Macro Analysis
Horror Film Openings
M – 1931
Genre
M is a 1931 horror-thriller about a serial killer who preys on children. He becomes the focus of a massive manhunt in Berlin as the killer’s crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realises that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.
Purpose
In terms of a social or ethical message, in 1937 Fritz Lang told a reporter that he made the film “to warn mothers about neglecting children”. Given the paedophilic nature of M, it can be assumed that it is a social commentary on the common place yet highly ignored exploitation and abuse of children at the time as well as a slant on neglectful mothers who allow this to happen to their children.
The purpose of the opening is to introduce us to the context of the film: a serial killer is on the loose, targeting the children of the city and causing the people to lose faith in both the police and justice system. In the opening a young girl is abducted and then murdered by the illusive M after her mother allows her to walk to and from school alone, possibly perpetuating Lang’s message of negligent parents from early on in the film.
Generic Conventions and Characteristics
As M is a horror-thriller, conventions from both genres can be seen in the film as well as conventions of the sub genre itself. For example, technical conventions of the horror-thriller genre can be seen in the cinematography and editing; the long tracking shots are typical of the horror-thriller and are used to build suspense. There are a number of cut aways and ‘bus techniques’ or fake jump scares used, adding further to the suspense of the film and making it typical of its genre at the time. Given that this is a very early horror film it is often cited as setting the tone for other horror-thrillers to come, and M proved to be ground breaking as a horror at the time as it was suggested to be critical of the Nazi parties corrupt justice system and political intrigue and these can be seen with the nod to politicians and police in the opening scene and their inability to catch M.
Audience
As cinema was becoming an increasingly popular form of entertainment in Germany, especially horror films on the back of the extremely popular Weimar era directors like Robert Wiene and Lang himself. This means the audience would most likely be the trendy younger generation and in terms of socio-economic grouping that the audience would be in for this film would be C1/C2 or above as they would have had a disposable income to pay for the audience to watch the film at the cinema or buy a copy of it. In terms of Rubicam’s 4 C’s, the audience for this film would be Individuals as it discusses themes that would be considered “taboo” like pedophilia and the director Fritz Lang is known for making progressive and ground breaking films in the horror genre such as Metropolis and Dr Mabuse.
Micro Analysis
Location
The film is set in metropolitan Germany in the 1930s. The town is reminiscent of the wealthy cities like Berlin and Cologne and gives a claustrophobic effect due to the sheer number of people, crowds and mobs. The high rise apartment occupied by the children and family of the murdered Elsie gives the impression of poor or working class people, suggesting that it is poor children who are targeted and adds social implications to the film as a result. This could be a social commentary by Lang on impoverished children being neglected by either their parents or the government.
Lighting
Due to the film being in black and white it is hard to comment on the lighting as there is no utlisation of coloured gels etc, however the use of lighting to cast over exaggerated shadows adds to the suspense and creates M as a leering and intimidating figure. This could be said to be reminiscent of films from the German expressionist movement in the early 1920s, in films such as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Nosferatu.
Costume
The neighbours, people of the city and the children wear clothes typical to the time and their social classes. The outfits are meant to emphasise the normality and mundaneness of the scene; they look like ordinary people which is juxtaposed by the dark clothing of M when we eventually see him and the dark story of the film as a whole. M’s dark clothing separates him apart from other people, suggesting that his dark clothing is mirrored in his dark personality and intentions. The children where lighter clothes to symbolise their innocence, as do many of the parents and adults shown in the film. The wealthier people and police tend to be wearing darker clothes, especially in the opening scene, which suggests corruption.
Props
Props used include washing lines which enshroud the children in clothing and washing the base of their apartment building. This suggests they are safe and hidden in their own home. The use of every day, mundane items such as cooking utensils juxtaposed with the posters alerting people to M the serial killer suggest that people remain unbothered and negligent of their children like Lang wanted to suggest.
Character Movement
The movements of the children are carefree and innocent, like the song and dance they do in the opening sequence. The adults are much more tense as they are aware of the threat of M, however they are still not affected enough to actively protect their children.
Pan’s Labyrinth
Macro Analysis
Genre
Pan’s Labyrinth is set against the historical and political backdrop of the final years of the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War, combined with a gothic fantasy world. The genre of the film is horror-fantasy, with Del Toro subverting the conventions of a traditional fantasy film by injecting elements of horror through dark and atmospheric lighting, bizarre yet horrifyingly realistic prosthetic monsters and CGI scenes which are enshrouded in darkness and shadows, giving a constantly uneasy feeling.
