Black Swan inspiration

We decided due to the nature of it being a psychological thriller, and the use of a schizophrenic multiple personality main character to take and gather inspiration from Black Swan with the use of mis en scene and camera angles/ framing. 

Dance of the White Swan

The high key, key and fill light used here accompanied by the top lighting, within an eye level close up shot, emphasises her innocence and naivety but also accentuates the pure sadness and distraught facial expression. We used a similar shot within the bedroom by the innocent persona, using torches to highlight her expression, but lacked any back light to demonstrate the immense darkness she experiences as a result of her mental health issues.  

We additionally, use light as a medium of disorientation or confusion of the innocent persona, as a means to demonstrate the distinct difference between her dark and light personality traits. This is generally a key light, such as the spotlight in Black Swan which is instead a light in the tunnel within our chase scene. 

 

Here the makeup reflects the face of our character within the contrasting bath scene, the eye level close up shot with the shoulders included is parallel to the character within the bath tub. The pale face to highlight her cheekbones, determines her as thin and ill whilst colour on the lip here being red the alternative in ours being black connotes tension and suppressed anxiety.

We use a similar close up eye level shot of our character crying, as a means to demonstrate the depth of sorrow and anxiety they are feeling, in both there is a greater use of back light to contrast the character to the great darkness surrounding them.

Similarly, the use of the pastel colours and lighter colour scheme within her dressing room we imitate further in our bathroom with the stereotypical beige and wood inner decor to contrast greatly to the flashback images of the alter ego. 

  Odile Appears

These two close ups of the alter ego "Odile"'s eyes demonstrates the inner battle between her sanity and her sanctity, yet here we finally see her relinquish to this demonic part of her mental state, evident in the close up and more extreme close up of her face with focus on her eyes. We took inspiration from this by having a number of close ups of her face within the mirror(s), in the bath tub, and further in her flashbacks, with the flashbacks having white contacts as a contrast.

Despite the dramatic makeup being used in Black Swan being used as stage makeup, we used a similar concept as a means of contrasting with the two aspects of her personality. The extremely dark and more manic eye makeup is used on the darker aspects of her personality, as a visual representation of her alternative personas. Even with the more passive and innocent character, we use shots where she attempts to rub off this enhanced eye makeup, to reveal and free herself from this part of her soul.

 The Bedroom

The most iconic part of this scene is the use of mirrors as a symbol of duality within a person to demonstrate the two distinctive alternative personalities found in one body. We thus used this in the more intense and industrial toilet setting, but again also in the more domesticated bathroom in her house. The two bathrooms also providing a clear contrast from each other, being an extended metaphor of her two personalities within the surrounding setting. The cold, lifeless public toilet in contrast to the cosy, homely bathroom.

The extreme close ups of the scratches and injuries as an outward representation of her transforming schizophrenic state, we use visually with dramatic makeup the focus on her eyes as this visual representation with her confusion and extreme rubbing of them demonstrating her intense fear and desperation to be separated from this alternative persona.

The red contacts here imitate the white and black contacts we use in her alternative personalities, these are clear to distinctly identify along with the costumes which persona is dominating the main character at that point in the sequence. 

Camera Angles and Framing - Experimenting

Taken with a 700D Cannon

We experimented using different camera angles, taking photographs in each position, to get an idea of what looks effective for this scene in the room. We want to incorporate these shots in our piece to give a variety of angles and framing, so that the scene has a sense of movement and dimension.

Low angle: this helps to give a sense of powerlessness, and the lack of setting shown helps with the disorientation of the viewer, overall making the shot suggest fear and insecurity.

Back/ oblique angle, over-the-shoulder: this is where she is staring into the mirror, lifeless, and confused. The over-the-shoulder shot allows us to see her reflection in the mirror, and this has to be taking from the correct angle, otherwise you can see the camera in the mirror, which is something we found tricky to position. The oblique angle can help to depict her confusion, turning the camera slightly on its side as in question to the matter. Why is she here? It will look jagged and unstable, much like her mindset at this point, and we want this to  come across via this perspective. 

We really liked the shadows that were cast in this shot, from this position. With the window in the back of the frame, giving in some light, it opens up the room. 

