Change of Idea

Over a short break, I have decided to change my idea to a completely new concept, in order to improve the ease of shooting, and make full use of the technology available. Seeing many different types of film and TV recently involving magic and illusion has made me realise just how much is possible in the editing suite. The actors involved in these films, such as Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman in 'The Prestige' or Edward Norton in 'The illusionist', can't possibly learn all the tricks of a top quality magician for this role, and therefore a large amount of computer special effects must be used.

Even though I don't have the availability of sets and green screens to complete large scale illusions such as in these films, it is still possible to complete the tasks that i've devised within final cut.

Shock

Shock and Horror are different attributes to a Horror film, and create different effects within the picture.

Shock - Something that jars the mind or emotions as if with a violent unexpected blow.

In the film 'Un Chien Andalou' there is a scene where a woman's eye appears to be cut open. This creates a sense of unease for the audience, because the event is completely unexpected and shocking for them. When watching this, i personally felt shocked because of the fact that it appeared to happen to another human being, and is therefore something that could possibly happen to me.

A good way of creating shock is to create a sense of calm before the surprising event occurs. This lulls the audience into a false sense of security, and makes them feel safe. This is a common technique, used in nearly every horror film i researched. For example, the opening of '28 Weeks Later' includes a scene where one of 'the infected' appears suddenly, incredibly close to one of the characters. The character and the audience have very little expectation of the infected human being so close to the house, and it is used to create a shocking effect.

The clip can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHf6Th-E3kE, and the event occurs approximately 3 minutes through

Wonder How To

www.wonderhowto.com

This is a website I came across when searching for techniques and tips for shooting in darkness and what lights I should use to light the set, the website contained a number of tips on lighting from other people. All the videos about lighting are done by people instead of companies, however the credibility ratings given by users allow you to see which videos are the most useful. Away from lighting, there are hundreds of other videos from other aspects of film making from home made special effects to steady cams and dollys.