The extract begins with a medium long shot, framed on either side by the shadows of the barn door. This encourages feelings of detachment in the audience to begin with, setting them up to later become more empathetic towards the victim feeling his fear. The long shot is used at the beginning to allow for a feeling of the arrival at the scene, and a sense of something malevolent arriving at the scene. The shot is aesthetically pleasing, and the effect of the black barn doors was not a planned one, but once viewed on scene it was considered useful.
The second shot is a low angle shot of the victim climbing the ladder, this is to convey height and make the victim seem to have some power to begin with. This power is switched later in the scene with the antagonist.
The next shot shows the victim’s feet touch the floor. This shows that he has reached ground level and is therefore more vulnerable than he was at his elevated position previously. This is used to make him seem confident in his environment, yet more vulnerable.
The next shot is very different. As the music is heard, the camera is positioned close up on the victims eyes. This is very personal and helps the audience identify with the unease that the victim feels upon hearing a foreign noise in his environment. The close up allows for increased detail on the victims face also.
This shot is followed by an edited sequence of the barn doors and the antagonist. The shots are framed to suggest at the view of the victim (mid shot, in order to create a feeling of being advanced upon) and then to show his emotion (close up of shoulders/head)
The next shot is similar to the opening shot. It shows the barn doors on either side to make the victim seem smaller. This shot is used to suggest at the view of an outside intruder, and to show the intrusive darkness outside (personified in the antagonist). The doors are revealed as mundane when the victim produces a torch, this is a major device in the extract as it is used like a weapon to dispel the darkness. The torch is then shone on the doors and into the camera. This gives the audience a brief sense of relief as the darkness is dispelled and the camera is "dazzled", shedding light on the scene.
A stark contrast to this is generated when the barn lights go off. This shot is briefly visible in its entirety due to the lights being on, but whilst the victim is visible, his back is seen, making him seem vulnerable and suggesting the antagonist is already in the barn. When the lights go out a torch is visible, again portraying it as a weapon. The mid shot (closer than the previous) gives a sense of closing in on the victim.
The next shot is a close up of a hand slowly retracting from the light switch, generating a sense of ethereality, but also reality. This makes the audience fearful as the victim is in the dark with something ghostly, malevolent and real enough to be dangerous to him. The close up of the what the torch reveals shows what the victim would see in more detail for the audience, implying he did not see it properly and giving a sense of tension and fear as the victim may be ignorant of the danger.
The next shot is a tracking shot of the victim walking through the dark barn, the torch outstretched as a weapon, searching for light, or a source of the music. This suggests at the antagonist watching the victim. Very importantly it is at a high angle, making the victim seem very weak in comparison to the dangerous antagonist (the light could have been improved in this scene; this was done later through editing).
The next shot shows the victims feet in the background walking past the camera, and the antagonist's respectively, in the foreground, stalking the victim. This creates tension in the audience as it is made clear that the antagonist is closing in on the victim.
The following shot shows torch rising, again weapon-like. This shows the fear of the victim, and creates suspense. The showing of only the victims arm creates disembodiment.
The next sequence is a shock sequence at the moment the antagonist is first seen in her entirety. The close-ups of her face and eyes especially create fear and horror in the audience. The lighting on her face contrasted with the background, making her seem ghostly.
A sense of identification with the victim and therefore fear is generated in the audience following the shock sequence with a POV shot of the victim and a whip shot. This creates a sense of terror and a desire to run in the audience, realised in the victim’s actions.
(Whip Shot)
As the door closes, the POV shot switches to one of the antagonist's. This helps to create horror as the antagonist is not seen, nor her actions towards the victim. Her shadow is seen looming over the victim as the camera races towards him (a flaw being that the shadow was recognisably myself holding a camera if looked at closely).
Peer reactions:
The cinematography worked well to create the desired effects was “genuinely creepy”. The camera angles were smooth and didn’t over complicate or seem too forced.
Areas for improvement could include lighting and shot variety. As well as more detailed study of the footage on scene to correct any errors.
The technique of antagonist P.O.V shots is used in 28 days later to create shock, similarly to the extract:
7.00-7.05
In the Grudge similar techniques to ours are used, for example at 0.17 the antagonists hand is seen, as with our light switch shot. Also at the climax of this scene, the victim is unable to open a door, in a trapped feeling similar to ours.
No comments:
Post a Comment