This short film by Blackbox TV contains similar features to the short film I will create; atmospheric music, fast paced editing, most shots are in darkness, point of view shots and a twist ending. It also has the same target audience of my film of teenagers, like most horror films.
Sound
The music throughout the first three minutes is building the tension of the chase scene further. It has violins creating an eerie non-diegetic sound that are slowly becoming a higher pitch and getting faster. The music also becomes distorted whenever the camera is on the group of people dressed in doctor overalls, showing that they are not human. It also begins to have people shouting echoing when they are shown on screen.
Whenever the boy is shown, the diegetic sounds are much louder than they would be normally, for example his footsteps, him breathing and his attempt at trying to open a door. This is showing that he is alone, so that is all he can hear and also showing how louder things are when you're trying to be quiet and panicking.
As the tension is building and the violins are increasing in pitch and speed, there is a high pitched squealing sound being played that is also getting faster and higher, increasing the tension and showing time is running out. All the sounds begin to come to a crescendo and a woman at the front of the group turns round suddenly with blood round her mouth and shouts something that echoes. Having all the background eerie music stop, makes her sound standout more and marks the moment of the group's faces finally being shown and clarifying they are monsters, as they have blood round their mouths.
Another one of the group's faces is shown as he shouts back to the woman, as if they were communicating in a non-human language, furthermore indicating they're non-human qualities.
Then an eerie tune is heard, which is often repeated throughout the whole clip as a sound motif. The tune is played while the boy is running, with some distorted and muffled sound is played under it.
The sound of the groans and breathing is heard while the boy is running, showing the group are catching up with him. A guitar is then faintly heard, gradually increasing in volume under the sound of the group. The sound of drums is then heard and the song "Exit" by "Final" is heard and the groans and breathing of the non-human group are faintly heard, showing the final part of the chase sequence. As the group are getting nearer to the boy, the groans are getting clearer to hear and when they finally catch him, they are the dominating sound and the song is only faintly heard in the background. The woman of the group leans over the boy and says something in a distorted voice and the boys shouts "No!". It then cuts between the bloodied, non-human woman laughing in the dark corridor they were running down, to her in a swimsuit, in the daylight shouting "Breathe! Breathe!".
Things similar to the clip I will use in my opening
- The use of the distorted speech and loud, fast music made the audience believe the woman was the antagonist, although she is seen speaking normally and the sad music is played towards the end, showing she is the protagonist
- The use of normal things being louder than realistic, to show being alone
- The use of eerie sounds to create an uneasy atmosphere
- Having the non-diegetic sound increase in volume, pitch and pace to create tension building
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| The boy opening the door, but as he is by himself, things seem louder |
Mise-en-scene
The clip starts off with the dark and deserted corridor and the boy running down it with a torch, immediately setting an eerie atmosphere. The boy running is dressed in white, connotating purity and is often shown to be under the dim lighting of the corridor. However, the non-human group are shown to be in the dark and look as if they are dressed in very dark clothes, connotating evil. Also, they are shown in a dark green tint, possibly showing envy.
The room the boy is next shown is has a black and white chequered floor, which when the camera is moving very fast can make the audience feel uneasy. The group then come to a room that seems to be lit more than the other rooms and the corridor, which the boy is in - showing him to not be dark and evil like the others. When they are going into the room, their shadows are reflected onto the wall behind them, showing to increase in size on the wall, representing their power dominance over the boy. The group's faces and outfits are then shown for the first time; dressed in hospital overalls and all having blood round their faces; immediately indicating they are the antagonists. As they are walking away, the corridor is shown to be seemingly endless, as if there is no escape. The boy then runs towards the lit side of the corridor, showing there is an escape to the darkness.
A room full of graffiti is then shown, contrasting all the shots previous of the hospital; being shown as clean and well kept. Written in red, possibly representing the blood round the groups' mouths and evoking danger, is The End Is Near, REVENGE. This immediately makes the audience realise the group of people are looking for the boy to cause him extreme pain and also causes them to question what the boy has done in order for the group to want revenge. The woman from the group then rubs her hands over the wall, showing the matching of the blood on her arms and face with the blood on the wall.
The boy then gets to the lightest part of the corridor, although it seems to be locked. It tries to open it and in doing so, creates a lot of noise, to which the group respond to and run off the find him - contrasting the clean, light corridor, to the graffiti and blood covered wall. The boy finally opens the door and enters a very dark room, suggesting he hasn't escaped the darkness and evilness. He then begins to run down the new corridor, which gradually is becoming lighter, although the group are gradually getting nearer. The boy then runs down the normal lit corridor, which has a door at the end - letting light through and has the exit sign above it, signalling his escape route. The walls of the corridor are then shown to be red, connotating the blood and danger seen previously and the group catch up with boy and pin him to the floor. The woman's bloody face leaning over him is contrasted with the reality shot of her in her swimsuit, with the sun in the background and very bright daytime.
