BLK Reflections on Film Still

Representation of the Genre and Achieving the Effect
My film still is of the horror genre. Several factors went into representing this:

• Lighting and setting: Shadowy lighting and concealment are often used in the horror genre. I used a harsh light from a low angle to create shadows on the character's face and darkness in the background. For this I used a PAG light and shot in the basement which is an ominous setting and one in which I could turn the lights off.
• Character: The girl in the shot is angry and seen from a low angle, making her seem imposing to the audience. She could be a horror villain or perhaps possessed. She is looking into the camera so the audience sees from the victim's perspective.
• Costume: The girl wears a black wig which makes her look dark and slightly manic, which reinforces her role as villain or antagonist. She wears all black which makes her blend into the background, creating almost a floating head effect which you would mostly expect to find in the horror genre.

Successes of the Shot

Overall I would say the shot is fairly successful. The lighting is effective in making the girl look unnerving - the way her body blends into the darkness would make the audience uneasy as well as the unflattering effect on her face. The black background creates mystery around where she is coming from and has dark, scary connotations. The POV perspective is also successful in making the audience empathise with the victim: they would feel as if she was coming from them themselves and her manic face makes her look as if she is possessed, the unnaturally black, askew hair only adding to this effect.

Improvements

Although the overall effect was good, there are a few things I could improve if I did it again. For one, although the actress' facial expression is scary, it is also slightly comical so perhaps I would redo her expression. Additionally, she has a tag sticking out of her top which is of detriment to the effect of her body blending into the background and a little bit of the top she's wearing under the black is visible. It is also slightly blurred so I would make sure I got it in focus if I did it again. Also, since her face is so close I would make it even more low angle so it would seem like she was right over the audience.