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.
We've decided to look at the idea of possession for our supernatural horror film opening. After looking at many different possession films and also after reviewing our survey we carried out with the public we noticed that religious elements within a possession film was quite conventional and also was something that the audience of our film would like to see. I focused on the idea of using a bible as there is many different ways we could use it within the film:
- thrown into a wall.
- pages flicking open on there own.
- blood written over the pages.
- pages missing stuck on the walls.
- particular words circled that would have a scary meaning.
- religious drawings on the pages.
I decided to try a few of these ideas and take pictures to see which ones I found the most effective that we could use in any idea we decide to go forward with, even if it is not possession we still want the idea of religion to be presented in some way within our opening.
This is a bible under top lighting, I think this was effective as it showed clearly what it was and also gave some interesting shadows as it contrasted the rest of the dark room.
This is the bible laying open, we could use this in our opening if it randomly flung open to a significant page or was thrown across the room and opened on a certain page and be shown in this way on the floor.
I wrote across the pages of the bible the word "die" I used fake blood and I think it worked effectively, if we went with this approach we could think of lots of different words or drawings we could use instead to have a big impact upon the audience.
Here I circled key words from the bible that stood out to me using the fake blood again, we could choose specific words that had relevance to our opening and have close up camera shots of the pages to make it as effective as possible.
Here I ripped pages out from the bible and stuck them on a plain wall underlining and circling certain words and drawing pictures over the pages to make it look as though someone is trying to figure something out from them. I think this would be effective on the wall of one of our scenes in our opening to set the scene and also give it some sort of religious reference.
I found a scene from 'The Rite' to deconstruct as we are looking at the idea of possession for when we make our supernatural film opening. Also after we had completed our media survey many people chose the option of having a religious element in our opening or a religious prop to be used e.g. a bible or a cross. The Rite is a religious based film featuring possession so I thought it would be a good idea to look at it in particular to get an idea of how we could use religious elements within our own work effectively. This is the scene I chose to look at:
The scene begins with a man sitting down looking quite distressed, his skin is an unnatural looking colour and he seems very agitated. There is another man standing up opposite him holding what looks like some sort of cross symbol in his hand, he says "in the name of Jesus Christ I command you speak your name" he is talking very powerfully, this appears to be some kind of exorcism. Low key lighting has been used and it looks as though they are in a very dark and empty room. The camera is using a panning shot, circling continuously around the pair of them so we get a full view of what is happening. As well as the diegetic noise of the man speaking there is also low non-diegetic music playing in the background.
An extreme close up shot is used showing a metal cross symbol hanging from somewhere, this image is only on for a second but it is very effective to show us that religion is playing a key part in this scene and is a big part of the exorcism that is taking place. The man who was talking originally is continuously repeating "I command you give me your name", his voice is becoming more and more aggressive as it continues and you hear it in the background of this cross being shown. There is still non-diegetic sound being played in the background but it is very low and quiet as more emphasis is being put on the voice of the man.
We are then shown for the first time a full close up shot of the possessed mans face. His skin is an unnatural red colour and his veins are clearly shown through his skin, his eyes also clearly show that he is not in a natural state at that moment. The man next to him continues to shout at him holding the cross directly at his face "give me your name" he is becoming more aggressive with his shouting as it continues, and the non-diegetic music becomes louder.
After the build up of him continuously shouting at the possessed man and getting no response he eventually sits up from his possession and shouts loudly, we cannot clearly hear what he is shouting but he sounds as though he is in some kind of pain. He's eyes roll backwards as he struggles in his seat and throws his head backwards whilst he screams. Whilst that is happening straight cut edits speed up and begin to switch to different images around the room that have some reference to religion, a large wooden cross is shown shaking as if the noise is having an impact upon it, it is brought to the audiences attention that they are in a place of religion.
Mise En Scene (Including Camera Angles/Shots And Lighting)
Production titles have been used in the opening between 0.00s to 0.16s. Typography has been manipulated in order to create an eerie first impression, helping to complement the genre. This is achieved through the use of changing Warner Brothers' colour scheme to black and white. The colours have ghost like connotations.
The audience first see an extreme close up of a horrific looking doll. The shot enables us to receive a direct address; inviting the audience into the doll's possessive look. This fulfils audience pleasures, as we instantly receive a shocking image.
A two shot denotes two young women reporting an incident. The shot enables the audience to see how they have experienced this terror together, equally.
