1. Quality
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Color: Sets the mood or highlight crucial elements.
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red might be used to signify danger or blood, while dull, washed-out colors can create a feeling of bleakness or decay.
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Contrast: High contrast can make shadows deeper and areas of light more intense, adding to the suspense and fear.
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bright light might create harsh shadows that hide scary figures, making them seem more threatening.
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Deep Focus: This allows you to see everything in the scene clearly, which can be used to make you notice disturbing details in the background, adding to the feeling of being watched or surrounded by threats.
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Shallow Focus: Can draw attention to something specific, like a character's terrified face or a creepy object, while blurring out the rest of the scene to heighten tension and focus on the horror element.
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Depth of Field: A shallow depth of field might focus on a character’s expression of fear while blurring the rest of the scene, making the viewer more aware of the character’s fear and less focused on what’s happening around them. On the other hand, deep depth of field can reveal a threatening environment.
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Exposure: Ensures the image isn’t too dark or bright.
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underexposure can make scenes feel threatening and/or eerie, hiding details that might suddenly be revealed for a scare.
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Racking Focus: Changing focus between objects can be used to shift attention to something terrifying as it comes into view, such as focusing on a character’s face and then shifting to a lurking monster behind them.
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Rate: Slow motion in horror can make a scary moment more intense and prolonged, like a character's knife moving toward the victim. Fast motion can heighten the sense of panic or chaos.
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Telephoto Shot: By zooming in, telephoto shots can make distant figures seem closer, creating a sense of intrusion or making a far-off threat seem imminent. It can also compress the background, making spaces feel more claustrophobic.
2. Framing
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Angle of Framing: High angles can make characters look vulnerable or trapped, while low angles can make them appear menacing or powerful.
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Horror films use these angles to manipulate how we perceive characters and situations.
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Aspect Ratio: A wide aspect ratio can show a vast, empty space or a character isolated in a large, creepy environment, enhancing the sense of dread. A narrow aspect ratio might be used to create a more claustrophobic or intense atmosphere.
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Level of Frame: A level frame can give a sense of normalcy, while a tilted frame can create a sense of disorientation or unease, making the scene feel unstable or unbalanced.
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Canted Framing: This tilted angle can be used in horror to create a sense of instability or madness, making the viewer feel off-balance and uneasy.
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Following Shot: Following a character through a dark, creepy setting can build tension and make the viewer feel as though they are in the scene, heightening the sense of dread.
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Reframing: Adjusting the frame within a shot can reveal new horror elements or shift focus to something unexpected
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such as a shadow moving or an threatening object becoming visible.
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Point of View Shot: This lets the audience see from the character’s perspective, making the horror more personal and immersive
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like seeing a monster from the character's eyes.
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Wide Angle Lens: Captures a broad view, making spaces seem larger and more creepy, or emphasizing how isolated a character is in a terrifying environment.
3. Scale
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Extreme Long Shot: Shows the setting in its entirety, which can set up a spooky or isolated location, making it clear how vast or empty a space is, often adding to the horror by emphasizing isolation.
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Long Shot: Shows a character within their environment, which can highlight how small or vulnerable they are in a scary or threatening space.
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Medium Long Shot: Balances the character and their surroundings, allowing the viewer to see how the character interacts with or reacts to the creepy environment.
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Medium Close-Up: Focuses on the character's face and upper body, capturing their expressions of fear or anxiety, which are crucial in horror to convey emotional responses.
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Close-Up: Highlights a specific detail, like a character’s frightened face or a horrifying object, making it more intense and immediate.
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Extreme Close-Up: Focuses on a very small detail, like a character’s eye or a creepy object, drawing attention to crucial elements that heighten the horror.
4. Movement
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Crane Shot: Moves up or down to provide a dramatic view, such as revealing a large, eerie setting or a menacing figure from above or below, adding to the horror atmosphere.
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Handheld Camera: Creates a shaky, immediate feel, making scenes more intense and personal, as if the viewer is in the middle of the action or being chased.
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Pan: Moves horizontally to reveal new parts of the scene or follow action, such as panning to uncover a hidden threat or show a character’s fear as they look around.
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Tilt: Moves vertically to show height or depth, like tilting up to reveal a looming threat or down to emphasize something horrifying on the floor.
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Tracking Shot: Follows a character or action smoothly, often used in horror to build tension as the camera moves with a character through a frightening environment.
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Whip Pan: A fast, blurry movement that can create a sense of confusion or urgency, often used in horror to quickly shift focus or reveal something shocking.