Behind The Door - V2 (Four Hour Film Challenge - Horror)

Four Hour Film Challenge: Horror Genre.

BRIEF & PLAN:

BRIEF MESSAGE

For this weeks film challenge, we were given the horror genre - which our group are familiar with. To save time during planning, we decided it would be better to show improvement than to do a new idea which would take away valuable time which could be spent on working on other units. For improvement, we looked at everything that was pointed out in the critique that could be worked on. This included:
- Conforming to the 180 degree rule, so the viewer can follow the storyline
- Scarier reactions, to convey tensions and an enforcement of the narrative.
- Closer editing between shots.
- A real 'horror' jump scare.
We thought it would be a better idea to explore the location prior to filming so we could find any narrative devices that could benefit a better and thought out project. To our surprise, we found the word 'HELP' carved inside a cupboard, in a room we filmed in previously - filming in this room was an improvement we needed to fix anyhow, as we broke the 180 degree rule and there was not much significance held. We also thought about using an LED light, however, after trialling this, it was proven to be too bright - causing a lack of conformation to the horror genre. We decided to stick and alternate the positions of our phone lights. As advised by Billy Moss, we watched 'Lights Out', the conventions of this film used shot/reverse shots and match on action editing. There is also evident use of non-diegetic eerie sounds that help build up tension in conjunction to setups in lighting which variates between low-key (mostly used) and soft light setups (Example: the lamp being the only light source in the scene). Taking inspiration from this, we decided to variate between a silhouette as the 'ghost' / 'dark figure' that haunts the location to the character searching the location; creating a parallel storyline (put together later in parallel editing).

FILMING & EDITING:
It was important when filming in lowkey lighting, that we were considerate of the exposure triangle. We shot with the aperture at the lowest f/stop - which i believe was f3.5. The reason behind this is to allow as much light into the lens as possible; the shutter speed remained at 1/50 and the ISO was bumped to ISO 3200 - although there was visible grain in the shot, there was only so much we could do with the light sources we used. Filming overall was okay, we ended up filming multiple takes of the reaction shot as we wanted to improve and make the reaction as 'real' as possible, offering verisimilitude and reality within the audience response. We also practiced using some of my own personal photography knowledge, using rule of thirds and pull focus - from the character to the cupboard door.The editing was a simple process also, we took our existing Premiere Pro CC file and took away half of the footage, until the main character reached the first door (after the mirror dutch angle scene). I stabilised the handheld footage which created a distorted effect on certain clips -similar to the turbulent displace tool; although it was a mistake in the editing process, we decided to stick with this as it offered a disoriented perspective that the audience could follow and not be confused by. I used the razor tool to chop up the silhouette clip and the 'HELP' clip. We then structured this with flashes of each clip, offering parallel editing into the mix. Within audio, we used the Adobe Premiere Pro (Horror) Sound Pack for the 'help me' whisper you hear and the scream at the end. The non-diegetic eerie soundtrack was the same from before. We added audio effects to the scream sound effect - we used the 'reverb' to allow an echo (creating a sense of isolation and abandonment of the location) and also changed the pitch, to a more realistic woman scream.

CRITIQUE:
Within the critique, the feedback was much more positive than before, people preferred this version and some said that they "were actually scared". If we were to improve on anything, it was storytelling and also make sure the mise-en scene (the characters outfit) is all the same. Just to allow background to what was going on in the scene, but overall it comes with practice. I am very pleased with how this project went, If I were to change anything myself, it would to simply add a letter box frame, to create a more cinematic look.