Note how low key lighting has been used to help create an eerie atmosphere - the type of lighting holds dark, negative connotations being appropriate for the context of the sequence.
A low angle, medium close up is used when the two enter their apartment. The shot connotes someone waiting for them as they enter, telling the audience something negative may occur. The height of the camera angle suggests the doll is waiting for them.
A high angle shot denotes a piece of paper with the phrase "Miss me?" written on it, in red. The red font has connotations of death and blood. The audience can see the girl's hand holding the note, allowing us to almost view the note from her perspective.
Under lighting has been used for the low angle shot of the blonde girl. The under lighting enhances the girl's facial expressions which show fear.
Close up shots are used to denote certain objects which have been mishandled. The shot type effectively exemplifies the destruction the possessed doll has caused.
Low key lighting has been consistently used throughout this part of the sequence, in order to hold the spooky atmosphere.
A long shot has effectively been used when one of the girls appears to opening the door, in response to the thumping. The shot connotes that something unappealing will appear from outside.
A close up of a male is denoted. The shot raises an enigma within the audience, as the audience are unaware of who this character is. The use of low key-lighting further questions the male's role in the film.
A two shot denotes the male and another unknown character, a female, blond haired and blue eyed. The shot connotes they may be a team in the film, or even a couple.
Camera Movement
When the victims are retelling their experiences, a steadi cam is used to focus the audiences' attention towards the characters. In this way, the audience are able to examine the characters' facial expressions accurately.
Tracking is used to follow the woman's movement when picking up the note. The camera movement effectively allows the audience to feel as though they are experiencing the incident.
As the girls move down the corridor, the camera zooms out. The movement effectively builds audience expectations, as the audience expect to see something shocking being revealed.
A zoom is used again, but this time the camera zooms from the high angle shot of the doll being thrown into the garbage bin.
Editing
Straight cuts are made use of in order to make occurrences more sudden.
Sound
The opening is introduced with non-diegetic sound. The sound initially sets a daunting atmosphere, making the audience receive a spooky vibe to the film.
The audience then hear diegetic dialogue of the words "it scares us just thinking about it". Already, the audience assume that a scary incident has occurred. The fact that the sound is off-screen, the audience become more suspicious and curious to know what is happening.
From the rest of the dialect, on-screen diegetic sound, the audience can relate to the sub-genre of the film - supernatural horror.
Non-diegetic sound again is used. This time it builds suspense when the girl is opening the door, to see if the doll has violated anything.
When the immediate straight cuts are used for the vandalised objects, a low note of a piano is used. The non-diegetic effectively complements the sudden straight cuts. It has negative connotations.
On-screen diegetic sound is used for the crayon rolling. The sound is synchronous to the movement - adding to the realism.
The audience hear non-diegetic eerie music, with diegetic sounds such as, the bin lid closing. The closing of the lid is loud, and effectively concludes the incident, allowing silence to be made more pivotal.
Sudden diegetic door thumping sounds are heard followed by on screen diegetic door creeks. Therefore, sounds have effectively conformed the conventions of the film's sub genre.
'The Devil Inside' is a documentary-style film made in 2012 following a woman who wants to find out about her mother, who murdered 3 people, after being possessed by a demon. Naturally, the film involves scenes of possession which helps us with inspiration and ideas for editing technique.
Firstly, there is use of special effects in this film as they make the body twist and contort in ways that appear unnatural and therefore make it seem as though the character is possessed. This is quite common and is expected when watching a possession film. There is also the use of non-diegetic sound at this point (cracking of bones) to further creep the audience out and take it a step further.
During this sequence there are straight-cut edits to jump between different points of view, adding to the chaos of the sequence. It makes the audience feel disorientated and anxious as the cuts are fast and jumpy.
Again, special effects are used in this film, in the picture it is clear that the body has risen in the air in an unnatural manner, as if she is possessed. This adds an element of supernatural to the film and creates an illusion of possession.
Sometimes the film is edited to distort the image, like in this example. It is black and white and seems to be malfunctioning. This is common in supernatural films as it is believed that demons/spirits interfere with camera equipment. This adds to the realism of the film and makes the character seem demented and twisted.
In this image the character looks even more crazed and demented as her teeth are distorted and made to look like sharp fang-like teeth, through manipulating the image in post-production. For the audience this adds to the idea of the possession and has connotations of the devil and evil in general.
As well as this, they have used a professional looking font to make it look like a real tape, adding to the realism of the sequence. Also, if it looks real then this is more likely to scare the audience.
