Mister Mister, I Have a Solution

    So recently we had group meetings in class and this served as a perfect opportunity to solve some of the minor issues that we had been having, or at least get some input. The main topic that I went into the discussion with was the issue of lighting for our horror portion of our film opening.
    The main solution was basically to look on youtube for some lighting ideas, so that is what I did.

This YouTube video by Cinecom.net discusses 5 different horror film lighting techniques that use only one light. The one light is extremely helpful since it may be difficult for use to find more than one or two lights to use in the first place due to our small amount of budget/resources. A common theme throughout the video is the use of powerful lighting from behind the subject or at different angles, allowing a silhouette to form around the subject in the image. The also allows for only partial portions of the subject to be shown, creating a mysterious a spooky vibe around the subject. We feel this would be extremely helpful in shooting our killer because it would allow  us to create that creepy vibe and also conceal the face of the killer, specifically through the use of the silhouette. The use of the one light may also help us to reveal only certain things in the scene and not give too much away, due to the ability to easily control the light. Another idea the video gives is to filter the light, using either slim cutouts of cardboard or tubes, allowing use to direct the light at whatever we want and also not lighting too much at the same time. This will allow us to easily play with the lighting and find the effect we want as we go. 

     Another commonly used element of horror film is the fog machine. Not only does the fog machine create fog, which is pretty creepy itself, the fog creates a different effect from the lights. In the video, the fog is sometimes used to spread the light, making it seem like it is not really coming from one solid place. According to newfilmschool, fog "not only diffuses light, but it carries the color of the light throughout the space you are using for your scene." This can used to further build  a creepy atmosphere throughout the entire scene and is something we feel we can use, both to develop the killer and also just in general to express the general mood of the killing scene. 

Overall, the group meeting went very well and the group provided a lot of information that may help our project along and help us really get certain aspects of our film opening to be understandable and portray what we want. It also allowed us to be removed from our projects and be truly objective about what we have, which will truly help us as we continue to move forward. 

C. (n.d.). YouTube [5 HORROR Lighting Setups with 1 LIGHT].

R. (2014, October 28). Fog, Smoke, & Haze: The Swiss Army Knives of Cinematography Tools. Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://nofilmschool.com/2014/05/fog-smoke-haze-the-swiss-army-knives-of-cinematography-tools