Thriller Directors

Steven Spielberg:
Steven Spielberg is one of the greatest directors of all time. Born on December the 18th 1946, he has directed some of the most memorable movies such as Jaws and Saving Private Ryan. In his early years, many of his movies were of the sci-fi and adventure genres. This meant that they were filmed in a child-like and naive way. In order for him to portray these themes, he used low height camera tracking shots which went on to become on of his directing trademarks. He uses the low angle shot to give the view of someone swimming.



The clip above starts off by filming under the water. This is to give the point of view of a shark. It then films upwards and we see the silhouette of a woman in the water. This shows that she is in danger and the music playing in the background builds up tension and suspense. At 1:16 you see Spielberg's distinguished low angle shots mixed in with underwater shots. This is to show the children playing in the water and to give the impression that there is a something coming to harm them. This is successful as it positions the audience to understand what is happening and allows them to also figure it out for themselves.

Facts about Spielberg:

• By the time he was 13, Spielberg knew about different camera angles and shots. He also made his first movie at the age of 13. This movie was called "Escape from Nowhere" and was only forty mintues long but went on to winning a prize in a small contest.
• One of Spielberg's trademarks is his use of music by John Williams. This is to add visual impact to the scenes of his movies and to create a lasting picture and sound.
• Many of his films often show children in some sort of danger.
• Some things he likes to use in his movies are paino elements in key scenes, references to World War Two and references to Disney movies or theme parks.
• Actors that he usually casts are Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise and Richard Dreyfruss.
• The protagonists in his films often come from families with divorced parents, where the fathers are portayed as absent or responsible. This is due to Spielberg's own personal experience.
• A common theme in many of his films is an ordinary person discovering something extraordinary.
• Has had small uncredited cameo roles in movies such as Vanilla Sky and The Blues Brothers.