Here is the final evaluation of my short film (apologies for the formatting, blogger can be very awkward with formatting):
For my practical piece I made a horror film which drew inspiration from several short films which I studied. The film has almost no dialogue, so the story is all told visually, like in Olly Williams’ ‘The Fly’. Williams’ film uses camerawork, editing and performance to tell the story visually. The film uses lots of eyeline matches in order to position the audience with the main character and give an insight into their thought process, which I also did in my film. The main actor’s performance is also sometimes exaggerated in order to make their thought process more obvious; for example, at the beginning of the film, the camera focuses on the main character’s thumb tapping on the steering wheel, showing his anxiousness. I used similar techniques in the opening scene of my film by telling the actor to emphasise her confused reactions to seeing blood on her face (shown in Still #1). I think that I did this fairly successfully, as everyone who I have shown the film to understood the plot despite its minimal dialogue.
I attempted to use narrative structure for dramatic effect and to grip the audience in my film. I adapted Todorov’s narrative stages of equilibrium, disruption and new equilibrium in order to make the film both surprising and familiar. The film begins with the familiar equilibrium of a person getting ready for bed, until the equilibrium is disrupted by the appearance of blood on her face in the mirror. This threat gradually builds, reaching the climax of when the girl’s entire face is covered in blood and a horrifying-looking girl is standing behind her. After this, she tries to calm herself down and the blood disappears from her face, acting as a false denouement, as if we have reached the resolution of the film. The protagonist walks back to the bathroom to check her face in the mirror and, to her relief, the blood has disappeared. However, just as we think we have reached a new equilibrium, the girl appears again, this time in real life and not just in the mirror, leaving the story on a cliff-hanger. Through this, I have demonstrated the difference in narrative structure between short and feature films as, in a feature film, the ending would tend to tie everything up, however short films often end on a more unresolved note.
For my practical piece I made a horror film which drew inspiration from several short films which I studied. The film has almost no dialogue, so the story is all told visually, like in Olly Williams’ ‘The Fly’. Williams’ film uses camerawork, editing and performance to tell the story visually. The film uses lots of eyeline matches in order to position the audience with the main character and give an insight into their thought process, which I also did in my film. The main actor’s performance is also sometimes exaggerated in order to make their thought process more obvious; for example, at the beginning of the film, the camera focuses on the main character’s thumb tapping on the steering wheel, showing his anxiousness. I used similar techniques in the opening scene of my film by telling the actor to emphasise her confused reactions to seeing blood on her face (shown in Still #1). I think that I did this fairly successfully, as everyone who I have shown the film to understood the plot despite its minimal dialogue.
Secondly, I used similar tension building techniques to Caroline Bartleet’s film ‘Operator’, including the use of sound. Bartleet’s use of silence is particularly effective; near the end of the film after the phone call has ended, the sound dies away completely, emphasising how affected the operator was by the call. I tried to utilise silence in a similar way by contrasting it with moments of loud noise, creating tension. Operator uses ambient non-diegetic music which gradually builds to raise tension, which I used in my film as the threat-level increases. I think that this non-diegetic sound adds a lot to the uncomfortable atmosphere of my film. In addition to its use of sound, Operator also uses simple cinematography, with lots of static camera shots and close ups, forcing the viewer to pay close attention to what the actors are saying. I used a similar style in my film, but to varying degrees of success. On one hand, it makes the film easier to follow and adds a sense of stillness and supposed normality which some may find unsettling. On the other hand, the horror genre is different to the thriller genre as camerawork tends to be much more stylised with uncommon camera angles and shot types used to create unease. If I were to make the film again, I think that I would try to make it stand out more by using some more stylised shots, including low/high angles and Dutch tilts.
In addition to these set short films, I was also inspired by other short horror films, particularly those directed by David Sandberg. I borrowed aspects from his short film, ‘Lights Out’, such as the basic structure used to build and release tension. Like in ‘Lights Out’, I raised tension before partially relieving it with a small jump-scare towards the mid-point of the film. This lessens the audience’s fear temporarily, however the film then builds to a second, bigger jump-scare at the end. This structure is effective, although since it has been used in many short horror films it has become predictable so somewhat takes away the surprise from the film. I also was inspired by visuals in feature films, for example Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’. There is a scene in The Shining where two twins appear and gradually move closer and closer to the protagonist, creating a chilling effect. In my film, I adapted this to my concept by having the disturbing girl in the mirror get gradually closer to the protagonist every time she turns around (shown in Still #2). In my film, however, this feels slightly out of place as the girl has not been seen up until this point, whereas in The Shining the twins are introduced earlier on.
