Horror Genre Reasearch - Cinematography

 

Horror Genre - Cinematography

 

 

A key part of horror films is its quite striking and familiar cinematography used within it, making the film more recognisable to audiences as a horror movie. Many of the different styles used help to add to the atmosphere that the film is trying to present, by often unnerving or scaring an audience.

 

A common camera shot seen in many horror films is that of a extreme close-up, which has the camera zoom in very close to a characters face, showing their facial expressions clearly to the audience. This is useful for film makers as it can help show the emotions a character is feeling much more clearly to the audience, as they can see every little twitch and movement in their face, as well as more obvious expression of emotion. This helps the audience relate to the character, as they can clearly see how they react to a scary situation, making them feel the same. This is also used quite often to show the villain of the film, working the same way to emphasise their emotions, but in this case the evil and fear they are projecting.    

 



 

 

Another type of cinematography technique seen in horror films are 'Dutch tilts', which shifts the framing of the shot slightly on to its side. What this does is make the audience feel uncomfortable throughout the scene, as they can tell that the scene is not straight, but its only tilted slightly, making everything seem not right. This is also used quite often to present a distorted world, with the character in question often hallucinating or panicking throughout it, presenting the inhuman aspects of the villain.        

 



Poster Research #2

The Mist (2007)

 

 

The poster is mostly dark with only the bright mist giving the only light on the poster. We can clearly see the man holding the young buy gazing through a huge window. This suggests that these two are going to be the main movie's protagonist as they are in the centre of the poster and are the only people in it.

 

Despite the mist being easy to see, you can't actually see what is inside, helping it to create a mysterious atmosphere of the unknown. It will help make people want to see it as they want to know what is lurking in the mist, and possibly if the protagonist will survive it.

 

The movie's tagline "Fear Changes Everything" suggests that the unknown monster might not be the only antagonist in the movie as if people are involved in an unknown scenario such as this that it might alter someone's sensibility and rightful thinking, which will make the viewer wonder who?

 

It also has a unique selling point with it being based on a novel by horror novelist Stephen King and being directed by Frank Darabont who directed critically acclaimed movies such as "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile", so as many people like both their work, they would go to see this movie to see if it is like the others.

Individual Genre Research - Cinematography

The key part to any film is the Cinematography, if the shots don't look right then the film won't look as good as the directors hope. The Cinematography within Horror films can be easily recognised by audiences as they has become so commonly used and are conventions of that genre.

The most common shot in Horror films is an "Extreme Close-Up" this is used to show the characters emotions through the use of Cinematography. Whether its the Protagonist or Antagonist, the Extreme Close-Up allows the audience to connect with the characters in either a positive or negative way depending on the character. It allows the audience to feel sympathy for the Protagonist as they're often the one who are trying to escape, it also allows the audience to sometimes the Antagonist's psychotic nature from the evil and fear they're projecting through the facial expressions.

Another shot is the "Low Angle-Shot" this is used to make the audience feel intimidated almost as if they're in the shoes of the Protagonist, being chased and hunted down. This is again used so the audience sympathises with the Protagonist and feels what they're feeling.

"Long Shots" are used to set the location for the film and are usually used to show the isolated location that the characters are trapped in, this again is another technique used so that the audience sympathises with the characters but to also create a sense of fear of large, empty, open spaces.

Poster Research #1

Evil Dead (1981)

 

 

This poster is bare with a picture of a young girl being pulled underground by a demonic spirit while she is trying to free herself. This portrays the horror genre in a very causal manner as we can see the type of situation she is in and what the antagonist might be.

 

The dark colours of the sky and ground contrast with horror genre the movie is wanting to portray a frightening and vulnerable atmosphere as this person is all alone and has no escape. It also represents the night which is where most horror films are set.

 

Despite it being a low-budget movie at the time, the poster's selling-point in order to attract the audience is that there is a quite from horror write Stephen King. due to King being a well-known author at the time and some of his novels being adapted in movies, people will want to go and see due to him praising the movie. The writing is white which juxtaposes with the dark background which helps to make it easy to read.

Individual Genre Research - Iconography

Iconography is the collection of images that are used to represent something. For instance, the Iconography of Horror films are the images we expect to see within a Horror film and what's so commonly associated with the Horror genre. The visual images, symbols, or modes of representation collectively associated with a person, cult, or movement.

