Cinematography in film

Horror films are all about tone, texture, and mood. A great example is “Bird Box,” which focuses on what is in the frame rather than dialogue. Some of the most important elements in creating the mood in horror movies are sound design and cinematography. 

Different camera shots, such as extreme close ups and wide shots that center the character(s), can create characterization and move the plot further along. Allowing the audience to take note of a character's surroundings in a wide shot can, on top of world building, give insight as to how the character feels as a result of the world around them. Angles are an essential part of this as well. Unique shots, such as the dutch shot, can make viewers feel unnerved— especially when it’s paired with an actor's creepy performance. 

Lighting can also greatly influence how the audience perceives the film. Using a certain color scheme and levels of exposure can shift how a scene is understood. Reds can make viewers feel unnerved, and an underexposed set can set a serious and foreboding mood. Adding haze, or fog, can also change how a scene is analyzed. Fog and darkness are often paired together when a director of photography (DP) is showing the audience that there is some force hiding that they should be fearful of. 

The most essential factor when regarding all of these aspects of cinematography is knowing when to use them and how. Repeated color-coded shots or an overuse of unique shots will make the film feel stale and unoriginal. 

Although my short films’ genre isn’t horror, using horror as a guide on how to set up my film is actually a very helpful tool. Just like horror, I do not want to repeat shots and make my film look stale. Utilizing lighting to set the mood will be the same, only in the opposite sense— where horror benefits from a dark scene to create a grainy ‘texture’ and unnerving mood, I want my film to be lighthearted, thus I will be using a repeated color scheme throughout without dramatization and will keep most of my scenes fairly bright. Camera angles will not be dramaticized, as I am making a ‘coming-of-age’ film, thus the emotion will not angle, rather change from focus on close ups and wider shots. I want to emphasize how the main character feels rather than unnerving the audience. 

Since we are in the season of horror as Halloween approaches, I think using this genre as a reference will be extremely helpful and easy to do. While I must workshop the lighting and camera angles a bit more, it will be reflected in my storyboarding and production.