FS5: Shooting a horror film. How can I get this camera as cinematic/filmic as possible.

K

Kobe24Life

Member
I'm shooting a horror film this fall. There will be a lot of shadows and spotlight like silhouette shots.

I've decided to be shooting in RAW CinemaDNG, converting it to arri logc then grading from there or adding a 709 Type A lut to emulate the Alexa color look.


I know this camera isn't the highest end but I want to be able to get the best out of it, in terms of everything.


Any tips or general suggestions?


Edit: I know it's a very borad question but hoping it will spark discussion in a specific area and go from there haha
 
Spend time on lighting it properly. Hire a gaffer with a creative eye. Have a good OLED monitor in a black tent so you can see what you're getting.
Use good prime lenses.
Test everything in advance: Camera/lenses/exposure strategy/postproduction workflow.
Make sure your production designer is involved in any tests - and make sure they have the budget and manpower to make the backgrounds appropriately dark if that's the look you're going for. And have a realistic production schedule - based on having prepped every shot in advance!
In other words, if you get it right on set, everything else will fall into place.
 
I assume if you're posting here it's probably low budget, right? If it is, that ok. I love a good horror film but what usually kills them for me is the cheesy special effects or make-up.

If there's any doubt about whether something looks cheap or laughable, maybe don't show it and leave it up to viewer's imagination. Use sound effects, music, shadows, etc. and just hint at it.

I like how in the classic horror "Rosemary's Baby" we never see the baby.

Like, if you've got a monster or something that looks cheesy, maybe just show its hand or eyes.

Same thing with knife or gunshot wounds. They have to look great.

On the other hand, if you've got stuff that's great-looking, by all means, bring it on!
 
Viscount Omega said:
I assume if you're posting here it's probably low budget, right? If it is, that ok. I love a good horror film but what usually kills them for me is the cheesy special effects or make-up.

If there's any doubt about whether something looks cheap or laughable, maybe don't show it and leave it up to viewer's imagination. Use sound effects, music, shadows, etc. and just hint at it.

I like how in the classic horror "Rosemary's Baby" we never see the baby.

Like, if you've got a monster or something that looks cheesy, maybe just show its hand or eyes.

Same thing with knife or gunshot wounds. They have to look great.

On the other hand, if you've got stuff that's great-looking, by all means, bring it on!
Click to expand...

Good points...
Though I'll add another couple of thoughts -

1 -- Know your audience - meet their expectations head-on and exceed them! If you're going for a cheesy effects audience (such as Troma might target) then mixing the cheese in with the latex and Karo syrup can work just fine. (We used to use karo to make our fake blood - and the great thing was that if we were in a rural environment it would attract huge numbers of flies - which for us translated to production value. On the other hand if you're doing an intellectual/ creepy thriller film then seeing less may trigger the imagination more. Some other references are the amount of blood actually seen in the original Halloween, and how clear a picture we get of the monster in the initial Alien.

2 -- Create something that stands out - actually quite a few things - from a visual perspective. Think action and intensity and camera movement. You'll need them for your trailer and marketing. Watch a lot of trailers for horror films and see what's in them and what stands out (or makes you want to watch the film.) You're going to need to make sure you have shots that stand alone and will entice viewers. And remember, whenever there's a partially open door in the background of the shot, the audience is just waiting for someone (or something) to come through it!
 
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