to be some sort of sex slave). Then the credits are over a film of the woods while an offputting song plays. Next, the main characters, Chris and Rose are introduced separately. There appears to be no relationship between the two characters until she knocks on a door and he answers. Instead of just saying they're going on a trip, she is asking him about his packing list. I thought this was a smart move and use of dialogue. Next, the idea of racial prejudice is introduced. Rose says her family is "not racist" but Chris is unsure and uncomfortable with the visit. Rose's dad pushed the idea of not racist so hard, he was obviously overcompensating. Later in the film, there was a silent auction where no words were spoken, but the props and actions of the actors made it very clear what was going on. Now that I'm thinking about it, there was a move there that I didn't notice. Rose said that she and Chris were going to go for a walk, and then the silent auction happened. That was all planned because Rose needed to get Chris away from the house so that people could bid on him. 

Some strategies I saw used in this film included music, camera angles, and camera stability. I also noticed the "walk and

talk" section happening in the beginning when Rose's dad was showing Chris around. The music selection for this film was powerful, creating a sense of unease for viewers throughout the whole thing. They also used audio to force jump scares such as when Chris slapped the bug on his arm, or when Georgina walked behind Chris without him knowing it. I was also paying attention to where the camera might be. For example, when Rod was in the detective's office and was telling her about the fact that Chris was missing, I noticed how the camera stayed in the same place but just faced the different characters (rule of 180). I think the dialogue was written well (and acted very well) because the conversations that Chris had with a multitude of people made me a varying amount of uncomfortable. Specific things, such as when each black character that was having their mind-controlled said "I should apologize", were all leading the viewer to reach a certain conclusion, or believe a certain thing. Rose's character leads viewers to believe that she was the one person in her family who wasn't racist, that she supported Chris wholeheartedly. Towards the end, her character takes a turn that I saw coming- she ended up being the one that brought all the black people to the house. 

Continuing with the different characters, Rod was the comedic relief in this movie. When something tense happened,

Chris would call Rod and then Rod would create comedic truth out of what Chris told him. After Chris actually goes missing- no response or anything- Chris becomes the detective trying to solve Chris's case and find out where he is.

The camera angles were used thoughtfully. There were close-ups of characters when what they were saying or their

reactions were supposed to make viewers uncomfortable, and there were also wide shots when introducing a new place (such as the Rose's parent's house) or to show the scope of the room. For example, a wide shot was used in one scene to show all the guests and how they reacted when Chris went upstairs by himself (they all stopped talking and looked upstairs). 

The steadiness of the camera also represented how each character felt. As Chris got more and more scared, the camera was less stable. But with other characters in the same scene, such as the father, the camera was steady. There was also another scene in which each person named was shown individually, this created the feeling that all eyes were on us (as they were all staring directly into the camera) and helped viewers understand how Chris was feeling. 

One little nit-picky thing I noticed was that in one shot of the car, the windshield wipers weren't all the way down, and

the next shot they were. I also wish that the crew played with lighting a little bit more, it felt a little bland to me- but I suppose the point of this film wasn't the cool lighting. 

I would definitely recommend this movie to those who want to study suspense films. Overall, it was a good film which

brought up important ideas like racial prejudice in a way that was both comedic and serious. People tend to have ideas associated with black people, like the fact that they're stronger and more healthy (or in once case, better at sex). This film was very smart with how it spoke about those issues- it wasn't thrown in your face but it was more deeply understood because of the brain transplants.