How to make each area of my short film a Level 4

Camerawork, Mise en Scene, Plotline and Genre
  • Ensure that your story is an easy plot to follow with a twist at the end - this fits in with a classic trope of horror films. As my film is of the psychological genre, a plot twist would be useful in making the short much more conventional according to its genre.
  • Camerawork involves movements such as hand-held to give a jerky feel to the film, and tracking to give viewers the impression that the film is somewhat professional. Low angles, canted angles, and close ups would also be useful for the psychological genre as they all emphasise how characters are feeling. In particular, I am really keen in using canted angles to cause a sense of unease and disorientation for the viewer. Furthermore, I would also like to feature a continuous shot, like the one in The Shining, so that the audience and myself can reminisce a genesis of psychological horror.
  • To make sure the mise en scene looks effective, I'll be prepared and gather all of the necessary props beforehand e.g. fake blood, candles, Russian doll. If I ever need to re-film scenes, I'll ensure that cast members will wear the same clothes that they wore on the initial shooting day. Lighting will be low, with the amplification of lit candles on set to create the necessary mood and atmosphere for the conventions of a psychological horror film.
Editing
  • Quick cuts - before the film's climax, I'd like to include lots of quick cuts to increase the film's tension.
  • Rewind effect  - I feel like this may be good technique for de-traumatising the audience. It also helps to make the plot twist much clearer.
  • Use of different focuses.
Sound
  • Combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds.
  • Possible heartbeat sound as a sound motif.
  • I am extremely eager to include contrapuntal sound in the short film. This is when we hear music that we wouldn't necessarily associate with the events happening on screen - I'd like put classical music over a violent scene. However, as the film is only supposed to be five minutes long, I'm debating whether or not this will look effective as I feel that this will only work if I either drag the violent scene out or put it in slow motion.


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