Deconstruction - Locations

For my location deconstruction, I decided to look at the types of places which psychological horrors were conventionally filmed in. This could help us to decide and confirm the locations in our film, depending on whether we want to subvert or conform the common representations. I looked at a number of different films but within all of them there was an underlying theme of large suburban houses. 

The first film which I looked at is Poltergeist, and the house that features is a large suburban house. The house is modern and expensive looking, but in America this is seen as 'the norm' for the average family. The house is perfect for this genre as there are many rooms and areas which can be seen as hiding places, either for the victims or similarly for the killer or possessed being.

In Sinister, the house is much less modern looking, although is more modern than a traditional American house. However, this creates a new level of understanding for the audience as they can relate to the modern setting. Also, the house seems much smaller than the previous example, which may not only suggest the difference in wealth, but maintains a sense of normality. As the house is smaller, it also highlights that there are less hiding places and areas of protection for the victims from the antagonist.

In Oculus, the house is a modern looking stone building. The plot of the film focuses on an old possessed mirror, this is significant because it doesn't fit into the setting, therefore highlighting the abnormality in an otherwise normal life. Also, the large amount of grassland surrounding the house suggests it is a family home, which is confirmed by the children in the image below.

The house which features in Insidious,  is a large and modern looking building with futuristic connotations, which may be a result of the blue haze filter. The palm trees give the audience a further insight into the overall location of the house, as they are generally associated with LA and other hot places where wealthy and successful families reside.

In The Purge, one of the main aspects of the film is that the family is very wealthy and can therefore use this for protection, conforming to the Marxist theory. This is highlighted through not only the appearance of the house and its sheer size, but also the advanced technology used, such as the hydraulic pressurised system for closing doors and also the electric gate at the front of the house. The sensor lighting on the house also shows that the inhabitants want to illuminate their surroundings so they have full visuals of the areas surrounding the establishment.

To conclude these findings, it has been discovered that a main convention of the psychological horror regarding location, is that the houses are often modern and elaborate, but without losing the sense of normality. This is effective because it enables the audience to relate to the location within the scene but also adds to the mysterious and eerie effect.

Deconstrcution - locations within a horror sequence

Within the horror genre, theres a select few locations which will almost always occur within almost every film.

The first of which locations, is a creepy woodland path. This type of location is almost always used when the victim (typically female) will be chased by the killer which will result in her falling over because she tripped on a branch and then getting caught. creepy woodland is also great for keeping the audience on edge. By this, I mean that the victim character could have finally managed to find a hiding place and give the audience a sense of hope that the character has managed to evade their killer. However, that sense of grace is soon disrupted by the jump scare of the killer catching the victim and killing them suddenly which is usually seen within the opening sequence and the rest of the film based on finding who the killer is with the killer making an eventual return.

The next location which is more typically seen within a supernatural horror is a large house in a secluded area, usually surrounded by the type of woodland i just mentioned as it gives the whole location a sense of no escape. The following house is from the supernatural horror "the conjuring" which is as stereotypical as possible to a supernatural horror to the extent that it even has a creepy tree at the bottom of the garden which is perfect for a person to be hanged from which it is in the film.

A final location which is less common within a horror film but than the above two locations, but is still used and worth a mention as we are going to use similar locations in our own sequence is abandoned locations. These vary from abandoned mansions, to abandoned warehouses to even castle ruins which we are going to use. The abandoned locations, in my opinion are very effective to use in a horror film as they already carry a sense of unease with them because they give the impression that there is a reason for the location to have been abandoned in the first place.

Practical Task - Location Scouting

For my second location scouting practical, I decided that I wanted to make it more specific to our initial film opening idea. I visited Rochester Castle and Rochester Cathedral for my location scouting.

I took a variety of different shots using different angles and varying how close I was to the castle. This was effective as it portrayed the castle in different ways. Also, I didn't need to add any filters to my photographs as I liked the contrast of the stone castle against the grey sky.

