. ANALYSIS OF PIVOTAL SHOT TYPES

In creating the horror trailer, I was able to identify the importance of variety of shot types and angles that are used. These shots and angles are used to establish the genre of the film and possibly the events that are to follow. Normally the first image included in a horror trailer is the establishing shot. 

In the collage you can see there is a shot of a graveyard and this scene was filmed in the middle of the day. You can see a small figure in all black that appears to be walking through, that is me.  This establishing shot is used to portray one of the many settings for this trailer. With the very first scene being set in a graveyard, there is a level of not only fear but also a level of consternation as this is an environment that people choose to avoid because of its link to the supernatural. This was shot using a tripod, in a range of ways – however we chose to include the scene filmed with the tripod in a stationary position to provide the audience with a feel of the character being watched. This scene was inspired by Carrie (1976), as in the ‘graveyard scene’ the character of Sue Snell approaches Carrie’s grave. Much like the character Riley who approaches the mystery grave finding ‘the chain’ that our narrative is centred around.

The second image is a close up of the necklace on the gravestone, the image was taken as an over the shoulder shot. In this scene you can see the necklace on the grave, the necklace denotes the possibility of events of an evil nature taking place in the very near future because of its connection with the rave and graveyard. Therefore the range of angles that this scene is filmed with, provide fear and also alerts the audience that they should track each movement made by the character in this scene. By highlighting the movements of the characters protagonist you are able to guess what will happen next and can also understand their character a little bit further and attempt to conquer the enigma. The enigma’s in this particular scene are ‘why is she taking the necklace?’ and ‘who’s is it?'.

The third image is a wide shot, if you look closely you can see there is a figure in the background looking in the direction of the camera/ this is the character Lilith Woods, who is played by Dawn Gallant. She is awoken by the main protagonist Riley, due to her relationship with the necklace. We hoped that with this shot the audience would understand that the necklace actually belonged to Lilith in her past life. The blood splatter on her dress allows the audience to interpret that she is either badly injured or a zombie/corpse. With Lilith standing closely to the grave that Riley found the necklace on, we can see that Riley’s actions (taking the necklace) mean Lilith is willing to do anything to have it returned to her final resting place. This is clear as she has come back from the afterlife. We chose not to zoom in on the grave at this time as we wanted to convince the audience that the character Lilith was the one who was laid to rest in this grave. Due to the fact that the grave itself had an inscription on it, the name of the actual individual we thought it best to not highlight who this person was. Therefore making the grave an appropriate prop for our narrative due to the identity of the individual buried to be concealed.

Image four is an over the shoulder shot, but it’s done from such an angle that you see both the character of Liltih and Riley. This is extremely harrowing, as Riley is completely unaware that Lilith is following her, The use of a wide shot, was important in portraying he contrast between the very calm surroundings and the disequilibrium introduced into the scene as Riley’s life is now in danger.

Image five was taken from a low angle, this type of angle is normally used to show that this character is powerful and is used to strike fear in the audience due to them being forced to look up into the eyes of our villain.  She’s at an angle which is slightly threatening hut still encourages the audience to be inquisitive and wonder what it is she will do next. With the use of this shot, we can see that Lilith is breaking the third wall. This technique is used to engage the audience further by showing them they should not be exempt from feeling a level of fear due the fact that Lilith appears to be inside the screen. This scene is also set in the graveyard, as this setting is crucial to the trailers narrative as this is where the narrative begins.

Image six is also a wide shot, and this shows Lilith walking over to Riley’s bed. This scene is extremely menacing, as most would describe their bedrooms as a sanctuary. The safety of this sanctuary is now being jeopardised due to Lilith invading it. The danger becomes amplified with the presence of Lilith in Riley's home, Even though Riley has no idea that Lilith is present in her room, the scene is still frightening as it supports the audiences fear that ‘just because you can’t see I, doesn't mean it’s not there.’

Image seven was a hand I shot that I had the opportunity of directing, this shot was effective because it showed the audience that there was a level of real danger that was amplified by this character. The hand held shot actually acts as a control for the amount of fear felt because of his character. This is because our attention is focused at only one place, her eyes. The use of a strong stare and a slow walk, normally frighten the audience completely. There is no need for the villain to chase after the victim because they will catch them eventually e.g this is the case for Halloween, Prom Night and Psycho. The infamous ‘slow walk scene’ solidifies the fact that the villain refuses to give up, and seeks complete revenge is very frightening because they don’t have to run to induce fear into their victim.

Image eight is one of the most frightening of all the shots in the trailer because, Lilith is seen here in Riley’s garden. This scene is a mid shot and was filmed late at night, as it was so dark we had to film with a lamp so we were able to see Lilith’s face. The use of lighting on her face shows that there is an amount of terror we should feel because of the way she is superimposed in front of the dark environment. She becomes the main focus, and therefore we play close attention to her hair blowing in the wind. The movement of her hair is inspired by ‘The Ring’, and the use of the setting being at night ensures her shirt stands out, and the cuts and bruises on her face. We realise exactly how dangerous she is by the expression on her face which is quite harrowing. We made sure that this scene lasted for some time because we wanted the audience to feel slightly uncomfortable as her lack of movement is frightening.

Image nine is an extreme close up, from a slightly canted angle. The use of costume make-up in this shot, is very effective as the audience are able to interpret further the type of character Lilith is, meaning she is to be categorised as an ‘other’. She’s something to be feared because her eyes connote a sense of insanity. There is a saying that ‘the eyes are the windows to the soul, with Lilith’s eyes being so dark we can see she has a very dark and evil nature.

Image ten is a close up shot. The print screen of this scene is not as clear as others because of the amount of movement of the camera. We used a pan for this shot, and you can see the character of Lilith is looking at the very sharp knife lovingly. She does this in a very concerning way which is intended to frighten the audience. With iconography being a convention of the horror genre we chose to include a weapon. This allows the audience to interpret that this film includes elements of a Slasher, much like Psycho (1960), although the trailer could also be categorised as somewhat supernatural. 

Image eleven is a medium close up of Riley’s hand, it is possible to see that out of her palm the necklace dangles. This shot encourages the audience to question if Riley will/has survived her encounter with Lilith. The use of the necklace in this scene makes it apparent that the necklace is the cause of all of the events that are taking place. The significance of us using Riley’s hand also, is she picked up the necklace with her hands and now it seems that the necklace has resulted in her near death experience. Throughout the trailer Riley’s weakened through all of her encounters with Lilith because she does not understand the necklace is dangerous. This aspect of the narrative is inspired by the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which also has horror and Gothic qualities.

The twelfth and final image is a shot of both Riley and Lilith in bed together. Riley is sleeping peacefully, and Lilith is staring at the camera in a menacing nature. This shot is frightening, this significance of the use of a high angle shot shows the strong contrast between the naïve character, Riley and the malicious villain, Lilith. This moment in the narrative is supposed to frighten the audience more than any other because of Lilith’s ability to invade Riley’s space so easily without Riley knowing.