Reflective Horror Sequence Analysis

When we were deciding the 'storyline' for the film, I eventually came up with the idea of a serial killer with a mask on roaming around the college. I did say that the killer could stalk particular student's to make it more effective; but the person I was picturing to be the serial killer didn't actually want to be the killer. However, the idea of the serial killer being in the school did get put down for the main idea. Our audience was aimed at teenagers aged 15 and over.

When we were filming, I felt like I was the only one who was being positive and it was slightly off putting for myself although I didn't stop trying to be positive. We took it in turns to film as the first shot was of the schools sign and entrance. We did this to set the scene for the audience. The shots then continue into the school, and then fades into black.

The next shot is a close up of the killer moving towards the camera and past it. The camera then cuts to two teenagers, which shows us the film sequence is indeed set in a college. The two teenagers are made to look as if they are running from someone, possibly away from the serial killer. My critique for this shot was that, as I was in the clip I tried to be positive and acted like I was actually being chased and my group member I was with didn't quite act like he was being chased.

The next shot was of a door closing at the top of the stairs. This was made to make the viewers feel tense as to who made the door close. The shot is a medium to long shot. After that there is a shot of people walking towards and past the camera. This is another way of showing that we're in a college. It can also make the viewers feel tense as to what's going to happen to the other college students. The camera then flashes to white and fades out to a new scene.

In the next shot we see a hallway which leads to some stairs, which is panned up the stairs. I did this shot to make the viewers question if the killer is up there or not. I then recorded my shadows walking past the wall to be the killers shadow walking past. This was also to make it a bit more tense. I then walked around outside where there were bushes, making it feel like someone was going to pop out. As nobody did I particularly focused on a bench that was old and broken slightly, this was to represent loneliness and solitude.

The next thing I filmed was a spiral staircase that had a door open at the top. I thought that it would make a good ending to the sequence as the mystery is yet to be solved. I used the lighting in the area as well to my advantage because it is low-key lighting and low-key lighting doesn't make you feel as safe as high-key lighting.

Throughout the project, I felt like it was me doing everything myself as the others wouldn't help as much as I would've liked them to. One of them did more than the other but only a bit. I felt like I was doing it on my own, like it was mostly me who was filming, coming up with the idea, bringing what I could to make a mask & editing and embedding the film on my own and on my own youtube channel.