Project 1: Horror Stills - BLK HW1

Our Selected Image

   For this project we chose to take stills of the horror genre, as we thought it would be challenging to attempt to find creative settings appropriate for the genre in our school grounds. We tried to include iconography which is easily identifiable as the horror genre, here being the dark surroundings, deformed shape of the hand and the large crack in the glass face. These particular signs create a strong sense of genre from only a still image.

   To achieve this effect, we paid close attention to the technical codes of the image. we angled the shot in such a way that it did not catch the reflection of the light as seen in the comparison image below. This reflection would have given the audience a greater view of the area and therefore would have been less effective as a horror still. Furthermore, the titled angle also creates a sense of confusion and unfamiliarity, which are key to the horror genre, whilst also being in the point of view of the subject here, which most people would assume to be an antagonist due to the deformed hand shape and the aberrant nail color, once again anchoring the shot to the genre, and the juxtaposition between the warm skin colours and the cold ,vibrant nail colour as well as the black surroundings make the blue stand out, which can slightly unnerve the audience.

  The dark surroundings is something fundamental to the horror genre, and we have utilised low key lighting to add enigma to the still, as the audience has no way of knowing what is behind the glass.
  In addition, taking the shot on top of a broken part of the glass adds another dimension of narrative and enigma to the still, as not only is the question raised as to why is the subject prying at the glass, but also why  the glass was broken. It makes the audience assume there was a struggle or fight of sorts, which once again is common in this genre.

Comparison Image

   I believe our selected image was very successful. It is easily identifiable as part of the horror genre, and it does so in many different ways. Comparing our selected image to the image taken beforehand, it is clear to see we were able to identify the good and bad points of the comparison image, and improve upon them to allow us to achieve the greatest effect possible. 

   If i could have done things differently, i would have probably found a different pane of glass which did not have the metallic squares embedded in it, as i found they slightly distort the meaning of the still. Furthermore, although the dimness is sufficient to convey the dominant meaning and genre of the image, if we could have had complete control of the surroundings, we would have been able to create sharp shadows and aim the still at any part of the glass, as the offending reflection would have been non existent. Lastly, if we could have added some mise-en-scene such as bloodstains to the image, the narrative would have been enhanced and the genre would have come out much more clearly. Other than these few points, i believe we were very successful in doing what we set out to achieve.