Individual Research Into A Similar Short Film

Sleeping Patterns

The YouTube clip above is a short film that I discovered which is similar film to the one in which we are intending on producing and decided it would be a good staple to use inspiration from when creating ideas for our own short film. The title of the short film is "Sleeping Patterns" and shares the same genre (horror) as our film,  "The Intruders"- however, I believe it also shares the same sub-genre of our film which is a psychological thriller due to the non-linear narrative which is also an concept in which we are interested in exploring and possibly including in our own film.

Mise en Scene:

The scene in which the girl wakes up in bed covered in her brothers blood and completely unaware she has murdered him during the night is iconography of the horror genre as blood is a typical convention of the genre. As well as this, the shallow focus shot of her bloody hands immediately suggests something sinister to the audience and foreshadows the fact that it is later revealed she has murdered her brother.

Despite the fact the girl has murdered her brother and could possibly be considered as the antagonist in the film, the fact she is dressed in the colour white represents her believed innocence and naivity to the situation since she cannot remember killing him during the night as white is considered an innocent colour. It mirrors her confusion when faced with the fact she may have murdered him since she has blood all over her hands when she wakes up.

However- the fact she is wearing black trousers could suggest that her character also has a darker side due to the fact she appears to become possessed by something at night. The outfit she is dressed in reflects the fact she is half good, half evil.

Cinematography:

The shallow focus shot of the beheaded dolls head projects a sinister tone for the film. It also connotes death and foreshadows what is about to be revealed; the fact she has murdered her brother. This could also be considered as a typical convention of the horror genre since spooky dolls are a reoccurring object in horror films, such as 'Annabelle'.

 

The frequent dark and mysterious wide shots in between the scenes create tension, adding to the overall intended uneasy-ness of the film itself which adds to the build up of the dramatic climax at the end of the film when the audience find out she has murdered her brother. 

The focus pull on the beginning scene represents the girls confusion when she wakes up covered in blood and also draws the audiences attention to the blood on her hands which creates drama and poses questions for the audience as to why this is; this is intriguing them into the film at the same time.

Editing:

The medium close-up shot- when the brother is sat recording his observations on his sister- has a real digital camera setting and black and white filter which adds to the verisimilitude of the scene as he is supposed to be believed to be recording himself on a small household camera, instead of the sophisticated high-technology camera which it is most likely actually getting filmed on. 

The match on action of the first blacked out shot builds tension and creates a build-up for the terrifying climax of when the shot suddenly switches to the silhouette of the girl: the sudden silence of the music stopping also makes the audience jump and question what is about to happen next; adding to the overall fear factor of the film itself. 

The second to last close-up shot of girls face in the film is edited in a way that suggests a technical difficulty with the camera as a result of the girls demonic possession. This editing technique adds dimension and verisimilitude to the film, as well as demonstrating the producers editing talents on whatever editing software was used. We took inspiration from this shot to use in our own film.

Sound: 

The sinister music (0.00-0.14) instantly creates suspicion and mirrors the girls confusion of why she has blood all over herself after waking up. It also sets the appropriate tone for the beginning of a horror film as an audience will expect to feel scared and on edge which the music does a perfect job of evoking.

The relaxed, happy music playing on the stereo (0.35) in the dingy cellar juxtaposes with the storyline of the film which creates tension and a creepy atmosphere. This technique of the music contrasting with the storyline and/ or situation is also used in successful horror films such as "Insidious".

                                                                                                                               

The chilling sound affect (6.03) builds anticipation and suggests something bad is going to happen. Sound affects like these are used in the majority of horror films as they add to the overall fear factor and have become to be one of the typical sound conventions of a horror film. They also make the build up to an sudden event, (like an antagonist jumping out on a protagonist, for example) more dramatic as the audience are expecting something to happen that will scare them which makes the experience much more terrifying.