REFLECTIONS ON MY OWN FILM STILL

1. Describe your shot andidentify in what way it could be described as representing your chosen genre.

My shot is a portrait shot. The bottom half of the frame is relatively dark, as it is filled with the grey of the stone stairs. On the stairs you can somebody’s legs, positioned to suggest that they belong to a body lying down the stairs. On the top half of the frame is a frightened looking girl, cowering in the corner, at the top of the flight of stairs. She is also wearing dark clothing, but her red jumper brings some colour to the image. The lighting in the top frame put the girl in more light, and brings the viewers attention to her. This shot represents a thriller genre well. The characters in the shot are typical of a tense scene in a thriller: a frightened female victim, and a dead body. The expression on the girl’s face also gives a tense atmosphere to the shot. We framed the shot in order to leave mystery; we did not give away the identity of the legs in the shot and used a tight mid-shot frame to leave the audience asking questions. The frame is also slightly tilted to make the scene disconcerting. We did not include any bright or light colours in or shot, to preserve the spooky nature of the scene. We used cool tones to reflect the thriller genre as these connote an unhappy and uncomfortable situation.

2. What did you actually do to achieve the effect?

Firstly, we took the camera off the tripod in order to allow us more freedom with angle and framing. We took the shot from very low down on the stair itself to portray the sense of a tight, trapped space at the top of a thin flight of stairs. In terms of lighting, we chose quite a dark place to shoot. We turned off the flash on the camera to get rid of any unwanted harsh light, and to achieve the cool blue tones that represented the eerie atmosphere of our shot.

3. Identify what is successful about your shot.

I feel that our shot is successful in representing the genre of thriller. I think that I use of framing and low angle evokes a strong sense of enclosure and adds mystery to the shot, which is necessary in representing a tense thriller story. I especially think that the tones of our shot are successful, as they connote many aspects of a thriller or horror story – darkness and a cold, spooky, uncomfortable environment.

4. What would you do differently in hindsight?

If we were to take the shot again, I would use a more professional model/actor as I think that the girl’s expression is the main problem in the still: it is unclear whether she is very scared or just nervous. Also, I think the shot would work well in an even darker setting.