Movement Within Camera Shots

As part of my 'practical source of inspiration', I have researched different camera shots and lighting to create my own small clips which reflect conventions of the supernatural horror genre. I wanted to experiment with the movement of an individual running in a wooded area because I felt that this is a typical convention of a supernatural horror film. I felt that researching and creating my own small clips which conform to the horror genre would give me valuable experience and knowledge which would benefit in the future, notably when we film our opening sequence as our final piece. 

Firstly, I looked at different existing clips and sequences from films of the general horror genre to establish a basis for my own clips and maintain ideas of what conventions I could use in my own work. I looked at a range of films from different time periods, one of which was 'Cabin in the Woods' 2012 (below). One scene of the film in particular gave me an idea to use a wooded area as a setting for my clips. The setting was similar to a local park very close to my house which I felt was an obvious choice of setting for my clips.

Several days before shooting my clips, I felt it was necessary and important to go and view the location I had in mind for my setting and look at different camera shots which would be effective. During my visit to the location (a small local park with a naval graveyard on the other side of my garden wall), I took stills of different parts of my setting with the camera I would be using to film my clips with (Nikon D7000). I also felt it was important to go on location beforehand to monitor the time and lighting to get an optimum time for filming. This was important as I needed to see what the clips would look like at a specific time of day so my final clips would not be too dark or too bright. (I noted that the best time for filming was around 6:15pm-6:30pm).

I liked the idea of using specific areas which had many grave stones to create an eerie and stereotypically horror film effect. Here are a few still shots I took of a graveyard area which I felt would be a prime location for filming in. Graveyards are typical locations used in films of the horror genre and I felt that the audience would instantly recognise the connotations of the location the clips would take place in. 

The still below was shot inside the low hanging tree that can be seen in the previous shots. I liked this shot the most as the branches frame the shot with the focal point being the gravestone. The way the natural light source is outside of the tree, I felt that the idea of using silouhettes would create an eerie feeling. I felt that this tree acted as a good focal point for certain shots as it is aesthetically pleasing and conforms to the horror genre.

The still below is an attempt to create a low angle shot which is a camera angle I wanted to use in my clips as I felt it conformed to the horror genre of someone running away from something. 

After establishing my setting, I viewed some more sequences and clips from existing horror films to establish further conventions which I could use for my clips. One clip from a film which inspired me was the iconic arrival scene of Father Lenkester Merrin in 'The Exorcist' 1973 (below). The strong yet very subtle lighting which gives the scene its mysterious and eerie sense gave me inspiration to use similar lighting in my own clips. By using very few or a single light source and using the subsequent shadows in my clips, as well as some natural lighting, I felt I could effectively create an eerie effect. The back lighting which is primarily used in this scene creates an extremely mysterious and ghostly feeling which is the main technique used to establish the overall eerie sense  of the whole scene.

When I returned to my chosen location (in which I had to climb over my garden wall after it had closed to access the park), I felt that I had slightly mistimed it so that the natural light was too dark to film without artificial lighting. This meant that I could not film near the graves as I had planned. Because of this minor mishap, I had to locate an area in a different park of the park which had several artificial lights to create a similar effect to that seen in 'The Exorcist' scene. In a way, I felt that only using artificial lighting with no natural light sources (again, quite like in 'The Exorcist') made the setting and the clips in general more eerie. The artificial lighting was made up of multiple light sources on the one of the outer walls of the park. I used myself as the subject of the clips with my Dad filming the clips with my DSLR camera on a tripod. 

The first two clips we shot were of me running past the camera (in both directions) into the darkness/out of the frame. The minimal lighting creates an eerie feeling as the viewer does not know what else is in the setting or camera shot and feels isolated, much like the subject of the clips. The fact that the clips were shot at the same level as the subject make the audience feel closer to the action and almost as if they are in the shoes of the subject. I feel that the former of the following two clips are more effective as the subject is running into the darkness rather than past the camera which creates more mystery.

The following two clips that we shot are very similar to the content of the previous two, but were shot from a much lower angle to give a different perspective as part of the experimentation process for future reference (our final opening sequence). 

The following clip focused on using the silhouette of the subject as the main focus. I felt that the lack of identity and very abrupt and quick view of the subject added to the eerie effect of the clip.

I returned to the idea of anonymity in the next clip and wanted to make it so the audience saw as little of the subject as possible to create suspense. The shadows created by the subject are also very eerie and mysterious. 

The following two clips focus mainly on the fast moving shadow created by the light source behind the subject. The abruptness of the subject and the little time spent within the frame creates a sense of urgency which makes the audience feel as though the subject is in danger.

The following clip is a long shot so that the subject was in the frame for a longer period of time than in the previous shots. This creates an opposite effect to the abruptness reflected in the previous clips and gives the audience more time to realise what is happening within the scene. 

The following clip features a high angle shot which gives the audience a better view of what is happening within the scene. (Note that the clip goes on for a lot longer as it was more difficult to handle the camera when it was so high up. Although the clip could easily be shortened through editing, it was another problem I came across while filming and I thought that it was valuable experience to take into account for the future).

Finally, the following clip features a low angle shot where the subject almost jumps over the camera while running. This type of shot gives the audience a unique view of the action and what is happening within the scene.

Creating these clips gave me an excellent experience in taking all aspects of shooting a clip into account (e.g. camera shots, lighting, logisitcs, location) which I could build on for future reference. When I first started getting ideas from clips from existing horror films, I did not have nearly as much knowledge about shooting clips as I do now after completing filming the clips. Some problems I encountered whilst going through the process of shooting my clips will be addressed in the future, giving me a better understanding of the filming process in general.