Creating Tension and Captivating Audiences: Cinematic Techniques in “Jurassic Park” Anonymous 12th Grade

In Steven Spielberg’s adventurous film Jurassic Park (1993), the director focuses on the journey a group of scientists experience as they endeavor through the prehistoric dinosaur park, escalating to become a frighting encounter for the characters as the animals escape. Through the use of cinematic devices, including a combination of various camera effects and visual components such as mise en scene, diegetic sounds and camera work, the audience is captivated in multiple ways. In addition, Spielberg emphasizes the use of tension — a feeling of anticipation and apprehension produced by the director to gain attention from the viewers and aid in their entertainment. He does this by including a number of suspenseful scenes such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex) and Velociraptor (Raptor) scenes to build gradual suspense.

In the opening scene, the transportation of a Velociraptor in an exotic jungle setting and a series of events leads one of the workers to be obliterated by the beast. In this scene, mise en scene, lighting and sounds are fundamental components to establish a continual feeling of tension. Through the use of low key lighting and artificial lights such as flashlights, the audience is drawn to share the catastrophic...