 I liked the intricate details on the castle, including the different colours stones as well as the black windows which can be seen, as this added a mysterious tone to the castle as it could suggest that you are being watched from something within.

On the castle, I also liked how it wasn't quite perfect, as there were many imperfections to it such as missing bricks and different shapes, but this added to the feel of the castle, which I think would work really well with our initial plot.

As it there was a christmas fair when i visited the castle, i decided to take this to my advantage and photograph some of the fair ground rides which were there. I really liked the ferris wheel because of the bright colours and lights compared to then grey sky. 

I liked the angle of this picture and how the castle is presented, as a large number of the windows are seen as well as the brick detail on the very top of the castle. The christmas tree and fair ground rides in the forefront of the picture added a nice effect to the photo, as there is bright colours and lights compared to the bleak colours of the sky and castle.

Within the castle grounds, there was a large tree and as it was winter, all the leaves had fallen off. I really liked this because of how intricate and detailed each branch was, which added to the effect of the photograph having a mysterious and aged feel to it. Again, I did not need to edit or manipulate these photos in any way and was very lucky that they sky was dismal at the time when I took the photos.

As it got darker, the castle was lit up with bright white and red lights. I thought these were very effective and improved the eerie feel which is associated with the castle. The red light was effective as it was not a major part of the lighting or the shot, but it was visible enough to change the portrayal of the castle.

I then took some pictures of Rochester Cathedral, and because it was getting dark, it had been lit up with a series of spotlights. This added a huge effect to the photo as the bright light being focused on the building exaggerated all the details on the walls. This also increased the shadow in the shot and the light only focused on the spire.

 This is one of my favourite photos because the main focus of the shot is on the spire, although the rest of the Cathedral can be seen but is more of a darker shadowed colour, as the spotlight is not directed onto it. I also love the colour of the sky against the light colours of the Cathedral as this was a nice contrast.

Overall, I think the use of old buildings such as Cathedrals and Castles will be very effective for our opening sequence, as we can manipulate the light to highlight the parts of the building that are the best and most detailed, and old buildings in general come with an eerie feel and a sense of mystery. This specific location scouting will be very helpful in deciding where to film our project as we can have a comparison of different buildings in different areas to make our final decision.

Practical Task - Locations

There is a train station near where I live that is relatively abandoned, although still in use. It is not very well kept and usually empty, and so I thought this would be a good location to use for the practical task.

There is an alley to reach the train station that is covered in graffiti. This alley is a great location to show someone who is isolated, or in a vulnerable position as they can clearly be shown to be alone. 

This alleyway would also be useful for showing someone being followed and then attacked or kidnapped, as it looks like a rough area that could be dangerous. Furthermore, this location is practical, as it is often empty so there would be no issue of people being in the way when filming. 

The bridge over the train tracks is made of metal and is rusting. It can be seen from the above image that the metal looks tarnished and dilapidated.  

Underneath the bridge it can be seen even more the amount of rust. This location would be good for an urban drama, as this is the kind of location that is often used to show the poverty of working class people and the problems they face. 

The concrete structures surrounding the train station would work well within an Urban Drama, as concrete often represents busy city areas, but the dirt and graffiti shows how it is set in a rough area. 

The areas surrounding the train station includes warehouses and large car parks. This would be good for a horror film, as the film could be shot in order to make it seem as though one of the warehouses is the killer's lair. The location is also isolated as it is in a warehouse estate, so it would be a good place for a victim to be captured.

Deconstruction of Locations within Horror Films

The conventions of locations within all sub-genres of horror are relatively simplistic. The general rule is to keep the location in a relatively normal place, such as a home or school, or to set the film in an abandoned or isolated area.

Horror films can often be set in homes, or other ordinary locations such as schools, to evoke empathy from the viewer. Setting the films in common locations causes audience members to envisage themselves in the situation of the characters on screen, and to believe the events could occur in real life. 

