iPhone Horror Filmmaking Scaring the Audience
IPHONE HORROR FILM MAKING Scaring the Audience.
Is your favorite genre of movie the horror movie?
I have come to the conclusion that most filmmakers, even those who do not actually make horror movies would love to see a good one.
The reason that you are here and reading this post is that you are thinking about making a horror film.
I have to say that you have come to the right place. I have interviewed dozens of filmmakers, many of them horror filmmakers and I have studied the genre from silent films until now. If you want a masterclass on the use of light and shadow and mood in a horror film there is a black and white Germany film from 1931 Vampyr, it was directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer.
As a fan of horror movies with a special place in my heart for classic vampire films this movie along with Let The Right One In and Fright Night 1985, are bucket list films. They are not just great films but films that you can learn from.
Okay, let us talk about the basics. The video that I am going to show to you today covers how and why the Conjuring movies are so popular and effective. The film maker, Abel Berry, is right about what James Wan does to frighten an audience, but I feel that he missed one important element. I believe that it is the most important element in crafting a quality horror film.
The thing that you must do first is to establish reality. Your film must be built upon a real and recognizable world. Think in terms of the noun. People, Places and Things that are familiar to all of us. Situations that are universal.
Look at two of the two biggest box office horror film hits of all time, The Exorcist and the Sixth Sense. Both films use a family dynamic to establish reality. A mother daughter relationship in the Exorcist and a mother son relationship in the Sixth Sense. You can then jump to the Conjuring and the first two films do the same thing. We have a families at the center of the action. The children are threatened.
Now let us jump to the Conjuring universe and how these films frighten us. Keep in mind that these films were shot using equipment that you Iphone can be taught to mimic. There is no shot, with proper lense, in the Sixth Sense or the Exorcist or the first Conjuring movie that you cannot get using that smart phone. Sound and lighting are things that you will learn by practice.
Thank you for visiting my blog and if you have a SmartPhone film that you wish to share or a filmmaking experience you would like to talk about I am looking to do a series of interviews. So please do not hesitate to contact me by sending me a message at my email, cannonbooks777@gmail.com