Film Still: Analysis

This shot is a CU of a held knife combined with a VLS of a person fallen on the floor. The presence of the knife immediately indicates something sinister, and the person on the floor is the victim struggling to get away. Horror is also represented not just by the action, but by the techniques used in the compostion of the shot. The contrast created by the extremes of lighting makes the knife and victim stand out and this is exaggerated further by the resulting silhouettes. The framing is tight, and the killers leg and the corridoor doorway create multiple frames within a frame, also creating division between the two characters and connoting a bad or non-existant relationship. The use of different levels in perspective also adds a depth of meaning to the shot. The standing killer looks in control and dominant whereas the victim looks small and helpless. The knife appearing larger than the victim signifies the scale of the threat and makes the danger seem much more prominant.

To acheive these desired effects we used the upper science corridoor in the school and started by turning the lights off. We decided that the killer should stand in the darkest area of the corridoor where there were no windows and that the victim should just be lit up by natural light (from the windows further down). This was directed in the planned shot sketch. To frame the still, the photographer knelt down close up to the killer using the tripod to steady the camera. The knife was framed in the centre as this is where the natural light fell and we liked the silhouette effect that resulted. The victim then went by the first window, as a means of lighting them, however we found that the shot worked better when the victim was just in front of the first window, thus creating a silhouette. We experimented with position and action of the victim a lot and attained a number of possible final shots. As directed in the plan of this shot, the only light source was the natural light; we did experiment, but in this shot the artificial lighting was not used.

I believe that the shot works very well due to the strong contrasts created. The light, shadow, and depth created in the shot combine to form a composition that I think could be very representative of the horror/thriller genre. The bold silhouettes are prominant and draw the audiences attention to the action raising questions about the possible narrative which will emerge.

If I were to make any changes to the shot I would perhaps experiment with the framing, placing the knife further right and the victim further left to give the shot a wider feel. This could be done in a more open environment. I would like to see how that would look compared to the shots we already have as I think it would feel less claustrophobic and as a result maybe create a different expected narative.