It is interesting to note that some film critics argue that Pan’s Labyrinth falls in to the genre of ‘fable’. Fables are an ancient genre, usually told to small children to impart morals, and Pan’s Labyrinth has a a very similarly black and white sense of morality: the pure Ferreiro and Mercedes against the evil Vidal to protect the princess Ofelia. In terms of Todorov’s narrative theory there appears to be an immediate subversion: The equilibrium is traditionally shown at the very beginning, which makes the equilibrium of Pan’s Labyrinth the death of Ofelia. Although throughout the film this appears to be untrue, the ending or the ‘return to the equilibrium’ shows the dead Ofelia meeting her parents in what is presumably the afterlife meaning the opening complies to Todorov’s narrative theory and is also compliant with conventions of the fantasy/ fable genre in its traditional and simple narrative.
Purpose
The purpose of the opening of Pan’s Labyrinth is to introduce the context of the film as well as to draw the audience in. The main character, although we do not know it yet, lies dead on the floor in the opening shot which remains unexplained until the final scene. Whilst the narrator, El Fauno, explains the origins of the labyrinth itself time is rewound and this has the effect of intriguing the audience as he talks about a magical land and a princess whilst cutting to the main character, Ofelia. This suggests that she could be the princess, however the audience remains unaware until later on in the film.
Generic Conventions and Characteristics
One convention of the horror/fantasy genre which Pan’s Labyrinth complies with is the ‘fairy tale’ inspired storyline and narrative. The film is reminiscent of fairy tales due to its compliance to Propp’s character types, which he based off stories by the Grimm brothers. For example, Ofelia is the traditional ‘princess’ and El Fauno is ‘the helper’ who aids the princess along with ‘the hero’ who is arguably Mercedes. However it could be said to subvert conventions of the fantasy genre, as when compared with fantasy films such as ‘The Neverending Story’ and ‘The Wizard of Oz’ it is noticeably darker in terms of storyline and lighting, set design and costume. The lighting used by Del Toro in the opening sequence for his fantasy realm is dark and uses cool, blue tones to create an uneasy atmosphere with the multiple shadows being cast creating suspense. The traditional idea of fantasy is almost utopian, however more recently fantasy films have become much darker and this could be said to be as a result of directors like Del Toro, so in conclusion whilst it is compliant in terms of narrative and character to fantasy/ fable genre films it is subversive in terms of lighting and set design.
Micro Analysis
Location
The film is set in rural Spain in the midst of the second world war and Spanish civil war. The fact that Ofelia’s house is in the forest, or on the outskirts of the forest, show how she is shielded from the horrors of the wars going on around her. Whilst the forest could be said to be a shield for Ofelia’s innocence, this idea is juxtaposed by the corruption and violence in her home. The location in the opening scene is largely outside in the countryside, with the rural setting suggesting mirroring the natural innocence and wildness of Ofelia’s character and this is shown when she follows the insect in to the maze.
Lighting
The lighting in the opening scene changes from dark, cool and blue lighting which creates an uneasy atmosphere which is more representative of the horror aspect of the films genre.
Macro Analysis of a feature length film
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a feature length film silent film and has a running time of 1 hour and 20 minutes. The film is a horror and a psychological thriller. It is part of the German impressionist movement, this can be seen in its harsh lighting which is used to create day and night and to add drama to a scene.
It is considered to be ground breaking in the horror genre and cinema itself. It was written in 1920 by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer, both of whom saw the relatively new medium of film as a platform for conveying their political and artistic values. At the time, Germany was in the midst of a political crisis; it had dispensed of its autocratic style of ruling and had been replaced with the radical Weimar government, a democracy. Many references can be seen in the set design and characters themselves; the setting of the film is a village on a hill, representing the former autocracy with the biggest, brightest houses at the top. The fact that the main character and villain, Dr Caligari, is a doctor and figure of authority is also a subtle dig at the crooked German politicians and leaders.
The purpose of the film was to develop the medium of film as an expressive outlet and to develop the genre of horror. Given that at the time of production, 1920, film was still in a transitional period between theatre and screen, the film was meant to introduce audiences both old and young to cinema. It also contains messages of resentment and rebellion against German authority, to both the former autocracy and the new government which was almost as unpopular.
The film would make money from ticket sales. It was a commercial success, not only because horror was a very popular emerging genre but because it appealed to the new German audience who were keen to make a new start and rebel against old conventions. The audience that would have paid to see this film would have most likely been young people who had seen the oppression and financial struggles faced by Germany during the war who would have been lacking in creative or expressive outlets.
