My Still Analysis (BLK)

In the still you can see a female hand reaching out on a green background coming from a black area. There is also a silhouette on the background.

I believe that the shot effectively portrays the genre of thriller/horror. This is because of the use of lighting and the use of a spotlight which creates a silhouette which is a signifier of horror. The lighting also creates areas of complete darkness which connotes evil and mystery and could lead an individual to question what lurks within it and is obscured from view. The brightness of the hand successfully juxtaposes the darkness surrounding it. Another signifier of the genre is that the nail varnish connotes that the character is a woman and in many horror films women are seen as more vulnerable in dangerous or threatening situations so this could lead an audience to worry for and empathise with the character.

To achieve the effect in the shot we used the pack lights on a white filter and held them close to the green background. The arm was placed in front of the lights to create a silhouette on the background. By having the arm not central but towards the lower right hand corner and by using as moderate high angle shot we were able to create the sense of vulnerability and desperateness. Also, by having the arm in the bottom corner it could imply movement and cause an audience to question where the hand is coming from and where it is or who it is going towards. We intended for the audience to read the sill as one from a horror film. We wanted them to possibly interpret it in two different ways. The first interpretation being that the arm is a plea for help or rescue and the other being that the arm belongs to the villain or 'monster'. Also, by not being able to see the whole character we hoped that an audience member would question what is happening and that the levels of fear would be heightened by the uncertainty.

In hindsight I would like to have had the opportunity to use makeup/art on the arm to make it look bloody and bruised or perhaps like a zombie to make it even more obvious that the genre is horror. I would also like to have experimented by using different colour gels to see the effects that they would have on the arm and the green background. Also, I would like to have tried to make the whole mise-en-scene darker, have a smaller are spotlighted and have blood on the green background.