Our chosen genre was horror- film stills of this genre typically feature low-key lighting and a subject that raises questions. In this case, the subject is a young woman, who is stereotypically the helpless victim in horror films. Furthermore, her expression is one of terror, and she is looking to the side, which suggests she is fearful of the arrival of someone or something, and this makes the audience anticipate what is to come. The shot is very dimly lit, and the only light falls on the subject's face, creating the impression that she is exposed and vulnerable, but also highlighting her facial expression.
How we achieved the effect
We firstly had to find an appropriate setting for a horror shot. As mentioned before, horror stills are typically very dark and gloomy, and as we were shooting in daylight without extra lighting facilities, this was quite a challenge. In terms of locations, we tried empty stairwells, attics, basements and windows, all of which create eerie effects due to light distortion and often feature bars/lines, which also alter the mise-en-scene. This still was shot under a table in a fully lit room. We chose to do this because there is some light to draw attention to the subject's face, but her surroundings are dark, which further illuminates her facial features.
In terms of framing, this is a medium close-up. A horror still in which the victim is a subject will typically be a close-up, because the audience feels that although they are within touching distance of the subject, they are helpless in the face of whichever monster is coming to get her. This close-up also helps the audience to really understand her predicament, as they are in the heat of the action and able to clearly witness her expression.
The successes of this shot
In my opinion, the best feature of this shot is the lighting. The horror genre relies very much on lighting to illuminate certain aspects of a subject and to keep particular parts hidden, which creates enigma and suspense. However, in this shot, the area surrounding the subject is very dark, so the audience is immediately drawn towards the light on the subject's face. As the subject is looking to the side, supposedly at the monster off camera, this leads to the audience wanting to see from her perspective.
If I were to re-shoot...
I think one of the flaws with this shot is the framing, as it is a medium close-up. If I was able choose a tighter frame, such as a close-up or a big close-up, this still would follow the conventions of horror films. Although I am pleased with the lighting, I feel that using underlighting may have further accentuated her expression and added to the mysterious, eerie vibe of the photo. I would also pay more attention to the subject's hair, make-up and clothing, as perhaps making her look bedraggled and sweaty would raise more questions as to what had happened prior to this still.
A great shot, and really interesting reflections.
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