Also, as this is a documentary-style film they have clips from supposed real life exorcisms. Here, it is the camera man filming a clip being shown to some of the characters. The clip is in night-vision and very grainy. This adds to the realism of the clip and tries to make it look authentic to go with the documentary-style. It also means that the audience can't see what is going on very well, meaning there is a build up of tension and fear as they don't know what is coming.
Evaluation
For our own possession, I feel we should use visual elements as well as sound elements to make it as scary as possible. Using filters and blurriness could be good as it would be easier to do on an editing software than acting. Also, the cracking of bones could be easy to recreate as we could use a whole host of objects, like twigs, to crack and it would make it seem like the bones were bending unnaturally.
After watching supernatural horror films, I have noted many common conventions. The following are images I have taken which show how I have tired to conform these conventions.
After watching supernatural horrors such as 'The Conjuring' and 'The Possession', I identified how religious elements are usually portrayed.
The following are shots I have taken which denote religious symbols:
Low angle shots can be taken to express religion as a saviour, as they portray religious elements to be dominant.
Props such as toy dolls may appear in the genre. 'The Conjuring' is a good example where a toy doll is used to show demonic movement.
This doll gave me an idea as to how to create a possessed looking one. I simply used make up to give my sister's old doll a terrifying look. Here are some shots I took:
Close up shots tend to be used in order to bring out detail. To make the doll look horrific, I used eye shadow, making its eye almost look bruised. Lipstick was used to make it look rather gory, and the eye patch made the doll seem more dangerous.
Under lighting is an effective visual element in helping to create a frightening look on the doll.
Having extreme close ups is a good technique in fulfilling audience pleasures. This is because the shot allows direct addresses to be made, inviting the audience into the possessed doll's eye.
Some films reveal supernatural figures, such as 'The Grudge' and 'The Ring'. These films are known for having girls with extremely long, dark thick black hair covering their face. E.g.
Here are some shots I took to represent possession:
The high angle helps to portray a young girl, with long hair falling over her face.
Low angle shots represent supernatural characters as dominant figures. Under lighting helps represent possession, as the lighting connotes evilness and terror.
Evaluation:
To conform religious elements more conventionally, I would have to use a bible more commonly seen in supernatural horror films. I found that applying make up was useful in making the doll appear possessed. Lighting techniques turned out to be very effective in building possessed characters, especially under lighting. I must ensure in my opening, that a light is placed not too far away from our possessed character, as this can limit the eerie effect, hence causing disruptions to our mise en scene.
As further research towards our supernatural horror film opening we created a survey for members of the public to fill out about what type of opening they'd like to watch and what they would expect to see from a professional one in the cinema. We made 8 questions for them to answer and after tweeting it several times from our personal twitters and also posting it on Facebook, we managed to recieve 76 responses so we could get a clear idea from a large variety of people about what they would expect to see. These are the results we collected:
The results showed that the prefferred location for our opening would be an abandoned building, this means when considering locations we will try and find some abandoned buildings to look at and consider using them once we know what plot we want to use.
The results showed that the majority of people would prefer there to be no dialogue in our film opening. We were already considering not using dialogue as we want to make it look as professional as possible without proper actors.
The results showed that most people would want our villain to be a little girl, this means we will do more research on possession as this was an approach we were also thinking about.
The results show that most people want a build up to be used in our film opening, this means we will have to think about our plot carefully, as well as certain sounds we use and special effects to create a scary atmosphere for the audience.
The majority of people said they wanted sound and music to be a main factor featured in our film opening, this ties in with wanting our plot to be a build up. We can use the sounds we put in to our advantage to make it as scary as possible to fit the supernatural horror genre.
The results showed that the majority of people wanted one of our props to be a religious object for example a bible, we can use this in many different ways and we can now do research about different props used in supernatural horrors to see which ones are most conventional and are the most effective.
We asked people what their favourite supernatural film is, out of the options we gave the most popular one was 'The Conjuring' we also gave people the option to write a film down that wasn't featured in our options, we received 14 comments suggesting films such as 'Insidious' 'The Entity' 'The Exorcist' and a few others not related to genre.
Finally we asked whether religious elements should feature in our opening and more people said no than yes although it was quite close. This contradicts the prop question as most people said they wanted the prop to be a religious object, we are still going to be looking into religious elements going into our opening and will carry out research shown in other films to do with that.
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.
