MRS B's homework

1. My shot is of me emerging from a dark doorway, which connotes a scary person/murderer who has been hiding. I am a white teenage girl with red hair and blue eyes, aged 16. My hands are prizing apart the door, and the ends of my fingers are white from gripping it, signifying that I am strong and on a mission of a scary nature. Half of my face is in shadow to represent mystery and fear of the unknown. This represents horror because it plays out the fear of being watched. It is also similar to “The Boogieman” in that a strange creature is emerging from a cupboard or small, dark room, to attack the victim.
2. To achieve this effect, we found a dark prop cupboard with a door with locks on it so that we could give the impression that someone had broken the locks. We used one small light with no filters to give the most light, to create a contrast with the shadows on the rest of my face and the black background. We wanted to frame the shot, so took an MCU including the doorframe, to establish the scene.
3. I think this shot is very successful because the character directly addresses the audience, involving them, and making them feel as though she is watching them. The part of my face not in shadow is well-lit and in focus, making a great impact. The expression coupled with the hand gestures makes for a very sinister mood, and the mise-en-scene makes it easy to understand what story we were trying to achieve.
4. In hindsight I would have had long, red, talon-like nails, dark red lipstick, and possibly lots of eye-liner to make the character even scarier.­­­­