Lighting in opening sequence practical

I am aware that lighting plays a prominent role in creating certain eerie atmospheres which link into and conform to the horror genre. For our opening sequence, I knew that lighting would play a prominent role in creating a disturbing and eerie atmosphere in the possession scene we shot recently.

• Below are several photos of a bright light I had in my house which I thought would be ideal for creating light in our scene. I thought the light ideal as it is very bright (240W/70V bulb) and has a reflective inner surface which, in an otherwise completely dark room, would add to the sinister and eerie feeling.
• I also felt the light was ideal for our opening sequence as it has old-fashioned aesthetics which adds to the eerie and bleak atmosphere that is carried by the dark room and the possession scene that is taking place inside.
• The light can be adjusted using various screws which allows me to create different angles which is ideal and necessary during filming. 

I wanted to experiment with how the light would look in a dark room as it is projected onto the walls. I first looked at the light reflecting onto a bare wall on its own and without any filters. The photo below shows the light reflecting onto a bare wall on its own.

• Although it can't be seen fully in this photo, the lighting created by the light on its own is very harsh  and raw which I feel conforms to the horror genre as this harshness lends itself well to the harsh and eerie nature of the contents of the possession scene.

I then wanted to compare this raw light reflection to the same light but with different filters to create different effects. For filters I placed different coloured plastic bags over the front of the light and looked at the different reflections they made on the bare wall. Here is a picture of the light with a blue plastic bag over the front.

• Although this photo also doesn't give the full effect of the blue plastic bag over the front of the light, it is clear that it gives a distinctive blue tinge to the light that is reflected. 
• The blue plastic bag creates a cold and desolate effect which could be useful in many genres but I do not feel it is appropriate for our opening sequence which is of the horror genre. 
• The blue tinge is quite subtle which could be effective in giving film a slightly different atmosphere.

The photo below shows the light with an orange plastic bag over the front. 

• The effect created by the orange plastic bag is much more prominent than the effect created by the blue plastic bag. 
• The orange coloured light created by the plastic bag is also very strong and would be effective in creating an atmosphere for a variety of genres, one of which being horror.

In conclusion, I feel that the different filters used with the light could be effective in creating different atmospheres in various genres. Despite this, I feel that the raw set up for our possession opening sequence would not suit lighting using different coloured filters. I feel that the light created on its own and without filters is most effective for the type of horror sequence we are creating.

Mise en Scene and Lighting Checks

To prepare for the filming of our two minute supernatural horror opening I had to do some lighting checks for the garage which is outside of my house and we have decided will be the place we are filming, to look like a basement where the possessed girl is kept. I also had to find some scary looking houses from the outside which we could shoot using an establishing shot right at the beginning to make it look as though that is where it is being shot.

I took these pictures at about 3 o'clock before it got dark, I think this would be a good time to start our filming as in a video it generally looks darker than it actually is, and we still want to be able to see the room and what is happening. Also we can take lots of different shots so we would also get some with it being slightly darker so we can compare them to the lighter ones.

There is some work to do in the garage, we have to put some white paint over the smiley faces that have been drawn on the walls, tidy away some of the clutter that is around the floor and board up the windows to make it seem more closed in and also so that less light gets into the room so it seems more like a basement.

This is the first scary looking house I found which I thought would be good to film at the beginning of our opening, it is only round the corner from my house so would be easy to get footage of and also looks very creepy. It is called 'the long house' it goes back quite a long way, I think people live there but I have never seen anyone go in or come out and it is usually very dark and quiet. I took the picture at about half 6 which I think was a good time as there was still light from lampposts but it was dark so added a scarier effect to the house.

This is the second scary house I looked at for the beginning of our filming, it is also only round the corner of my house so would be easy to get footage of, and it has some distinct features about it that I liked which I thought would stand out for our work, such as the top arch shaped window at the front of the house and how it is shaped it is very slim and goes back quite far. It distinctively stands out from any other house on the street which would work well at fitting the convention for our genre. I also took this picture at about half 6 which I thought was a good time as it looked effectively spooky.

Using Lighting To Convey A Supernatural Horror Genre

To receive ideas for using effective lighting in my final piece, I have researched different types of lighting used in supernatural horror films. Below, I have taken some shots which denote different types of lighting, as a way of experimenting how and which lighting to use in my sequence.


• The shot above is from the film 'Insidious'. Low key lighting effectively helps to set a daunting, spooky connotation of the house. By looking at this, audience expectations would be raised, as an audience would expect to see spooky, supernatural movement occurring within the location.
• The time of day is at night, as seen through the pitch black background. The time of day therefore, can be an easy method in conveying a specific atmosphere. Below, are images I took of my Gran's house at night.



The low key lighting signifies a haunted house.

• I also received ideas from films such as 'Paranormal Activity'. A night vision type light is used from the camera's POV. 

 

• Below are shots I have taken, which use a night vision type visual effect. To apply the effect, after I took the shots, I used editing. The editing process was simple - after taking the shots from my phone, I applied an editing technique called 'process'. I also found that many visual effects can be found from many photo editing apps. As well as applying the effect, I ensured a source of lighting was used, as I found that without lighting, the image would be quite hard to see.

 

• Artificial lighting is another effective lighting technique. After conducting some research, I found that the use of lighting through candles for instance, is a good way in creating a religious atmosphere.

 

 Evaluation

Overall, my task went well. I concluded that the time of day has a huge effect to the lighting shown in the shot you take. The type of camera also has an effect. I used an iPhone, with a fairly good megapixel. Cameras with a megapixel of below 5, may not display your choice of lighting too well. One weakness I found however, was in the use of candles. Furthermore, the resulting shot would expose the candles hugely, as their brightness would tend appear brighter than normal. To reduce this issue, for my official piece, if my group and I wish to use candles, a better quality camera may help.

Possession Lighting + Editing

I looked at different stills from possession films to try and see what conventions there are for filming a possession. As seen in this images, it seems to be quite common to have a dim room, or low-key lighting with some kind of ambient lighting, like a lamp or candles.

I also watched some videos on YouTube of ways to create different types of light in a horror film.

Then I played around with torches and candles in my bed room to try and re-create a similar setting.

Here, under lighting is used to slightly distort the face and create shadows. We could use under lighting during the possession as it casts shadows and so adds mystery to the character.

I then tried to play around with lighting for the bed, which is where the possession would take place as this is a common convention for a possession/exorcism film.

This video shows how a torch can be used to illuminate the face to make it appear a lot scarier and along with makeup can make it look discoloured and demented - exactly what we need for a possession.

Evaluation 

If I were to do this again, I'd definitely film earlier so the results could be clearer. Also, I need more powerful sources of light as my torches weren't good enough and only give a bit of light. As well as this, I'd need to spend more time finding better looking candles, as pink tea lights aren't very scary! Ideally, I'd be able to get large white candles with wax melted all down them that look like they'd been used before.