Given that the film is from the very early days of horror, it was both ground breaking and successful in its genre as it had already begun to break away from horrors such as Nosferatu by using plot twists and involving the audience in the film by adding depth and questionability to the plot. The characters also have a depth which evokes discussion and also fear; the main character Francis, for example, appears to be normal at the start but is later revealed to be an asylum inmate who is seriously disillusioned. This would cause the audience to question the sanity of the people around them, especially the large number of young men who had recently returned from war. As well as long lasting effects, the film also proved to be very scary through the use of extreme close ups, makeup and dramatic music. The image of the character Cesare as he awakens from his 23-year sleep is iconic in the horror genre.
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is designed to raise awareness of the political situation in Germany. Like much of the German expressionist movement, the film is an act of defiance against German authority. At the time there was a large divide in opinion in Germany, many left wing groups believed that the new government was too reminiscent in its ideals of the old autocratic style whereas many right wing groups believed the old style of ruling was better and disliked the ideals of the new government, which did adopt the laissez-faire attitudes held by man right wingers. The Cabinet of Dr Caligari could be perceived as more left wing as it opposed to the former autocracy and the subliminal message of the film shows how figures of authority, such as Caligari, were often crooked and the working population, who in this case are Francis, Jane and Cesare, suffer.
The film is a psychological thriller as well as a classic horror and contains conventions from both genres. For example, the plot twists and unanswered questions are typical of the psychological thriller genre. It also contains horror conventions like murder and could be argued that Cesare, the somnambulist who is controlled by Caligari, is a traditional horror monster.
The iconography used is typical of many horror films. The lighting is expressive and unnatural, it is used to create harsh and exaggerated shadows and leave the audience feeling claustrophobic. The colours black and white are used to represent good and evil; Caligari and Cesare wear dark clothes whereas Jane appears only in white.
Todorov’s narrative theory
In terms of Todorov’s narrative theory, the equilibrium of ‘ The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’ is in the flashback told by Francis. The town of Holstenwall is home to the three main characters (Jane, Francis and Alan) who live harmoniously together; an innocent rivalry exists between the two men for the affection of the heroine Jane but there is no conflict or dispute. The disruption of the equilibrium is caused by the visit of Dr. Caligari and his somnambulist Cesare with a travelling show. The action in the film begins to unfold as Alan is murdered, presumably by the somnambulist Cesare who had predicted Alan’s death the day before. The following night Cesare goes to stab Jane in her bed, but he is unable to when he sees the beautiful woman and instead of committing another murder, he abducts her. The people of Holstenwall believe Caligari is behind the crimes and Francis chases him in to an asylum. Francis follows him, believing that he will uncover the truth behind Caligari and Cesare. However, after the truth about Caligari’s false identity and murderous intentions are revealed and the audience is lead to believe that a new equilibrium is created with the severely disturbed Jane being cared for by Francis, it is revealed that both Jane, Francis and Cesare are inmates at an asylum run by Dr.Caligari. The new equilibrium created at the end of the film is debatable, we are unsure whether Francis is telling the truth or whether he is insane.
Propp’s character theory
The villain – As the plot develops and thickens, the identity of the villain becomes very unclear and the audience begins to question if there really is a ‘villain’ or whether it is all just a fantasy played out in Francis’ head. However, until the very end we are led to believe that it is Dr.Caligari and his puppet Cesare.
The Princess – Our princess is Jane: the innocent, virginal female protagonist. In the beginning, Alan and Francis compete for her affection. Francis appears to have won them but due to the psychological nature of the film, we are unsure of whether they are together or not.
The hero – Francis is believed to be the hero. He tries to stop Caligari but is apparently too late; Jane, the princess, is abducted whilst Francis is trying to catch Caligari.
The audience of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari would have been a young, German audience. Most likely pre-family, as at the time Germany was experiencing an economic depression and many families and elderly people would have very little disposable income. The subject and genre of the film would have also appealed to a younger, more opened minded audience. This is because when the film was released in 1920 , film was still in a transitional period from stage to screen and it would mainly appeal to aspirers and reformers as films were still a new, trendy concept.
Micro Analysis
Mise-en-scene
Setting
The cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a German expressionist film and because it is was made in 1920, much of the set was designed to be very theatrical. This was done not only to add to the exaggerated nature of the expressionist genre but also because cinema was still in its early days of transition from theatre to screen.