Another inspiration was the film ‘Echo’, directed by Lewis Arnold. This film inspired me with its use of ambiguity in character back-stories and motivations. In ‘Echo’, we do not fully understand the thought process and reasoning behind the main character’s actions - instead we are given clues to her backstory, then left to fill in the blanks. In my film, I tried to include very subtle hints to the character’s backstory, especially through performance. For example, when the protagonist sees the girl behind her in the mirror, I directed the actor to react as if she had seen her before, suggesting that the girl may be a person from her past. Also, the title of the film, ‘Reflection’, suggests that the events of the film may be mirroring past acts and events.
Another film which hugely influenced me was Ari Aster’s 2018 horror film, ‘Hereditary’. In this film, there are hints throughout that the hauntings which the characters are experiencing may not be real and may be a result of mental health problems (emphasised by the film’s title). In one scene, for example, a character tells his wife that she is imagining all the supposed hauntings. In my film, I included a long take where the protagonist whispers to herself, “this isn’t real, it’s all in your head”, providing a similar suggestion. The symbolism of the blood which she sees on her face in the mirror also suggests guilt about a violent action, perhaps murder. This is similar to in Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, when Lady Macbeth has visions of blood on her hands which she cannot wash off, so the audience may associate this symbolism with guilt. However, I think that this symbolism is much less successful in my film as – unlike Macbeth – there has been no setup to the character’s back-story, so we do not understand what her guilt stems from. I think that my film may be more effective as a scene in a feature film or longer short film which provides more back-story. However, although some may not understand this preferred reading from the film, an alternative reading of the film could be that the girl is simply being haunted by an unknown being, and I think that the film still functions with this
concept.
I attempted to use narrative structure for dramatic effect and to grip the audience in my film. I adapted Todorov’s narrative stages of equilibrium, disruption and new equilibrium in order to make the film both surprising and familiar. The film begins with the familiar equilibrium of a person getting ready for bed, until the equilibrium is disrupted by the appearance of blood on her face in the mirror. This threat gradually builds, reaching the climax of when the girl’s entire face is covered in blood and a horrifying-looking girl is standing behind her. After this, she tries to calm herself down and the blood disappears from her face, acting as a false denouement, as if we have reached the resolution of the film. The protagonist walks back to the bathroom to check her face in the mirror and, to her relief, the blood has disappeared. However, just as we think we have reached a new equilibrium, the girl appears again, this time in real life and not just in the mirror, leaving the story on a cliff-hanger. Through this, I have demonstrated the difference in narrative structure between short and feature films as, in a feature film, the ending would tend to tie everything up, however short films often end on a more unresolved note.
I tried to use micro-elements in my short film in order to build atmosphere and tension. I used low-key lighting to set a moody tone for the film, creating a sinister, uncomfortable atmosphere from the offset. If I had more time and the necessary skills, I may have also added a colour grade to the film with de-saturated colours and high contrast, which would act as a generic sign and would make the visuals match the overall tone of the film. I used the symbol of blood, which contrasts in colour to the otherwise muted palette, as a generic symbol of horror, building fear and tension. I also used editing, specifically the pace of cutting, to build tension gradually and subtly. The film begins with slow cuts, however as tension is build and released in certain parts of the film, the pace of editing increases and decreases in accordance with the mood of the scene. For example, in the opening scene where the girl first sees blood on her face in the mirror, the pace of editing gradually builds throughout the scene. However, when she gives up and continues getting ready for bed, this is contrasted with a long take which lasts about 20 seconds. I also used camerawork in a similar way, using tighter shots like close ups and big close ups on more intense moments (such as in Still #3), making the audience feel claustrophobic and boxed-in, contrasted by long shots for the more relaxed moments in the film, making it feel like the character has room to breathe.
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