The Strategically Deliberate Use of Spoken and Unspoken Dialogue in the Netflix Series ‘Mindhunter’

ScreenPrism, the online series that consistently offers excellent analysis of television and film, turned their insightful eyes towards the sublime Netflix series Mindhunter, particularly noting the strategically deliberate use of dialogue, both spoken and unspoken to convey the horror within the minds of the killers whom Holden is interviewing. This technique combined with the use of ultra-wide camera shots and four-walled spaces, keeps the audience at a safe distance from this claustrophobic world.

In single long shots we view them through a dispassionate vehicle from a critical distance and with this view we try our best to make our own insights into the characters hidden minds. The show isn’t just shot with the kind of wide shots we’re used to seeing on TV, it’s shot in an ultra wide 220:1 format …It’s a format where movement is amplified and feels more dynamic and alive. That’s why even the most subtle facial expressions and physical movements are perceived as poignant loaded events.