Artist Research

For my final film i'd like to take inspiration from the work of Guillermo Del Toro such as The Devil's Backbone and Crimson Peak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhPayvENCX4

In the scene above, the devil's backbone uses a shot that lasts longer than all other shots in the scene in order to build tension before a jump scare. Close ups are also used during the shots inside the cupboard in order to make the situation feel more claustrophobic. One of the main themes of Del Toro's films, however, are his creature designs (Pans Labyrinth is a good example of this) - which is something i wll not be able to accomplish in my work, and so it will be based around only using shots to create tension & horror.

Due to this, Guillermo Del Toro may not be the best artists to look at, seeing as his creature and monser designs are so important in his films.

 Another director i looked at was James Wan, who has directed the Insidious films aswell as The Conjuring. These films also use shots which are long and build tension, which can bee seen in the clip below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOgC_YUyTYs

The camera tends to linger on something that is not in the foregound, gining the feeling that they're not safe where they are and the camera is hinting at what is putting them in danger. Rather than cange the shot it will zoom or pan. In this scene there are only 5 shots, the initial one lasting almost 50 seconds. The shots tend to decrease in length as the charcaters realise they may be in danger and the atmosphere becomes more intense.

 Unline Guillermo Del Toro, James Wan focuses more on the cinematography to create horror and tension, meaning he would be a better source of inspiration and reference for the film i have decided to make.

Planning for final project

- Horror.

- Slow panning / zooming shots.

- Long lasting shots to add suspense.

- Low key lighting.

- Electronic humming when near light source.

- Close up and long shots.

- Camera glitch effect.

My final film is to be focused on building atmosphere through the use of long shots and low key lighting. I plan to use low key and high contrast lighting, creating shadows. Characters will be absent for most of the film, and it will focus more so on the environment.

The film is to be more subtle, with the horror coming from the cinematography and lighting rather than monsters or gore. I have not yet decided whether sound will be an important part of the film, as i may make the film silent, or i could have sound be essential to the atmosphere.

I may also use a song as a backing track, making the film more akin to a music video, though this depends on the footage and how i feel it would be best edited. If i were to do this i would use a mostly ambient and slow paced song.

Post 3rd shoot:

-Closed eye

-Cooker flame lights

-Eye opens

-Leaving room

-Turns off flame + looks around

I am still unsue as to whether i will show any other being in the house or keep it
 in mystery. Showing something could break thetension i have built throughout the film.

Unsuccessful Shoots

While shooting my final film I had various issues. The first major issue i had was with the camera lens. Due to me wanting to use low key lighting, it meant i had to alter the cameras settings to accommodate for that environment. My first attempt filming resulted in the footage being too dark, and due to the aperture not being able to go any wider than it was, i had to increase the ISO. While this resulted in the right lighting, the footage was very grainy, with the whole film having an orange hue. This was using the Canon 600D's default lens, so i had to instead use another lens which had a high enough aperture that it could film in the environment.

The second lens i used was a 50mil, and while able to shoot in low key lighting, it's default zoom was too tight that i couldn't get the required shots. Due to me filming inside a house with relatively small rooms this made filming difficult. Another issue was its size. I didn't have access to a tripod at the time. and i was finding it difficult to execute steady shots hand held. These factors resulted in the footage being too zoomed in and also shaky.