Film Shots Influences

Below are some of our favourite shots from our top 5 horror films. By looking at each trailer we were able to identify shots that we liked the best and influenced to decided what type of shots to use in our trailer.

Insidious














Establishing Shot

We felt this shot was good because it established the main location and the main reason of the plot was because this house was contaminated with demons so by using this shot, it identifies this to the audience. We wanted to use something like this in our trailer so we could emphasise the plot more and make it obvious to the audience. We would also like to pan up our establishing shot slowly to give more effect. 

Close Up
We felt that this was a good shot to use in our trailer. It really influenced us because we wanted to also have a clip of our main character lying in bed to emphasise the beginning of what starts to happen to her. This close up is really effective because it shows us the main subject of the shot, and it also emphasises the background by still having it in the shot. We can tell by this shot that something is going to happen in the background of the shot even if it hasn’t happened yet. We want to get this feeling when filming our trailer. 

THE CONJURING




























Establishing/Wide Shot
This was one of our favourite shots that we chose. We loved how the shot, at the beginning, had an old fashioned film effect to it, and then gradually went into focus and changed into colour. It just gives the feel that this house is very old and something happened here a long time ago and emphasises this for the audience. It also, at the same time, establishes the location and slowly zooms into it, which automatically makes the house creepy and makes the audience suspect something. We are hoping to achieve something like this with our trailer to present the main location.



Close Up
We really liked this close up as it gave a feel to the genre by the presentation of the prop. We think it's quite creepy and gruesome and links to our chosen theme for our trailer. We also love the fact that it's in black and white because it makes it look more dated and old-fashioned which emphasises the horror. We want to use a prop like this in our trailer because we have a teenage girl as our main character and the doll could emphasise the loss of her childhood.


MAMA












Wide Shot 1

We loved this shot because, although the girl in the shot is clearly the main subject, it doesn’t emphasise her existence. Instead, it focuses on a child’s toy/play area in the room which she clearly isn’t going to play with. This creates a contrast within the shot. The girl is clearly abnormal and isn’t like other children so she’s not going to play with the toy, but it still takes up nearly all of the shot. We also liked the way the girl is huddled into the corner. We think it makes the shot quite creepy and emphasises that she clearly isn’t normal. We want to have something like this in our trailer so we are able to make the changes in the girl more obvious. We want to present how normal she is in some shots, and then show how she gradually starts changing. 

Wide Shot 2

Long Shot

This is another wide shot that we liked from the trailer of ‘Mama’ We felt that this was a great shot 

because it presents the girl abnormality and also shows her room which seems pretty normal in comparison, which creates a contrast. We love how the girl is immediately presented as not normal after what’s happened to her. The shot, again, doesn’t actually focus on the girl herself, which makes the shot spookier when the audience does eventually spot the girl under her bed. 

Mid Shot/Two Shot

We liked the contrasting in this shot. We felt that the little girl is clearly troubled and had a difficult upbringing, but the close up of a ‘beautiful’ butterfly contrasts with her and she stares at it. The fact that the girl is also drawing on the wall emphasises the strangeness about her. 

SINISTER

Close Up
This is a close up of a young child’s drawing. We really liked this because it presents something that happened previously in the film through a drawing. The picture is quite creepy and because it’s a child’s drawing, it makes it more ‘sinister’. We wanted to include something like this in our trailer. We like the idea of a child drawing what happened/what’s happening to them rather than saying it aloud. We thought this was a really effective shot. The use of low-key lighting around the room really emphasises the object in the middle of it. Also, the fact that the box is the only item in the room makes it significant and emphasises its importance. An attic is also a typical location for horror movies so we thought it was good to have this location. 

Long Shot

We thought this was a really effective shot. The use of low-key lighting around the room really emphasises the object in the middle of it. Also, the fact that the box is the only item in the room makes it significant and emphasises its importance. An attic is also a typical location for horror movies so we thought it was good to have this location. 

This shot is the scariest shot of all of the ones we chose. It relates to our trailer because we wanted to some sort of ‘demon’ always following the girl so she could always see him. This shot was taken from a window and is from the point of view of the main character. After this shot is taken, the ‘masked man’ disappears when the main character blinks, which we found really effective and different. The use of low-key lighting here also emphasises the ‘masked man’ and helps the audience to know what to look at and identify him.

THE POSSESSION 

Close Up

We really liked this shot because it contrasts between the beginning and end of the film. This shot was taken at the beginning of the film, and shows the happiness and normality of the young girl and also her closeness with her father. However, the audience are aware of the plot while watching it, and so know that something is going to occur to her and makes her significant. We want to use a shot like this in our trailer to show how happy the girl is at the beginning and how she is unaware of anything she is about to go through. 

Wide Shot

This was another one of our favourite shots. We felt that the low-key lighting makes it really creepy and effective, and the use of the light from the window highlights the girl and makes her significant. We also liked the fact that she sat bolt up-right in bed which emphasises the start of her change. We want to include a shot like this in our trailer to show the audience she is beginning to change and for the main character to wonder what’s happening to her.

Close Up
Finally, we really liked this close up of the girl. Her eyes opened really suddenly in the scene and we like this because it shows she’s not normal and something is starting to happen. The fact that the audience can only see one of her eyes as well makes it a lot creepier and unsettling. Also, the lighting highlights only her face and nothing else around her, which emphasises her and also makes the audience think what could be in the room with her at that point.