Cinematography and Horror

What is a cinematographer? Camera operator or DOP (Director of Photography) Work closely alongside the director in pre-production in order to finalise a story board and shot list (this also includes Producer) During production they must make cast and crew aware of stages (ie. Must announce “rolling” so director can shout “action”. Responsible for capturing the best frames that make the actors look good and achieve the director’s vision. As a cinematographer you must have good leadership skills, especially if you are working alongside a ‘B’ camera operator; you must have a good photographic eye and a lot of creativity and originality; awareness and knowledge of equipment including lighting and be familiar with cameras…

HORROR

Lighting an Framing

TRIPOD: It is essential to ensure that you have set up the tripod correctly so that when you begin filming it does not move or fall. WHITE BALANCE: You must double check the camera’s white balance is accurate for quality in your film. FRAMING: There are many framing rules and conventions that generally you should follow. Make sure that there are no unwanted props or people in your background as this can be very distracting. RULES: remember the 180 rule and rule of thirds. FILMING THE SANDWICH: camera operator must say “rolling”; then sound operator will say “speed” to confirm the recording of sound and the director will then say “action”. Film extra footage before (from “rolling”) and after a take (“cut”) as this will allow you to edit easier during post.

TASK Using your phones, construct 4 different scenes/frames that reflect the horror genre. These 4 frames must vary in size and angle but still represent conventional techniques of the genre. Record and photograph your work to be sent/emailed to Andy.

FEEDBACK