Editing + Bone clicking

For my practical I decided to look at possession, but in particular, the unnatural bone clicking that seems to occur frequently during this sub-genre of horror. I took inspiration from 'The Devil Inside' when a woman clicks her bones and seems to pop out of her natural body, implying possession. It also seems to 'freak' the audience out slightly as it seems like amazing special effects have been used. However, I think the true horror is down to the non-diegetic sound they use to create an illusion.

And also here, from about 1.06, in The Last Exorcism. The sudden movement with the non-diegetic sound makes a huge impact and is sure to make the audience jump.

From this I started experimenting with Final Cut Pro after having a lesson from Jack, who has produced excellent trailers and other sequences. I firstly filmed my friend Ella in the drama studio as she moved her arms in ways that might make clicking sounds for a possessed person. I went on freeSFX.co.uk (pictured below) and searched for breaking bones sounds. I also ended up using a 'snapping a bread stick' sound. After downloading these, I imported them to my project on FCP. I muted the sound on the original footage and put in the breaking noises where appropriate. It could be difficult trying to put in the sounds at exactly the right place, but after learning how to zoom and use FCP properly, it became simpler as I went along. I put the effect of a video camera over it as well as 'Bad TV', which is another effect. I altered some of the colours slightly, just to make it seem like it was a 'found footage' style sequence, with a girl cracking her bones. 

This was my first result:

After this first attempt, I decided to use other footage to see if I could sync the sound any better. I also altered the volume of the different cracks...

I think that firstly, her movement seemed scarier and more unnatural, compared to the first video. Also, the different volumes and variation in breaking sounds also made it seem more realistic and so my second attempt was generally better than the first. If I were to re-do this, I'd film in a better location to add to the horror part of the genre. However, this was an initial attempt to try and see if I could use Final Cut Pro to edit sound and visuals. I'd definitely like to try and make some of my own breaking sounds and play around further with mise en scene to try and create a really terrifying 'bone cracking' scene.