Ideas: Camera, Lighting and Non-Diegetic Sounds

Camera
Trailer:
The typical camera shots and angles that appear in a movie trailer range from long shots to extreme close ups. Generally they tend to start off with either an establishing shot of where the location is and where the whole horror scene is going to happen or a long shot of the protagonist. Throughout the trailer, we see a range of shots and angles to enhance a scene for example, a close up will be used in order to show the emotions of either the antagonist or protagonist, or to show us the demonic features. By using a range of angles it will give us an idea of how strong or weak the character at the certain scene, like a high angle shot looking down at the protagonist so represent that they are getting watched and make them seen vulnerable and weak as seen in The Shining in the image below.

Camera movement is also important in a horror movie trailer because it improves the scene and adds fluidity to the trailer. Camera movements include tracking shots, crane shots, zoom in/zoom out, pan, tilt, etc. In horror movie trailers, these movements are used frequently, which allows the transitions between shots to flow nicely. An example of a tracking shot is in the "Amityville Horror" is to show how the house is, the environment and the area in which it is located. This is a good way of getting a lot of information in a small amount of time but yet it doesn't give out a lot of the narrative. 

Poster and magazine:
When analysing posters and magazine front covers, we realised that there is a symbiotic link between the main images, as well as other features such as font, and that they are usually the same image but with less effects on the magazine cover or a still form the film is used as seen in the exorcist which uses a screenshot of the film for both poster and cover.



The shots that are used are usually long shots, mediums shots or a close up of the antagonist. A long shot is to show us the entire body and any deformities; it lets us see all of the it in one shot which gives us the idea of what is wrong with the antagonist.   A close up is to show us the intensity of the demotic possession of the antagonist. These shots have been cleverly used to show the audience exactly what the story is about but they have disguised it well. 

 

We have decided to use a range of shots and movement within our trailer to attract and retain audience attention. Were we to use only a single angle and technique of movement, the audience would soon become bored. To begin our trailer, we have decided to use an establishing shot of a house that pans to a medium shot of a reporter. We will use the movements to link our shots together to give the fluidity needed. Our idea is to show both sides of our character by placing her in front of a mirror and having her stand normally, but have her reflection showing her possessed side in a medium, over the shoulder shot to emphasise the contrast. By using a medium shot, the audience are able to see much clearer the difference between the character and her reflection. Our magazine front cover and poster will link together clearly by using the same image of our character for each product to show the audience the demonic possession of the antagonist.

Lighting

Profile lighting in Halloween (1979)

One of the main elements of creating a movie, lighting can change the entire mood and perception of a scene. Horror movies utilize lighting to set the tone of a scene and also give foreshadowing of events to come. For example, if a girl is in a dark room with light only coming from her phone or natural lighting from an open window, then the audience sit in baited breath for something to jump out of the darkness. The reactions the audience have are also due to lighting conventions of horror such as profile lighting, back-lighting  low angle lighting, and ambient lighting. Each of these gives a specific tone to each scene that is unique.

Profile lighting is when light falls on only half of a person’s face. This gives a sinister tone to the scene and the character or it can highlight the shock on a victim’s face. Another use for this lighting is to highlight specific features that may be deemed grotesque, and this effect enhances that.  This image below is an example of profile lighting in Halloween.

Amityville Horror (2005)

Low angle lighting, lighting aimed upwards from below the character, is also used for all of these reasons but is achieved by having a high angle light shine on a character from below them to make them seem menacing. These effects may be used in our trailer to bring focus to the protagonist’s shocked face as the protagonist attacks her.

 Backlighting is the placement of a light in the background of the scene to create a silhouette of those in the foreground. This technique hides the features of those in the foreground and also gives a sinister effect, as seen in the "Amityville Horror" film poster. Backlighting is common convention for horror films as it brings darkness and shadows to the film and enhances the fear of the audience; it makes them question what it is that lurks in the darkness.

Wolfman (2010)

Ambient lighting is the available lighting in a scene, such as the sun or the moon. This gives a more realistic and natural look to the scene as in the still from "Wolfman". We will use this technique during the street scene as it will be outdoors and most styles of lighting will be rendered useless.

For our project, we will primarily use low-key, ambient lighting, however we will use it in a way as to create backlighting and profile lighting and we will do this by angling the camera and the actors to achieve appropriate shadowing. 


Non-Diegetic Sounds

Typical non diegetic sounds that feature in horror movie trailers tend to be big bangs, eerie sounds, added footsteps (as opposed to enhanced footsteps), tensional music, orchestra, piano, contrapuntal sounds and stabs. These non diegetic sounds are added in a horror movie to emphasise the moment of that scene. Music adds more tension to the scene because people get scared when there is a build up to a jumpy moment and so it gets us ready for something big. Usually the added music starts of slow and calm within the trailer then the pace gets faster as it goes on. A stab is one of the most effective types of non diegetic sound that is added in horror movies and its trailer, a stab is a short, sudden, burst of sound which is used to potentially make the audience jump. It can also coincide with a moment of drama and help to heighten the existing drama. A stab is a crucial sound to have in the trailer since its one thing that the target audience always remembers. Tense music enhances the fear the audience feel within a scene that dialogue alone cannot achieve, and makes the scene more effective. An example of this is seen below in an excerpt from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds". The orchestral music, specifically violins, aids in the building of tension before, and whilst, the protagonist is attacked by the Birds.

We have decided to use existing sounds from other movies and trailers for our non diegetic sounds. This will be an easy option since we wouldn't have the high quality sound software to create these non diegetic sounds. We will use a range of sounds from non-diegetic sounds to stabs and tense, eerie music which will come from other types of media like games, music and TV programmes. The soundtracks that we would consider using are from "Grave Encounters", "The Devil Inside", "Call of Duty: Black Ops - Zombies", as well as from other sources such as websites that offer sound effects. All these would be added to the trailer to create a unique sound to it and effectively create a frightening trailer. We have included some examples of possible soundtracks that we may use below. These have been chosen as we believe that they can relate and fit in well with our narrative and sub-genre.