Blog #44 Filming Day 2 - Scene 6, Shot 1

 

This is my plan for scene 6, shot 1.

In this scene we see Dillon go out of his house to wait for Anna, however in the background a cultmember sneaks into his house, and Dillon hears a strange noise, leading him in another direction. While 'fairly' simple on paper, this probably ended up being the trickiest shot of the film, but also one of my favorites, acting as pay off for Scene 5, shot 2's additional shot (see below) I added, foreshadowing the break in.

Scene 5, shot 2 additional shot

I added this shot to foreshadow the break in, using lighting to cast the shadow of a cultmember onto the wall as Dillon picks up the phone for Anna - also foreshadowing that Anna is affiliated with the cult.

Scene 6, shot 1

Like I said, this was the trickiest shot, taking about 3 tests without camera, and around 4 with it.

Dillon walks out of his front door - Mid Shot - Tracking

Lighting story: I decided to use the lighting and composition of this shot to fully kick off the finale, and symbolize Dillon shielding away his personality in preparation of meeting with Anna, In this shot the lighting is very bright, symbolizing his true personality, specifically white, the color of his hoodie which also symbolizes his true personality.

Dillon walks away from his house, towards the street to wait for Anna - Close Up - Tracking

Lighting story cont. : Now Dillon is farther away from the bright white lighting, and a tree's shadow is being cast on his face, blocking the lighting, symbolizing him hiding away his identity in real time.

Dillon continues to walk towards the street, as a cultmember sneaks into his house behind him - Close Up - Tracking 

For this shot to be effective I needed both Gavin and Cole to be able to act out the proper movements at the proper times, without being able to see each other, so I had to use verbal cues, telling each of them when to start or pause their movements.

Dillon hears a strange noise, and goes towards it - Over the Shoulder - Tracking

Lighting story cont. : Now Dillon's back is facing the camera, hes walking away from it, rather then towards it, and his figure is almost fully covered by shadow.

Dillon walks towards the strange noise - Long shot - Tracking

Lighting Story cont. : little to no light is directly cast upon Dillon in this shot, and it has gone from an over the shoulder, to a long shot, as he is genuinely getting further and further away from the camera. - in the direct shot after this, the lighting is so dark you can barely make out Dillon until the camera moves, symbolizing that hes not being authentic at all.

I am extremely proud of this shot, and all the work that went into it, it is also probably the first or one of the first shots that truly feels like a standard horror film.