The scene begins in a park but contrasts the traditional image the audience would have of a park. It is not bright or sunny, the trees are withered and dead branches surround the characters as they sit on the bench, they are then moved out of the way by the angelic Jane as she walks through the park. The park contrasts Jane’s white attire as it is dark, dull and unkept. In the opening scene we are also introduced to the setting for the majority of the film, the town of Holstenwall. The image we are shown of the town is very typical of expressionist art, with harsh lines and great exaggeration. The homes we are shown also contrast the traditional idea of a home; they are uninviting and cold. They bend towards the top of the hill where a large castle or church sits. Given that this film was created just two years after the first world war in which Germany suffered greatly economically and socially, the hill could be said to be representative of Germany’s resentment to its former autocracy. The houses represent the downtrodden people of Germany whilst the castle standing tall at the top represents its former Kaiser and government. This was made to relate to a German audience in the midst of a depression and adds to the uncomfortable feeling in the first scene.
Costume
The costumes used are very traditional of early horror cinema and horror cinema to this day. Jane, one of the main characters, is shown very early on as a sign of innocence and purity. She wears white which contrasts the costumes of those around her, even Francis who we are lead to believe is good. This could be to present the idea of female innocence in what is a very male dominated film. The white gown she wears in the scene is free flowing and is reminiscent of a ghost or spirit. If it weren’t for Francis telling us that she was his fiancé, the audience could easily believe that she was dead. The softness of the white is a huge contrast not only to the costumes of those around her but also to the harsh, expressionist setting. Dr Caligari is presented as a very traditional villain. He wears dark colours and is made to stand out against the other male characters who are wearing dark suits with his wild, unkempt hair and facial expressions.
Character Movements
At first we are introduced to Francis, who is sat on a bench with a stranger. Francis appears to be tense but changes when Jane appears. He appears anxious to touch her and reaches out towards her. His body language is made to contrast hers, she appears ethereal and disinterested in what is going on around her. In this scene she is made to appear ghostly and spirit like, almost detached from reality. She walks past the two men as if they are not there which alarms the stranger but seems normal to Francis. Francis uses his hands frequently which suggests a physical relationship he formally had with Jane. This leads to one of the first close ups in the film and it is where we see how Francis’ expression has softened; we see the love in his eyes and causes the audience to feel sympathy for him, having just seen the blankness in his fiance’s eyes. Again we see Caligari as the traditional villain. He walks suspiciously as if he is being followed and has a limp. The limp is used to show that Caligari is an outsider because of his physical defect, which would have been more of an issue when the film was made because people who were considered ‘different’ were generally cast out.
Props
The first props we are introduced to are the trees in the park that surround Francis as he sits on the bench. They are dead and withered and add to the air of death and the supernatural which are presented immediately in the film using dialogue. The branches are then moved out of the way by Jane, suggesting to the audience the ordeals and obstacles she has overcome. The branches could be confused for spider’s webs and suggest the web of confusion or lies that develop in the rest of the film. Dr Caligari’s walking stick is an interesting prop. It is something that he uses and relies upon, showing that even though he is a villain he has a weakness. The way he uses his walking stick is also mirrored in the way he uses Cesare, neither object has a choice and Caligari would not be able to function properly without them. For example, when Cesare does not do as he is told by Caligari and kidnaps Jane instead of murdering her, Caligari’s façade falls apart.
Lighting
Although the film is black and white, different lighting is used to show changes in atmosphere and the time of day. Although shadows were painted on the set to create the idea of harsh lighting, the lighting was still manipulated to cast shadows and emphasize the expressionist setting. There are extreme contrasts of light and dark used and blue lighting is used to represent light. The colour blue also illustrates a cold, harsh atmosphere.
Wiene uses lighting to create a claustrophobic feel for the audience. The space around an actor’s face during a close up is darkened. This can be seen with Cesare’s introduction; his already exaggerated makeup is enhanced because the frame is made up of just his face.
Editing
One editing effect used is the iris effect. It is used so that the audience focuses on a specific person or object and is used on Francis in the very beginning.
Another effect used by Wiene is the superimposing of words. This can be seen in the scene in which Francis discovers Caligari’s background. The words are scattered around the screen to illustrate the chaos of the situation and the extent of Caligari’s obsession with his somnambulist Cesare.
Proposal
Preliminary Task
Title: 3am
Running time: 2 minutes
Genre: Thriller/ Horror
Group members:
Director: Charlotte Wright
I will be directing my short film as I feel it will allow me to create the film in the closest way to my story board. As the film is my idea, directing it myself will mean I will be able to communicate to the other crew members how I want the film to look and what camera shots I want etc.
