Within my project I'd like a reoccurring theme to appear throughout my website design, poster and final product. I feel this would give my short film a unique recognizable aesthetic that stays consistent throughout. Most films and media productions in general have their own aesthetic that stays present throughout, I'll go through a few to get an idea on how to achieve this myself.
Throughout both of these images, not only have the producers decided to use the same pink and green colour scheme, they have also used the same art style/filter on them. A lot of horror films have quite obscure styles and conventions so when I'm creating my own poster and website, I'll keep it in mind to have a certain filter or art style that is present.
The fonts and typography used are also consistent throughout although there is a few fonts. The actors' names in the poster are written in a font that I feel fits the theme of the film a lot more, whereas the title of the film itself is in all caps and bold colours. Using multiple fonts to convey different things is an aspect I will also take into account.
The first thing I noticed is the dark and gloomy atmosphere of not only the setting, but the typography and tone in general. This is obviously going to be common in a horror film, but it's an element that needs to be added. If I were to record in daylight in a seemingly safe area, it wouldn't have the same effect as recording at night in a woods. The basis of every horror film is the tone, and this is set usually by the setting and lighting of each scene. The setting of a horror almost becomes a character in itself, setting the mood for everything that happens.
Another thing I'll go over is the enigma associated with the antagonist in the short film. The main character is shown on camera a lot, almost every shot is the female with close ups, medium and long shots making her relatable and easy to follow as a character. The antagonist, however is very rarely shown and its' presence is only clear due to the fact that the main character is afraid and there are small hints that there is something wrong. This is shown in specific scenes like the doors of her car locking by themselves. This doesn't overtly show the antagonist, but makes the audience aware that he is there and is a threat to the character. I think this is what makes a horror film scary. Not disturbing or scary imagery or music, but the atmosphere these things create. In my own production I will aim to create a scary atmosphere along with a ridiculous or silly plot line, hopefully creating humour.
One more thing I noticed is the use of audio throughout the scene. There is a lot of ambient sounds like things you would regularly hear in a city, perhaps giving the character some sort of security. This is mixed with an ambient, scary background noise that makes the audience feel nervous for the character as if there is obviously something wrong in the scene. This, mixed with the occasional shot with the frightening antagonist makes for quite a spooky atmosphere. Like the area she's in should be safe but isn't. A lot of horror directors actually aim to do this. Taking a seemingly safe and secure place and associating it with horror makes people nervous.
All of these elements are very useful to me as I'll be able to use them in an unconventional way with an unconventional story hopefully making my own short film scary as well as humorous.
This is a very good short film to analyse as it has the same sort of effects and themes that I am going for in my film. It does a great job of making a parody of the conventions in the horror genre, some of which I was planning on using.
The consistent type of scare used throughout is the main character looking at different places and the same mop being there, mixed with a creepy audio cue. This same sort of thing is used across the horror genre as a way to make something seem paranormal and strange. This is emphasised by the fact that the main character never really mentions it to his friends until later in the video, which would be a good idea to do straight away.
The premise of the video is similar to mine and is executed quite well. The "villain" or antagonist is virtually harmless yet it seriously scares the main character for whatever reason, which can also be considered a parody on the horror genre.
Lots of different villains in the horror genre are usually harmless like the classic Chucky or the saw doll. The use of audio through the video is very interesting and I can use some of the same techniques in mine. The overly creepy and mysterious ambient sound throughout the video makes for a spooky atmosphere with is contrapuntal considering the obviously harmless situation our main character is in.
I will do something similar, with a very scary atmosphere like a normal horror would have, mixed with a completely harmless enemy.
The colour grading throughout is very dark and brownish, with some extremely artistic and over-the-top shots making the essence of the film very serious and dark. This is a technique used by Edgar Wright in a lot of his films, with very well done and artistic lighting and editing mixed with a comedic premise, it adds comedy to the films in an ironic way.
