Providing and Withholding information

Providing and withholding information 

Providing and withholding information is a big part of cinema because as a viewer we don't want to be told the plot from the beginning and this is why dramatic questions are very important in film making. 

Providing information for the viewer is essential in the sense that putting a few shots together that will reveal the minimum will engage your viewer as they will always be itching to find out what is going to happen or what is around the corner, but I think that the best way to keep a viewer guessing and more hooked on your plot by withholding information because then the viewer will be asking questions to try and justify the actions they've just witnessed, what makes sense of it and whats to come. 

It is very popular for this technique to be used in Horror and Thriller films as the anticipation of the audience is high and the tension is automatically built in a more mild sense as the conflict is not yet revealed - it is teased into the screenplay whilst the audience wait impatiently to find out what happens next. 

here is an example of Providing and withholding information 




Here is a shot example of providing and withholding information

Here is more of a withholding information shot as we can see here, it does provide us with information because it is from the persons POV, and we know that everything we see and all the information that we are given in the long distance camera shot, is everything the character can see. Through this we get a sense that something bad is due to/ about to happen and that the person who plays the main character is about to be confronted with the antagonist. However, the audience has been left wondering what is going to show up in the corridor, which angle is it going to come from? Will we see the antagonist as they may approach and attack from behind? could it come from a side door or will it be seen and approach the character/ vitim from straight ahead in the distance?