Camera: Sandeep Pall
Sandeep will be operating the camera as he has previous experience with the camera we will be using and did camera work for his GCSE film studies projects. This will make him an effective camera man as he will be more efficient in capturing shots and setting up the camera.
Sound: Anand Toora
Anand will be doing sound because he has operated the sound equipment before on previous projects including GCSE film studies projects and current media project. It is crucial that the sound of heavy breathing in my film is clear and loud to help build suspense, which is why I have chosen Anand as I he will be able to utilise the sound equipment to give the best effect.
Content:
What is going to happen in the scene?
A woman wakes up on her living room sofa in the early hours of the morning. Her TV is still on, but the room is completely dark. The blinds and curtains are open, casting moonlight on to her face. She looks across to the opposite sofa, where her boyfriend is also asleep. We do not see his face, only a shape under a blanket. Emphasis is placed on how heavily he is breathing.
She looks at her phone and sees that it is 3am and begins to check through her phone, social media etc. She walks over to wake up her boyfriend and suspense is slowly built with the anticipation in her footsteps as she walks across the room. She shakes her boyfriend but is unable to wake him and gives up, walking in to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. The scene is completely silent until the sound of a door slamming is heard in the living room. She is startled and walks back to the door to look around in the living room. Seeing nothing, she walks back over to the sink to get her water.
As she sits back down on the sofa she begins to drift off to sleep again and the room is eerily silent. The silence is disrupted by a notification on her phone, which wakes up the woman. Again, she gets up and begins to walk over to her boyfriend with her phone in her hand. The phone sounds again, making her jump. She checks the notification and sees that it is from her boyfriend and reads ‘let me in, the doors locked’. Confused, she looks at the door and then at the still heavily breathing shape on the sofa.
She begins to walk slowly towards the sofa until she is close enough to the sofa to lean over the shape. The breathing of the shape is now very rapid, the breaths are more shallow but still very loud, creating tension. She peels back the blanket but the camera cuts away quickly. We see the fear in the woman’s face and as the screen goes black, we hear a loud scream.
Characters
The woman – she is young and unsuspecting. When the scene ends it is unclear what has happened to her but we can assume she has been killed by what was on her sofa and that it was specifically targeting her.
The boyfriend/ thing on the sofa – Initially believed to be the woman’s boyfriend, the unnamed thing on the sofa turns out to be the monster of the scene.
Purpose
The scene is meant to play on people’s fear of waking up in the middle of the night and the feeling that someone is watching you. It is meant to draw the viewer in to the rest of the film and to entertain/ thrill its audience. The film will also enable me to expand my portfolio and gain experience with set design, lighting and direction.
Another purpose of my film would be to enter it in to film festivals such as the Bradford film festival and awards like the Digi Awards. This would enable me to expand the audience for my film as it would reach people it might not be able to reach without any kind of promotion or exposure.
Screening and distribution
This scene does not contain graphic violence or language, however the content could be upsetting for younger viewers as the idea of a monster or intruder is presented. For this reason it would be rated a 12a.
Target audience
The target audience of this film is men and women over the age of 12. This film is not aimed at younger viewers due to the idea of an intruder or monster in the home, watching the woman whilst she sleeps. In terms of Rubicam’s 4 C’s, I believe that my film would appeal to explorers and aspirers. I think that it would appeal to explorers because these people are driven by the need for challenge and to discover and are often the first to try out new ideas and experiences, these people were seen to accept and respond to new brands that offer instant effects. They want to be seen as different and the first – their core they need in life is discovery. Because my production company is new and I am a new director, my film would most likely appeal to explorers who are looking to find a new cinematic experience. It could also appeal to aspirers because these people are materialistic and are driven by how others perceive them rather than by their own values. They tend to be seen as ‘superficial’ and are very concerned with image and fashion. As new directors and films are often seen as very fashionable and people who keep up with new films are often seen as ‘trendy’, it may appeal to aspirers.
Location
I have chosen my home as the location for my film. This is because, as well as being accessible to me and suitable for a low budget short film, it will appeal to a large number of people and allow them to relate to the film as it is a relatively average suburban home. This adds to the horror factor of the film because it further demonstrates that the incident shown in the film could happen to anyone at any time. Whilst it breaks the horror convention of isolation, it would cause many audience members to think of their own home or a family members home whilst viewing the film and would help the film to leave a lasting impact.