 From behind, middle shots: this is to show her body language being hunched over, sitting, in isolation, in the centre of the space. It is to create an atmosphere of aloneness, or separation from the outside of the room, with negative space on either side of her, showing how she has no one to support her, like an outcast due to her psychological condition. The stillness will contrast with our other fast paced, running scenes, where she is panicked and chaotic, where the framing will be more close up and of hand-held motion. 

Eye-level/ neutral shot: this is to create a sense of disconnection to the audience - although we see her sitting, she is only focusing on the image she sees ahead of her, not facing the audience. It is like she is ignoring everything, because there is no eye contact with the viewer, apart from her dark self, giving the impression that is it taking over her. She is cutting off the personal connection in this shot, which is why we think it looks effective. 

High angle: to make her seem small - an intimidating angle, she appears lower down, or oppressed, like she is being watched over from above. This demonstrates her fear and confusion further, by making her appear vulnerable because you see a lot more of the setting - making the character look less significant. 

Conventions of Psychological Horrors...

What are Psychological Horrors?

Psychological horror is a sub-genre of horror where the tension build up is reliant on the emotional instability, fears of the present characters within it and hidden truths about the characters, based on past events or regrets they have: the viewers can relate to the concepts of ordinary people within ordinary settings, yet the elements from the paranormal genre for example the tape in "The Ring" are the aspects for which the audience cannot relate to the plot completely.

Categories of Psychological Horror 

• Phobia and Isolation

Phobia and Isolation primarily focuses on fears of the human mind that will be present in various members of the audience, providing a relation to the audience through shared nightmares, or intense phobias. This is a trailer from the film "Descent", despite aspects from the monster horror genre being present here this film relies greatly on the fear of the audience being in a confined, isolated setting that focuses primarily on claustrophobia.

• Madness and Paranoia

Madness and Paranoia recognises and illustrates the human capability of being driven mad, the lack of sanity of the previously "normal character" is a breakdown over time the audience witness; it generally uses a killer who will be the former "trusted" character, thus on their murder rampages they execute aspects of the slasher genre are executed. Here is an iconic scene from Kubrick's "The Shining" where we witness the father, become driven to insanity by a paranormal presence, his development into madness penultimately leads to his attempted murder of wife and child. 

• Home Invasion

Home Invasion focuses on the natural supposedly "safe" settings of our homes, yet interrupts the trust we have with our homes since the killers or paranormal beings invade these areas proving that nowhere is safe especially these. To present this I used "You're Next" which is where a family spend the weekend away as a vacation which is distorted and switched into a massacre by a group of individuals dressed in animal masks, who hunt the family down within the large house they have stayed in: death again like the madness category is generally physical weapons executed by normal people, in this case traps being set within rooms or weapons such as cross bows being present.

Conventions of Psychological Horror 

• Focuses on reality or everyday life.
• "Based on true events" or  "Based on actual events" can be used by directors to spur fear into the audience, providing the concept that it could happen to them also, this is recognised at the beginning of the iconic film Wolf Creek where the plot was partly based on the events of the backpacker murders committed by Ivan Milat in the 1990s.
• Rely on characters beliefs, fears or hidden truths that will be revealed gradually to the viewers.
• Ordinary people exert horror on other characters, instead of a monster or actual paranormal being for example in American Psycho he is a renowned unassuming businessman.
• "Killer" appears normal, but face is rarely seen to provoke mystery and suspense.
• Weapons are rarely physical, but focus on killer(s)'s twisted mind for example Hannibal Lecter being a cannibal.
• Settings- sense of realism, since we live in such surroundings for example: big houses as illustrated in "The Strangers"; woodland locations; warehouses; schools or hospitals as established in Session 9.
• Flashbacks informing audience of why killer has reached such a state,  to provide understanding to the viewers.
• Sound/ Music: Contrapuntal sound where it does not match action on screen, contradiction of whats happening to the viewers, providing confusion to the audience also.
• Antagonist comes for revenge on the victims.
• Victims will differ but females are targeted most (due to apparent vulnerability).
• Child killers are often too, for this example Esther in "Orphan" who has a hidden secret.