The short film “Bump” directed by Martin Troy, Jerod Brennen and produced by Zane Gocha and Martin Troy is a horror film having many generic conventions of a horror film such as unusual music, frequent cuts and being filmed at night. This short film was found on YouTube and was produced to experiment with a new camera purchased by the film production team. The target audience for this horror film would be between the ages fifteen and twenty five year olds for both male and female and having the psychographics of explorers.
The storyline of the short film “Bump” is about two girls house sitting for some friends who are on vacation, who come across bumping noises in the basement garage. They then decide to investigate what the noises are being made from and come across a dog putting them in a false sense of security thinking it was the dog that made the noises when actually the noises came from a man wearing a clown mask who then kills both the girls ending the short film. The narrative is linear as it is shown in a chronological order and is concentrated on one scene and not cut with others making it clear for the audience watching to understand what is going on in the short film.
There are many different types of camera shots used in the short film “Bump” in order to create different effects and atmospheres for the audience watching. At the beginning of the film for example a pan and high angle shot is used in order to show the environment the two girls are in a dark bedroom creating a scary atmosphere for the audience watching. Also an establishing shot is used to show the setting in which the short horror film is set in a big house, which is a conventional setting and this camerawork is particularly conventional to the horror genre as it shows the situation the characters are in. A medium close up and two shot is used in order to show the reaction on the two girls faces showing that they are scared and freaked out which creates tension for the audience watching. Hand held shots are also used for example when one of the girls looks around the garage basement to create a “shakey effect” creating suspense and tension a very conventional camera technique used in horror films. Another conventional camera shot used in the horror genre by the film is a point of view shot when the girl looks around the garage which is again used to create tension and a scary and realistic atmosphere for the audience watching.
The use of editing is also significant in horror films such as the frequent cuts used for example when one of the girls hears a noise in the garage and goes to find out what caused the noise. These frequent cuts are used to create tension and suspense for the audience watching a conventional editing technique used in horror films. Reaction shots are used to show the expressions on the characters faces for example the noises they hear in the garage and this creates tension and makes the atmosphere in which the characters are in seem scarier for the audience watching. Also a long take is used to build up tension and suspense for the audience watching and this is a commonly used technique associated with the horror genre. An eye line match is also used when the girl opens the door to the garage in order to create further suspense and tension for the audience watching as time taken to open the door is increased.
One of the most important aspects of short horror films is sound and this is used effectively in the film “Bump” for example at the beginning of the film there is a crescendo which makes the atmosphere in which the characters are in seem scarier. Also non diegetic music is used to create suspense and tension for example when one of the girls enters the garage. The use of diegetic sounds such as the door creaking and the girl screaming adds to the tension and suspense of the film for the audience watching and further emphasises something bad is going to happen to the two girls known as foreshadowing. The dialogue in the film “Bump” is mainly used to explain the situation the girls are in and to show how scared they are which is again a conventional technique used in horror films. A synchronous sound is also used in the horror film “Bump” when the girl gets stabbed by the man she screams scaring the audience watching and making them “jump” from their seats.
Mise-en-scence is also selected and contrasted in order to create a scary and realistic atmosphere for the audience to watch in for example lighting. The film is mainly shot in low key lighting in order to create a scary atmosphere for the audience watching and when the girl enters the garage the lighting used there by the girl is a torch to further create tension and suspense for the audience watching a commonly used technique. The use of props for example the baseball bat the girl carries a conventional proximity weapon indicates to the audience that there is someone else inside the house with them and this adds to the suspense. The acting style of the girls is of them acting scared and worried which adds to the tension of the film and this is a stereotypical acting style associated with the horror genre. The costume used in the short film “Bump” is used to make the film seem more realistic for the audience watching and the clown mask of the man a conventional iconography associated with the horror genre makes it scarier for the audience watching.
To conclude the short film “Bump” is an effective short film as it uses the four technical codes camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene to portray a scary atmosphere for the audience to watch in. They are also used to create tension and suspense for the audience watching leaving them “sitting on the edge of their seats” waiting to find out what happens to the two girls towards the end.
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