Lurker

Conventions of a horror film

British horror films

Conventions of a horror film

British horror films are most often low budget and focus on the story and how to scare the audience where as other horrors tend to be full of action, gore and big named actors which all costs more money. This can often make the film unrealistic, and sets British horror apart.

The horror films we have so far looked at in class are Dracula, The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, Frankenstein, Nosferatu, Dead of Night, The Descent and My Little Eye. These horror films are all different and they tap into different fears people may have but they all have one thing in common, and that is that they are meant to scare people. To some people some films are more frightening than others for example the isolation in ‘My Little Eye’ might frighten one person more than the darkness, small spaces and monsters in ‘The Descent’, simply because people are scared by different things.

Most often horror films will be set in dark locations for example; Dark Streets, dark woods, old houses, isolated cabins, graveyards, basements, attics and caves. These places are all used because it taps in to the primal fear of the dark and if some where is dark it’s difficult to see who or what is in it, which also helps directors to mask the ‘villain’ and build tension. The camera shots are usually very expressive and often unnatural this gives the audience an overview as they can see everything that is happening which the characters cant, e.g. high low angles giving or taking the illusion of power and promoting fear. Point of view shots (POV) give the audience the ability to see into the monsters/villains or the hero’s world and see things through his/her eyes, an example of this is in the descent when using the camera, we the audience are seeing what the character is seeing.

Sounds are important in horror, the sounds are often loud and disturbing like a heart beating or footsteps, and this builds tension and makes the audience feel uncomfortable. Non diegetic sounds like music and low drowning are very common in horrors because they make the audience expect something before it happens e.g. walking down a dark hallway with a loud drowning in the background. The pace of the editing in important because if the speed hasn’t been picked up recently then there is a good chance something is about to happen this builds up the tension.

Certain styles can promote fear like the colour red and black which links to blood, evil and danger.  Lighting helps to promote fear also, an example of this is low key lighting which can help to create dark shadows. Props help to further identify the villain or character. Common objects in the horror genre are weapons, masks, icons of the supernatural, religious icons.

Elements of horror are present in both The Descent and My little eye

Both The Descent and My little eye tap into the fear of bring trapped and secluded. They are both cut off from the real world by their own doing. The Descent uses darkness to keep the audience in suspense, waiting for the light to come on so they can see whats happening next. where as My little eye uses pauses and cuts to different camera angles to build the tension. They both have the element of chase in them which picks up the pace of the film and prolongs the inevitable. where the mad man/creatures are chasing after them trying to kill them. The part of the film where the audience knows who's not to be trusted but yet the actors don't makes the audience scared for them as they have built up an emotional attachment by watching the situation the characters are in and almost felling responsible to tell them that they are in danger. And by just the audience waiting to see how they will find out causes the fear in the audience. They are effective horror films because they both have the skill of making the audience jump and be afraid which is what horror films are all about.

critical analysis of our edited sequence of 'bye bye kitty'

The production process went well we got the shots we needed and had fun doing it. The quality of the footage was good, we had a fairly large amount of footage to edit but only a small amount was usable. The editing went very well as the mixing of the different shots went together easily. the conversation flowed and most importantly made sense. The effect of both the parallel and contrapuntal sound made where very different. the contrapuntal sound made the conversation very comidic where as the parallel made the conversation more serious and dramatic. The improvement from the last project is that we are more organised with our time and have improved our knowledge of how to control the camera and work the editing software.

Bye Bye Kitty

A critical analysis of our edited sequence.

The production process went well because of the in depth planning we had, which made it easier when filming. The simplicity of the story meant we all understood what was going to happen. The shots we used included: panning up, down and across, low angles, close up and extreme close up. Mid shots, and over the shoulder. The camera shots were steady due to the correct use of the tripod. We had more shots than we needed which helped at the editing point. What I have learnt is not to rush through the filming to try to squeeze in all the shots in one afternoon. what we should have done was to take our time and do the shots the best they can be.