Cinematography Research – Shadows

One of the techniques that I particularly want to achieve in my film opening is the use of the characters’ shadows in order to let the audience’s imagination tell them what is happening instead of actually having a visual of the situation. This effect will also be enhanced by the sound effects used and so I will need to think carefully about the music/sound aspect of the scene as well.

As research, I looked at the beginning of the film Van Helsing (2004) and when the vampire kills Dr. Frankenstein, their shadow is shown instead of themselves:

This adds drama to the scene and so I hope to use this technique when the witch kills the male persona ‘Dan’.

Cinematography Research - Lighting

I have really had to consider the lighting that I need to use in my film opening because in the actual bungalow setting (shown on the Location Shots post), there is almost no light for the camera to pick up in order to see the details of the mise en scene. During the outside scene before the male goes into the bungalow, I can use natural lighting because I plan to film during the daytime.
    Some of my peers have commented that I may need to reconsider this idea of filming during the day because the horror aspect is lost due to the lack of suspense generally created by darkness. However, the justification of me using the daytime as the time period for the outside should be effective because the outside of the bungalow needs to look misleading to the two main characters. This use of weather/daytime is called pathetic fallacy because it should set the mood to be positive; which will be contrasted when the characters move into the bungalow.

<< This image is an example of how the light can affect the mood of the shot. The bottom image would be the ideal lighting that I will need in order to get the effect of suspense throughout the scene inside the bungalow.

I have also thought of the idea of using shadows/silhouettes of the witch in the background because filmmakers use the technique of using shadows and silhouettes in order to portray the villain and create the mood of suspense and tension. I also think that this technique would go well with the Music choice of having breathing noises during the scene – because someone is behind them.

Analysis of Cinematography - Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Shaun of the Dead