An example of a horror film using a common locations as a setting is Carrie. The majority of the film is set in Carrie's house and her school, with other scenes occurring in a street and her mother's work. These are all common locations with which the audience can relate. This causes the audience to be more scared of the film as they can picture the events happening to themselves in similar locations. 

Another common convention of horror film locations is an abandoned or isolated setting. This is common within slasher horrors, but also can be seen in supernatural and psychological horrors as well. The isolated location adds more of a threat to the plot, and makes the characters seem more vulnerable as the audience is aware they have no means of escape. This causes the audience to have a greater fear for the characters as they are aware of the danger they are in that they cannot get away from. 

This can be seen in the Blair Witch Project. This is a psychological horror, where three teenage film-makers are lost in a forest, supposedly haunted by the Blair Witch. The vast majority of the film stars only the three protagonists who are lost in the forest. This greatly communicates their isolation from the rest of the world, and determines the danger they face to be greater than if they were in a crowded location. The use of one single location for the majority of the film effectively drives the audience to feel the frustration and panic the characters feel when dealing with the obstacles the film. 

Another common location within horror films, although mainly psychological horrors, is the villain's lair. Mise-en-scene is often used within a location to reveal information about the antagonist of the film and to act as a point of development in the plot when the protagonist discovers the lair. 

A good example of a lair can be seen in Se7en. The lair is full of mise-en-scene, such as notebooks and journals full of information relating to the killer's obsession. The lair acts as a plot device to enable the audience to further discover the intent of the killer, and to learn more about his motives. It also allows the characters to develop, and the audience can see them reach a new understanding of the villain as the audience do themselves.

practical task - Location scouting

So I chose to look at outside locations during my scout and came across a few excellent locations for use in a potential chase scene or to be used in establishing shots followed by a cut to the protagonist(s) in their current location(s).

My favourite, and first, of the locations, was in part of a woodland near to where I live in Yalding.

I really like this as a woodland location as you can see in the distance that it has plenty of ground space, but the trees still obscure direct view in most directions and so can be used as an effective chase location.

I can explain the use of the smoke. It was purely as a way of seeing the potential usage of smoke to create "fog" when it becomes dark enough to appear as night. The fact it was red is just as a way of seeing the effect as a more exaggeration since at night, we'd have lighting set up to shine through the white smoke which would be time consuming to replicate, however if this location is chosen alongside the mise-en-scene of the artificial smoke, we may revisit smoke grenades and their use.

With the help of some wind, I was able to get the effect I was after. As you see towards the left, the smoke is still thick, however, if a figure were to be stood within the smoke cloud with lighting behind them at night, we would be able to have an amazing effect of this ominous figure appearing from the mist which will be effective at building tension and gaining audience anticipation. Again, the smoke will be white if it were to be used in the actual sequence. However to make it easier to detect the effect created by the smoke, I have used red smoke during the daytime.

In my opinion, this is another great location for both an establishing shot of the area, and as a location where the killer can make a creepy first appearance where the protagonist walks across the entire frame and as they walk past, the killer is then perhaps stood beside one of the trees or a body is suddenly hanging from a tree, foreshadowing the protagonists inevitable outcome.

I really like this location for the sheer purpose that it is exceedingly creepy in the correct lighting. You're unable to see far in the distance and the space is claustrophobic as the trees line the path on both sides and also arch overhead to give the feeling that you're almost trapped which is a genuine feeling I get every time I walk along this path.

I don't know what it is about this part of the woodland location that I find eery, but I get the feeling that it's due to the hard foreground lighting and soft background lighting that make the space feel enclosed when actually it is the same clearing that the person is stood in holding the smoke grenades (photo 2). Again, to have a sudden jump cut to this exact location with the same lighting with a figure either stood here or dead here would increase the intensity of the sequence, especially if the protagonist(s) passes this location before they come across the killer.