Horror Still

"Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is."
German Proverb

My shot is a CU of the top left quarter of a girls face, but this is only in the bottom right quarter of the frame. An open pair of scissors is coming down from the top left corner, pointed directly at the character. The background consists of a black curtain. A shaft of light from out of shot on the top left corner illuminates the scissors and the girls face, but the top and left side of the frame are cast into darkness.

The CU on the girl's eye serves to draw attention to the fearful expression that she acquires whilst watching the scissors, and as the audience focus on her face, this indicates that she is a protagonist, and therefore the audience are likely to share her fear, as they connect with her throughout the film. Scissors are used because an interesting convention of the horror genre is to make everyday items appear terrifying when put to a malevolent use. The marks on the scissors make them appear unhygienic, so using them in a violent manner makes the audience feel disgusted and dirty, which indicates that this is a rather gory horror film. The light shaft is a typical horror convention, because it literally and metaphorically puts both the character and the audience in the dark, causing suspense as the outcome of any given predicament can never be assumed. The direction of the light is also important, as it creates a path between scissors and character, indicating the intention of the unknown hand clutching the weapon.

To create the lighting effect we chose to shoot indoors, giving us the option to turn off the overhead lights and black out the windows. A small studio light was held off-screen to create the shaft. The scissors were brought closer to the camera than usual to make them appear larger and therefore a dominating force in the shot.

Although my initial still plan was intended to create the impression of a more clinical attack, I actually liked the smudges on the scissors, as it changed the tone, creating a more visually horrific image. The framing of both girl and scissors were very similar to what I had previously planned, and I like how the framing is unusual compared to what is seen in lots of non-horror films, as even small visual changes can subliminally make the audience feel uncomfortable, which would be a key intention in a horror movie.

In hindsight, I would like to have decreased the width of the beam of light, as some unnecessary background is caught on camera, which decreases audience concentration on the main action. I would also have made the girl and the scissors take up more of the screen, even if it meant moving the scissors closer to her, because in its current state the shot needs to be tightened up.