I chose to use my living room for the majority of the action because of the large window on the back wall, which allowed for the lighting to be changed to give a more dramatic and exaggerated moonlight affect. This adds to the horror aspect of the film and is reminiscent of the lighting in horror films such as Neon Demon; much like Neon Demon, the lighting is used to symbolise a cold, dark atmosphere. The large window in the back of the living room allowed us to further exaggerate the lighting and the blinds cast shadows which became distorted and overly defined due to the lighting. The windows in both the living room and kitchen allowed for suspense to be built; the fact that the main character spends a significant amount of time near the kitchen window suggests to the audience that a monster or villain could appear in the window.
Resources required and justification
Camera:
NX3
I chose to use the NX3 because it worked the best with the lights we used. The quality of the NX3 allowed for the exaggerated blue and silver lighting to become more prominent and add to the overall effect of the film by allowing the lighting to determine the mood and atmosphere of the film. The NX3 also allowed for close ups and the crucial ‘let me in I’m locked out’ shot. For this, the camera needed to be handheld and needed to show the message clearly. The NX3 was successful in this and added to the subtlety of the film; there is no dialogue which meant the film relied heavily on camera work and lighting to tell the story and give a real horror feel which a camera with a less clear quality or needed to have the lense changed frequently would not have achieved.
Lenses:
Using a fixed sense camera like the NX3 made the filming process much quicker and more efficient. It also allowed for clear shots and a consistency with camera shots throughout.
Lighting:
Dedo lights
The Dedo lights were used to highlight the actress’s face in the first few shots on the sofa. This allowed for a subtle, cold light on her face and gave definition to her hair against the dark sofa. As well as adding to the cold tone of the film, they were also used as additional lighting in most of the shots to further amplify the ‘moonlight’ affect given by the Ari Redheads and making the moonlight appear more realistic. As the Redheads used gels to give a blue tinge which was in some shots very harsh, the Dedos were used inside to give a silver light to the actress’s face and soften the affect of the Redhead’s as well as being used to define the actress’s black hair against the dark setting.
Ari Redheads
The Ari Redheads were used to give the effect of moonlight. Blue gels were used to give the blue moonlight affect which we decided on to add to the cold feel of the film. Although the blue may seem over exaggerated or too harsh, this was done on purpose to fit with the convention of exaggerated lighting in horror films to create distortion of shadows or characters and to signify a change in mood. Due to the size and power of these lights, they were successful in creating the effect of bright moonlight and creating a cold atmosphere. They also gave a subtle spotlight affect on the actress; by placing emphasis on lighting her and giving her a blue/silver light it made the rest of the setting appear much darker, giving a mysterious feel to the film. This could cause the audience to wonder what could be lurking in the dark spaces in the living room and kitchen. I chose these in the place of less power lights such as LEDs because they gave the most powerful moonlight affect and, along with the gels and Dedo lights, were successful in creating a cold, mysterious atmosphere.
Sound:
We used the sound from the camera because it was very clear and little background noise or sound was required. The fact that the film is very quiet apart from the sound of notifications makes the film uncomfortable; although music will be used over the the footage the fact that there is no real sound in the film apart from the sound of the notifications from the woman’s phone would add to the suspense of the audience and make them think that there will be a loud noise or surprise at the end.
Camera supports:
Tripod
We used a tripod to keep the camera steady during the individual shots. This was important because it gave the affect that she was being followed or watched as she moved around her home and the stillness of the camera gave the impression that whatever was watching her was unnaturally still or dead. Although some of the shots are handheld, I chose to use the tripod for the majority of the shots because it gave an uneasy or uncomfortable atmosphere to the film like the actress was being watched or followed.
Legal and Ethical considerations
The film will not use any copyrighted material. I will not use copyrighted soundtracks throughout my film and will avoid this issue by finding royalty free music for the production. I have considered the ethical side to this film, and I feel that it does not encourage viewers to recreate any incidents in the film as the idea of death is not made attractive or glamourised.
If people were to attempt to recreate the behaviour of the character in my film they are unlikely to place another person’s life at risk. This is because there is no graphic violence or glamorisation of murder, death or violence. I have considered this and didn’t place any topics that may offend any people with certain beliefs. I have chosen not to use any kind of religious iconography or anything which could be related to and cause offence to any groups, cultures or societies.
Story Board
Lighting plan
Production script
Production Schedule
Contributor’s release form
Health and Safety
Final Video
Evaluation
Charlotte the Wrighter 