Value of Research So Far

Whilst watching many films for my research I have picked up on a few techniques and certain frequently used shots that have influenced my ideas of our own filming.

 

• The majority of the films I have watched use ‘fade to black’ to end and start a new scene or cross cut to another part. The cross cutting and fade to black makes It much more grabbing for the audience as it is a dramatic affect. The dynamic cutting creates an unseen link between the characters and the opening introductions of the film. The audience then feels a greater interest as the link between the cuts are not yet in fact linked together just yet. This builds tension and anticipation for the audience. We will be hopefully using fade to black and most definitely dynamic cutting.
• Extreme close ups. This is the main thing I found in the research of watching all the films. Many use extreme close ups to detect a significant emotion on a persons face, usually anger or upset. It can also create a disorientating effect. It’s can usually use a shot of eyes or lips/teeth as they are the key features we look for emotion.
• Actors, you need the right person for the right character. Say if dialogue came before the acting you would imagine what that character would look like. Casting is important as you need the right person to make the movie realistic and appropriate for the type of film it is. We have chosen carefully on who will play each part to make the film more genuine.
• The other main shot I found in most films is the establishing shot. This shot is fairly obvious for the start of a film as it gives you a basic look and feel of the background of the person, or where the story will take place. I believe we will have a brief establishing shot to show the audience the type of family our story is telling.
• Canted angles. The angles show confusion and show something has possibly gone wrong. Considering were filming a horror film we will most likely use canted angles and it gives off a disorientating effect and point out something is wrong to the audience.
• Two shot shows a relationship between the two characters we chose. In our film I’d definitely use two shot for the two sisters as their relationship is vital to see to the audience.
• POV/handheld camera movement. These effects are useful for a horror film as its anticipating for the audience to see what the character can see from their own eyes. It physically puts the audience In the same point of view as the character, feeling more or less the same emotion. The view can cause nerves, suspense and chaos, perfect for a horror film.
• Close ups are used to show the significant emotion on the characters face, we will use this a lot In our film as we’ll need reactions and emotions to set the horror feel. There will be a few close ups used in my filming as we need that grasping emotion to make the audience feel possibly sympathetic for that person or study their emotions and make a conclusion on what happens next, especially as we’re filming a horror/scary film.
• Non-diegetic sound. We definitely need this for our filming, the type of sound you chose can ultimately set the mood/scene for the audience and let them lead to a conclusion on what will happen next. It is essential in a scary film as it’s quite stereotypical to have scary music before a major scene happens. The type of sound you play can set the mood, emotion or atmosphere for the film, especially in a horror film.
• Make up and props. You will need the right look for the character, as the two sisters in my film are young we will not be putting make up on them as we want it to be as natural as possible to make the scene more realistic. However we may make the mothers face more dark and gloomy, to set the feel that she isn’t all there. Props need to be sensible and link in to the film, otherwise it may not look as genuine as it might have done.