Mood Board

A mood board is an illustration of my inspirations for a short film supported by camera shots and already existing medias which are similar to what I want.

I have chosen pictures from The Strangers because that is one of my inspirations because of the idea that someone is always in the house with the main character and their presence can be subtly felt. I have used pictures of Alan Wake because I like the idea of an eerie torchlight searching the house for possible danger to create tension. I have include pictures of eerie houses to give the sense of isolation for the character and a silhouette standing outside the house. Lastly, I have the picture of the ISO Scale because I will need ISO scale alteration to make sure my shots more visible because they will be shot in darkness.

Analysis of Castello Cavalcanti

There is a wide establishing shot which sets the scene of a rural and classical Italian town so the audience has some orientation through the film. The camera then pans round so the audience can get a further look into where the film is set and introduce some of the characters such as the elderly people chatting outside the cafe. The music goes well with these camera shots because it has the feel of a quirky working class Europe, this goes well with the town because it is rural and probably full of elderly people and farmers with one restaurant in the town which is the cafe. The music also see to be emitting from the radio which gives the sense of boredom and slowness in the town.

The editing is slow because life is slow and boring (But comfortable) in this town and the upcoming race through there town is a massive event in their year. Lastly the costumes and props such as neon lights bracers give the impression that it is set in the mid 20th century. The film has been going for only 30 seconds and the audience is already aware of where it is set and when.

The sound of engines in the distance builds excitement to what is about to happen, it catches the attention of all the cafe's patrons which creates a contrast with what is expected in this quiet town. This is reinstated by the fact that there is one continuous shot to show the cars racing past.

The driver running into the cafe after crashing and dousing the flames is still one continuous shot which contrasts the fast racing life with the quiet village life. This contrast is also shown by the fact that the race car driver talks fast compared to the villagers. The driver is also placed in the middle of the shot of him at the table with the villagers around to show that he is completely the centre of their attention and is probably the most important person they've had in their village in a long time.

The editing remains slow throughout the film and the music is always played out of the radio inside the cafe, this is always to give the film the feel of a quiet Italian village. The mise-en-sene remains quirky in that the colours are quite vibrant despite the fact that it's a conventional dull village/town and the camerawork usually has the driver in the middle of the shot to signify his importance

The film ends with a wide shot zooming out of the cafe with the driver eating pasta. The slow movement of zooming out shows that the driver is settled and will be staying in the village which gives a peaceful and pleasant ending to the film.

Analysis of Lights Out

There is no music at any point in this film which creates a very eerie and tense atmosphere, it also works as a build up to the anticipated shock which leaves the audience tensing up for the moment. It also adds more emphasis on the sound effects such as the clicking of the light switch which again adds to the tension because the silence shows how the woman is all alone in her home which leaves her and the audience vunurable.

The silence between the flicking of the light switch gives us time to dwell on the silhouette seen in the hallway once the lights are off. The sound of the tape being torn of the light switch is also significant because it confirms the suspicion that there is something else present with the woman and amplifies it.

The majority of camera shots are close ups of the woman's face and POV shots of what the woman is looking at. The close ups of her face are to show here various facial expressions throughout the film, she is calm at the start however as she becomes more aware of something in her house she visually becomes more and more distressed which also shows the severity of the situation. The POV shots are mainly of her looking through the sheets when the demon is in her room, however we can't see anything to create more tension and more fear of the unknown thing in the house.

Lighting is extremely important in the film because it keeps the figure in the hall clouded in mystery. Darkness frightens people because you cannot see what is going on in close proximity to you and gives fear of the unknown. Even the bright lights are not particularly welcoming and literally give light to the emptiness of the house which furthers the feeling of loneliness and vulnerability felt by the woman and the audience.

There is no dialogue in the film because a conversation is too comforting for the audience and again this emphasises the tense silence in the house which creates further tension.

The point of climax is when the woman turns and sees the thing which is invading her house. The thing is some sort of possessed monster or has a major deformity which makes her hideous to behold and hence it only flashes for a split second to shock the audience. Throughout the film the audience has been built up towards this moment and so the spilt second we see of it adds to the horror aspect and mystery. The sound is also explosive at this point which adds to the shock of the moment.

Typical Horror conventions used are dark lighting, to make it more scary and unclear what is hiding in the shadows. There is also a scary mask or face which has been edited in post-production which is also typical of the action adventure genre