Chosen Genre

Paranormal Activity

Before the movie introduces the characters we usually have a slow establishing shot of the key location  most of the film may take place in and will be significant through the film. This is froma  neutral perspective, but in the rest of the film,  we are often in a POV shot  as it gives more of an impact to the audience seeing things from the character's point of view. It also limits what the audience sees, making it easier to make them jump.

 

 In a horror film, there is usually one main victim.

Above is the main character involved with 'Paranormal Activity'. As an actress she suits her role as she looks like a normal female adult. We see her in clear day light to establish her looks and characteristics, which are again, normal and suited for the role she plays as she is innocent.
 

 

 We have a panning shot showing the neighbourhood they live in, and we get an idea of what their lives are like, we find that they are a happy, well off couple. This makes the horror more dramatic as the characters have a content life. This is quite stereotypical in a horror film. And we expect everything to go down hill from this point onwards. We also already gain the fact that in day light, nothing yet seems to be happening which is ‘scary’ or ‘weird’ so we expect it as it gets to the night.

Another character gets introduced, who character seems perfect for a boyfriend role, cheeky, funny and cute. As most of the film is in POV we gain a relationship with the characters as they become intimate with the camera. In a stereotypical film POV’s are used when the characters are becoming in danger or something is going to happen which will affect the character. In this movie POV is used for the audience to become familiar with the characters and the surroundings and see what they see.

Stereotypically the horror happens at night. We have a shot showing the couple as well as the room in hand, showing the room is significant. Having a full view of the room can make it more scary as you don’t know what will come from where and it makes the audience feel tense.
 

As the nights get worse and go on…the relationship between the two main characters is now breaking down as they have distanced. This shows the effect the horror is having on them and is very stereotypical in a horror movie, relationships drift or become more intense in some way because of the pressure of the spooky event.

Yet again in the dark and a slight canted angle something has happened to the main character. This is again stereotypical. This shows the film will be getting darker and more sinister.

Close up of the main character as things get bad for her. This makes us feel sympathetic for her as her facial expressions and the unflattering close angle makes us feel for her.
 

As things gradually get worse, a two shot shows the point the relationship has hit. We feel sorry for the characters and expect things to get worse as we see they do as well. The way the camera has been positioned makes us think something is watching them, which is a common trope in horror.

The final bit of the movie is based in the dark and the bed is empty due to something happening to the main characters. It builds suspense as the door shows pure darkness and the audience doesn’t know what or when something will happen. Suspense is and mysteries are key features used in horror films.

We are working in the horror / psychological thriller genre. I'm pleased we have chosen to film some of the shots in the evening as darkness is so key. We’ve chosen our actresses wisely so that physically they fit the characters we’re trying to create.  Although I've taken shots from throughout the film and we are only filming the opening, I think the ideas here are still relevant.