Coursework: Mood

The main way that we wanted to create mood within our piece was by the use of lighting coupled with sound. On my own I did research into lighting that is usually used in horror films. I found that most horror films use lighting from underneath the character, this is done to highlight certain aspects of their bodies, or to show them as important. In shots which involve a set they frequently use lighting that appears quite natural but slightly distorted. Also known as Noir Lighting, it is known for its harsh that light that scams across the face, this helps imply mystery as it creates a lot of distinct shadows. This also implies a two faced nature as half of the character is covered.

An example of this type of underneath lighting was in The Blair Witch Project, in which teenagers were chased through a forest in one of the first, majorly successful, found footage films. The low key lighting creates an extremely dark and realistic look to the film.

 

A classic horror film, The Exorcist, uses a different type of lighting, the almost spotlight-like lighting used is linked into the films theme of religion, and how it plays a major factor in the films plot.

We attempted to recreate the lighting that is common in most horror films, the blue tinge to the shots creates a depressive and dark atomsphere, often used in horror films to enhance the scenes and generate a larger response from the audience.

Another way that horror films create mood is through the use of music, both diegetic and non-diegetic. In films such as 'Psycho', directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the music that has been used has become iconic, instantly attributed to the horror genre. The high strings, fast paced music creates a sense of unease, increasing the audiences response to the film.

Many horror posters follow a similar set of motifs, with there often being a central image, or figure to instantly attract the focus of the audience. This is the coupled with the title of them film, against done in a typical horror manner to emphasise the type offilm it is going to be. The final signifier that is commonly used in horror posters is the use of red in the poster. The colour red itself is an extremely vibrant and attention grabbing colour, this alongside the connotations of violence or blood lets anyone that is viewing the poster know what type of film it is. Although these examples are posters, some signifies of genre used in them will be adopted into our own opening.  

(this was all done by me and I've other members of my group use it as reference.)