Camera Angles in Horror

The angle in which a picture or video is taken is vital when making the image look as scary as possible within horror films. The angle works with the lighting, and visual elements that are featured in the picture to make it as effective for the audience as possible. I looked at different camera angles we could use when it comes to filming our coursework to see which one had the most impact and gave the scariest view of the scene I had created.

I took a knife from my kitchen and covered it in fake blood, I used my little sisters and took pictures of them in our loft conversion as it is quite dark and shadowy, I used different angles when taking the pictures to see which ones gave the most scariest impression. 

I took this photo using a high angle shot, I thought this was effective as it brought direct attention to the knife straight away and also worked well with the shadowy low key lighting of the room to hide the facial features of her face, the angle of the shot also draws more attention to her eyes which makes the whole picture look as if she is possessed in some way. Also the fact that the camera is looking down on her highlights the fact that she is a little girl still although she is the demon of the scene.

I took this photo using a low angle shot, I thought this was effective as it is looking up towards her so gives her a more powerful image, it also adds a shadowy effect to her face so no key facial features are shown. The knife is covering her face also so it draws direct attention to it, and the lighting shows the words written on her top clearly "time to dream" which works well with everything else to add a creepy feel to the scene. 

 

I took this picture using a side view, this shows her facial expression clearly as well as her stance, she is looking directly at the camera as if she is staring at the audience and I think this shot works effectively to show her height and the length and power of the weapon. 

 

I took this picture using a mid shot, I thought this was effective as it shows her angry expression, it also draws full attention to the length of the knife and works well with the lighting in the scene as there is a shadow behind her which makes the knife seem even longer and more daunting to the audience. It also points out that she is a little child which makes it scarier for the audience that she is capable of controlling that weapon.