For instance; within the Horror genre we expect to see blood and gore and as Horror films have developed over the years, the amount we expect to see has changed and increased. Blood within a title sequence can foreshadow death within the film but is more commonly used to represent and identify that some one has been injured either minor or fatally which can be linked within the horror franchise as blood and gore is so commonly used, especially with The Saw franchise (2004 - 2017).

Also within horror films, spooky objects and possessed objects are featured, this are used to make the audience feel uneasy and creep them out. These are featured in multiple horror films and some of the biggest horror franchises such as; The Chucky Franchise (1988 - present) and The Conjuring Franchise (2013 - present) which are big parts of the Horror genre. Usually through the film, these creepy items haunt and stalk the characters before attacking them and killing them, sometimes the main characters survive and end up destroying the possessed item (or so they thing) only for the item to still be intact and returns to haunt someone else.

Dark, isolated and gloomy locations are another iconic part of the Horror genre. These locations are usually where the characters get trapped, separated and murdered one by one. They also help build the atmosphere and set the tone of the film, for instance; the film The Woman in Black (James Watkins, 2012) is set within a haunted house, the tone of the film is very uneasy and unsettling to watch as all the dark corners of the room may be hiding something. Another example is if the film is set within some woods, for instance; The Forest (Jason Zada, 2016) shows how the characters are isolated from the rest of the world and how they've got to fight alone to stay alive.

Individual Genre Research - Titles

A title sequence is used to credit the main cast and crew within a film, any other cast and crew are usually featured at the end of the film in the credits. Within a title sequence we usually get the name of the film, the director, the main cast members and other crew members such as the director, producer, writer etc. Horror films have an array of title sequence designs, ranging from simple and straight forward to  more complex and intriguing . Depending on how you want your audience to react or how much you want your audience to know will effect the title sequence. It also helps set the tone of the film.

For instance, Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978) has a very simple title sequence, revealing no information about what might happening within the film or any information regarding the film apart from the fact that its set in Haddonfield, Illinois during Halloween Night in 1963. A simple title sequence like this leaves the audience wanting more, wanting to know more but also builds the audiences anticipation for the first scene of the film.

Another good title sequence that is similar to Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978) is Saw (James Wan, 2004), this is a simple and gritty title sequence that again only features the production logos, director and title of the film before throwing the audience straight into the action of the film, the short title sequence helps keeps the audience hooked and won't bore them as they're thrown straight into the film with a minute. There is nothing to suggest any plot elements to the film or any information on what will happen which is again another nice aspect as it leaves the audience wondering.

Individual Genre Research - Editing

Like any genre of film, Horror films follow the conventional editing and techniques that are featured within almost every modern blockbuster film. The aim of the editing is to keep the audience interested in the film and not letting their curiosity or interest drop throughout the film. In Horror films the editing is used to create the atmosphere for the film by creating an uneasy and unnerving feeling, for scenes intended to shock the audience then the editing would fast paced, cutting from one shot to another and never focusing on one thing for two long as this gets the audiences heart beats racing and builds up for what is usually a jump scare at the end.

Another edit is the complete opposite to what I've just mentioned, another way to build the suspense through the editing is to have it really slow paced, building it the scene and atmosphere by slowly cutting to each such as it builds an uneasy and unnerving feeling for the audience, it also builds their curiosity and slowly prepares them for a large shock/surprise.

Individual Genre Research - Camerawork/Cinematography

Every genre has the typical types of shots, angles and cinematography that are used throughout the production. There's a wide array but there's a lot we've come to expect which symbolise a Horror film.

The most common shot used is the Jump Scares which is a techniq
ue often used in horror films and is intended to scare the audience by surprising them with an abrupt change in the film that is usually accompanied by a loud and frightening sound which is used to scare and install fear in the audience. This is also commonly used in the lead up to another scene that will shock the audience.



Some Horror films used the style of found Found Footage which is a style/form of production in which the film is shot from the perspective of the characters and is their P.O.V of the events unfolding around them. A popular style in the past and is still a very prominent technique within the film industry even though viewers believe its become a worn out gimmick, found footage is still a relevant genre within itself in the horror genre. With no of the shots being smooth and carefully shot, the unpredictability leads viewers to constantly be on the edge of their seats.



Another one is underexposed footage, most memorable horror films and scenes takes place within a dark location or outside during the night-time. The absence of lighting creates a feeling of unease for the audience as they're unsure what will happen next. This also helps add to the atmosphere within the scene and the entire movie as it gives off a sense of dread, the feeling that something is lurking in the shadows and the feeling of impending doom. To achieve this minimal lighting is usually the best as it helps create the uneasy feeling but makes the shot more effective.