I have decided that my short film will be in the paranormal subgenre of horror. This genre is all about ghosts and ghouls, the unknown and mysterious unexplained happenings.
Features include:
Jump scares- Building up tension to make the audience jump in surprise when the music changes or something happens on screen.
Dramatic music- Using music to aid the tension and enhance the eerie atmosphere
Ghosts & spirits- The antagonists are usually ghosts or spirits, often of the deceased come back to haunt or get revenge.
Possession- The ghost or spirit gaining control over the characters, making them commit acts.
Haunted houses- Common setting for the subgenre, often the home of the ghost.
Religious themes- Use of the Devil, demons and Hell are typical of the genre, using these to frighten an audience.
For my short film I plan to include the themes of ghosts and hauntings, using dramatic and intense music to help create tension and a build-up to a jump scare. My antagonist will be the ghost of a girl who drowned in the river and continues to haunt the area and lure people to their deaths, including the 'controlling', 'possession' themes typical of the genre.
For my short film I have set up a plan. It will be a supernatural/ghost film involving two characters, minimal dialogue and artistic camerawork.
Characters:
Lily- Protagonist, young girl of 10 years, long hair, naive and innocent. Child victim.
Morgan- Antagonist, ghost of teenage girl that drowned in the river. Messy hair, pale.
Plot- A child goes out for a bike ride to an isolated field by the river, encounters the spirit of a girl who drowned. i.Film underwater, light rippling on surface. Title shows ii.Lily is tying her shoe laces, sitting on the stairs. Gets bag and cardigan, leaves house. iii.Goes to the garage, opens it and then collects bike. iv.Rides bike through the fields, reaches destination and leaves bike beside tree before walking towards river. v.Picks up a stick and breaks it in half, then walks onto bridge and throws them over the side. vi.As Lily runs over to the other side, antagonist’s reflection appears in the water beside her. vii.Lily heads back, but finds her bike missing.
viii.Becomes hypnotised, gets lured into river
Camerawork and Editing
Artistic filming style. Angled shots, pans and close-ups. Slow, distant shots as well as tracking shots.
Lights Out, developed by Swedish director David F. Sandberg. It was first released on Vimeo and Youtube, and was winner of 'Best Short' at FANT Bilbao 2014. The film begins by introducing the protagonist, an ordinary female heading to bed in her pyjamas. We as an audience already get the sense that she is vulnerable. When she goes to turn off the light and a shadowy figure appears at the end of the hallway our antagonist is introduced. The unknown creature causes our protagonist to grow panicked and she tapes the light switch down in an attempt to keep it on. She goes to bed but the lamp beside her begins to flicker and the light in the hallway turns off. The light soon comes back on and our protagonist believes she is safe, only to be met face to face with the creature when she turns to look. The film shows excellent use of lighting, having the creature's figure outlined when it is first shown at the end of the corridor to emphasise its unsettling form. In our protagonist's bedroom, the lamp gives the room a dim light, enough to keep the keep the monster away (or so we think) but enough to create an eery atmosphere. At the end, when the monster's face is shown, it is illuminated by the light of the lamp, making its disturbing features such as big, blind eyes and unnaturally wide mouth stand out. Use of sound in this short is particularly strong. The loud click of the light switch emphasises silence of the rest of her house, making her seem more isolated. The clicking light switch is the only sound we hear until the figure is seen standing right next to the bedroom door, and at this point we hear an eerie sound effect used to increase tension. While the woman is under the covers, hiding, we can hear footsteps. These are made to seem louder by the absence of any other sounds and get louder, suggesting the creature is getting closer. We cannot see the antagonist however, which helps to build tension while the audience listens to its footsteps. Regarding Mise en Scene, the setting is typical of a horror film. A lone woman's suburban house at night. The woman herself is wearing her pyjamas, displaying her as vulnerable seeing as she is not protected by much clothing. The creature is not shown properly until the very end but while it is standing in the hallway we can see its figure, which appears a little abnormal. Throughout the film we only see the hallway and the bedroom. The hallway is long and bare, making for a better effect on the audience when the woman turns the light off and the monster appears. In the woman's bedroom, there is only a bed, a cabinet and a lampshade. From the bed, the door can be seen and we are given the woman's point of view when the hallway light turns off and she can see through the slightly-ajar door.
For a film to be considered a 'short film' it must be no longer than 40 minutes. Because of this limited time space, the film must keep its plot concise and easy to follow. Generally, the cast is small, keeping to a small group of characters and avoids complicated backstories. They're usually low budget and because of this, they often take place in everyday, ordinary environments such as in the home or a forest, making them relatable.
Short films typically use expressive and artistic camerawork, using unconventional angles and pans that wouldn't be used in big Hollywood movies. Sound is a very important aspect of short horror films. Sound can help narrate the story and build tension and fear in its audience. Sounds like heartbeats and creaking floorboards are very effective.
Some short films are later tuned into longer feature films, such as Mama and Lights Out, which started as short films. Todorov's Narrative Theory states that all films follow a similar plot. At first there is equilibrium, where everything is balanced. Soon there will be disruption and a problem will arise. Next, the characters will become aware of the disruption to the balance. They will then try to restore the balance and resolve the problem and by the end there will be equilibrium. In the Lights Out short, we are shown balance when we are introduced to the character, a woman in her pyjamas in her home. The disruption occurs when she turns off the light and a shadowy figure is visible and she realises that it is only visible when the lights are off. She attempts to resolve the issue by keeping the lights on and hiding under the covers. There is no restoration of equilibrium in this short however, as the figure is revealed at the end and viewers are left on a cliff-hanger.
The first film in the horror genre was The Devil's Castle, made in 1896. Following this were films such as Nosferatu, Frankenstein and the Werewolf of London. Earlier horror films focused on the supernatural and things that weren't real, such as vampires. Towards the end of the 40's and early 50's the focus moved to exaggerating real events, playing on speculation and society. Themes of apocalypse start to show, with films like Godzilla and The Day the Earth Stood Still. After this the horror genre began to focus more on the fear of human beings ourselves, as is evident in Psycho, released in 1960. Later on towards the 90's horror films used the idea of the real to scare its audiences, with films like The Blair Witch Project causing its viewers to question it.
Conventions of horror films include:
Jump Scares/ Fake Scares
Suspense
Disturbance
Tension
Darkness/ Night-time
Psychological themes
Isolation and separation
Death
Unknown threat
Confined (no escape)
Blood/ gore
A chase
Screaming
Good vs Evil
Dependence on sound editing to create affects
Eerie setting
Ordinary characters the audience can relate to
Lone female
Society
Senses (Usually blind or unable to see clearly, hearing noises but unable to see the source, smell, touching a surface that feels unusual or out of place)
Sub Genres of Horror
Supernatural
Paranormal
Slasher
Apocalypse
Suspense/ Thriller
Religious/ Satanic
Sci-Fi
Gothic
Rampant Animals
Splatter/ gorenography
Erotic
Dark Fantasy
Comedy
The Horror genre is one of the most popular genres of film. Many people enjoy being scared and getting the adrenaline rush that comes from fear. Some are interested in the dark, scary unknown. However some people do not enjoy the genre, nor the disturbing feeling that comes with it.
Genre Theories
Daniel Chandler says 'Genre is defined by the conventions' however he only right to an extent. Many conventions are seen in multiple genres, not just the one, and conventions change all the time, meaning the genre also becomes slightly different to what it may have been like in the past.
Jonathan Culler states 'A contract exists between creator and reader concerning 'audience expectations' of genre'