Things similar to the clip I will use in my opening
- Using a dark setting and dark lighting to connotate evil
- Using light to show purity
- Telling the story with images, rather than speech (exit sign)
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| The light coming from the door is showing the way out |
Camera
The clip begins with a wobbly tracking shot of the boy running, so its as if the camera is in the point of view of the boy as he is running, making the audience relate to the boy and feel as if they are in his shoes. It then cuts to a close up of his face, to portray his fear he is showing. A long shot of the back of the group is then shown, all walking with their hands by their side and squashed together. It cuts back and fourth between the contrasting shots of the panicking boy running around and the seemingly calm group walking around the same place.
The group seem particularly eerie as we have yet to see their faces and just their backs. The shots of the boy are very quick, to show the panic and are very slow when of the group, showing their calm state. Also, the shots of the group seem very stable and of the boy seem wobbly, showing the difference between their collected state and the boy's agitated state.
The shots of the group then change from the backs to all of them, to the camera being positioned as one of the group, so the audience feel uneasy that they are part of the strangely calm group. The shot of the group going into the same room as the boy is a low angled shot, showing the group are inferior and powerful. We then have a close up of one of the group, showing something dripping from his chin and he ignoring it; showing him to not be "normal", there representing the group as not being "abnormal".
We then see a close up of the lead woman turn round shouting with blood round her mouth, confirming to the audience she and the rest of the group are the antagonists. There are then further close ups of the rest of the group shouting with blood round their mouths and then marching out the room, following the lead woman.
Then a long shot of the group again is shown, however from the front so we can see they are all dressed in hospital overalls and all covered in blood. A long shot of the corridor is shown, but the end of it is not visible - signifying there is no end to it. The camera pans into a shot of the wall, covered in graffiti and written in red The End Is Near, REVENGE, by having it pan in and slightly tilting makes the audience feel quite disorientated, so make them feel the image is unsettling.
After the group hear the boy trying to open the door and they are walking out the room, the camera again pans into the doorway whilst turning, so it's as if the audience are seeing things from the group's point of view again and everything is abstract and spinning. There is then a Dutch-angled shot as the boy goes up the stairs and the group follow - again showing the disorientation of the group. As the boy is running to the door, a close up of the exit sign is shown, so the audience realise he is running out of the hospital and out of the situation. A close up of the door's handle is shown, having the audience in the point of view of the boy again and him finally escaping so the audience can breathe a sigh of relief.
However, a mid shot of the woman grabbing the boy and pulling him to the ground is then shown and the close up of the handle is shown again, but getting further away. A low angled close up of the woman is then shown as we are in the point of the view of the boy once again, showing her pinning the boy and laughing with the dark corridor in the background. A shot is then shown of the woman in the same place and still over the boy, but she has no blood round her face, is in a swimming costume and the setting is outside in broad daylight with the sun shining. This shot is very clever, as the mother is in the same position with both shots, but due to the mise-en-scene, the audience evoke very different emotions.
Things similar to the clip I will use in my opening
- High-angled shots to show power and dominance
- Low-angled shots to show vulnerability
- Point of view shots in order for the audience to relate to the character
- Close up shots to show emotion
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| A point of view shot, as a person in the non-human group |
Editing
The clip obeys some of the rules of continuity such as; 180 degree rule, 30 degree rule, matching eyeline, off screen space and the fourth wall. However, as it contains jump cuts, it doesn't obey the match-on action rule.
The beginning is cutting between the boy frantically running down the corridor and the group calmly walking down it, showing the contrasts between the two. When on the boy, the cuts seem to be more frequent, cutting to close ups of his face and long shots and mid shots of him running - the fast cuts representing the pace of his speed, compared to the cuts of the group that seem to be slow. There are also jump cuts shown of the boy looking for a place to hide, showing him hastily trying to find a place. The editing is again used to contrast the calm walking pace of the group and the boy panicking whilst hiding and to show time passing as he is frantically looking for an escape.
The editing is now starting to get faster, like the non-diegetic sound. By having the group's voices distorted and monster-like, automatically tells the audience that these people are not natural human beings and are either possessed or weren't humans to begin with. Towards the end, when the boy sees the door and the exit sign, the shot is blurred and then every time it is shown again is slightly clearer and more precise, showing the boy is getting closer and the end is nearer. Also, the blurring of the light coming from the door makes it look less realistic and more heaven-like.
The final shots of the woman leaning over the boy and laughing, then cuts to the shot of the woman actually being his mum are shot and cut together, so the shots look like they contain almost identical proxemics of both characters and only the mise-en-scene has changed.
Things similar to the clip I will use in my opening
- Faster editing on action scenes to create a sense of urgency
- Juxtaposition of shots to show the contrast
- Obeying the rules of continuity
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| This two shots are one after the other, contrasting the running from the boy and slow paced walk from the group (click to enlarge) |
