Reflections on Shots - Homework 1 (BLK)

We chose to centre most of our shots around Horror, because given our limited locations and props, it was the easiest genre to represent in our shots. Horror stills often feature extreme lighting, very dark and sometimes a bright flash of light. The subject of my shot is a young women, but the shot raises questions about whether she is the victim, or the villain. She is staring directly at the camera, engaging with the viewer as if she can see someone and is either trying to get their help and escape, or is coming after them. It raises enigma in the viewers mind. The shot is also very darkly lit, with a small amount of light hitting the subjects face, creating a feeling of suspense, enigma and also horror.

To achieve this effect...
1. Dark/dingy setting - We used the school basement and turned off all the lights in order to create enigma around the shot location and the subject. Darkness creates a sense of horror and the fear of the unknown.

2. Low key lighting - We used very low key lighting on the subjects face, in order to make sure you could see her facial expression and the door frame.

3. Framing - We used a medium close up in order to make sure you could get a sense of the characters facial expression, but also the 'frame within a frame;' the character is behind a door frame, and the medium close up enables you to see this, whilst adding enigma around the characters location.

In my opinion, the best feature of the shot is the lighting, which shadows the subjects face and creates enigma, but also because it creates a horror effect, as the lighting is coming from below the subjects face, which creates shadows and casts the character in some dark/some light, which is often associated with someone half in the light and half in the dark, they have two sides to their character. The way the character is looking directly at the camera also engages the audience with the character, so they feel like part of the shot.

However, if I was to improve my shot I would choose slightly tigher framing, around the subject and her hand, in order to engage the viewer even more with the character and her 'stare.' I also would have made the lighting on the subjects face a more high key, to contrast with the dark background and to create a larger focus on the character.