This is my director case study for my A2 media studies coursework on horror films.

1. Director Case Study –
Stanley Kubrick

2. Stanley Kubrick is an inspirational director for various reasons such as the fact that he has been praised for
his unique camera movement and the fact that his directing is seen as highly controlled but spontaneous as
well. Steven Spielberg has said that in regards to Kubrick’s film ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ that “nobody could shoot
a better picture in history”. Many media practitioners have noted that at first, Kubrick’s films were
misunderstood and under-appreciated when first released, only to be considered masterpieces later on. He
first got into film making as he displayed a interest in literature, photography, and film from a young age,
and taught himself all aspects of film production and directing after graduating from school.
He directed, produced and wrote one of the most famous psychological horror films in history: ‘The
Shining’ (1980) which was an important influence on my creative decisions when creating my own
psychological horror film. I want to find out more about his directing techniques that contributed to the
success of his films so that I can use some of the devices when creating my own horror film trailer in the
hopes that it will also be successful.

3. Kubrick once told a friend that he “had long desired to
"make the world's scariest movie, involving a series of
episodes that would play upon the nightmare fears of the
audience”. At the time, audiences were afraid of what the
effects of drugs were on peoples’ minds so the new thing to
be afraid of were regular people. So ‘The Shining’ was
perfect for this as it explored the main character’s descent
into madness when he starts attempting to murder his
family. It became a huge success to now being considered a
‘horror cult classic’. He was praised for turning the hotel in
which the film is set into something cramped and
claustrophobic.
When talking about the theme of ‘The Shining’, Stanley
Kubrick said that “there's something inherently wrong
with the human personality. There's an evil side to it. One
of the things that horror stories can do is to show us the
archetypes of the unconscious; we can see the dark side
without having to confront it directly.”
I compared the character in ‘The Shining’ to another
character ‘Alex DeLarge’ from ‘A Clockwork Orange’
(1971) which is another film that Kubrick directed which
featured the main character being a sociopath. I think in
creating these films with these type of characters,
Kubrick tapped into his idea of the dark side of the
human personality and by delving into it caused the films
to be very successful.

4. At the time when he was filming movies like ‘The
Shining’, the Steadicam was very advanced technology but
Kubrick used it to its fullest potential. Kubrick described
the Steadicam as allowing fast, flowing, camera
movements which would have otherwise been impossible
to accomplish.
He used custom made zoom lenses, which allowed him to
start a scene with a close-up and slowly zoom out; maybe
to allow the audience to first get an impression of the main
character then present them with more information to
reveal the background of that character. This can be seen in
the introduction in his film ‘A Clockwork Orange’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI-mDTdeKR8
Kubrick also stressed how the editing of a film can make or
break it. He said how he would shoot a scene from many
angles then in editing rearrange them until the scene was
perfect.
His Directing Techniques
It was also said that Stanley Kubrick used extreme camera
angles in order to make the audience feel disoriented. This
would work very well in a psychological film as it would
help the audience understand better the mental strain the
characters are experiencing.

5. When considering what techniques to use when filming my
psychological horror film trailer I will use techniques I have learnt
researching Stanley Kubrick and his works as he became a legend
to cameramen around the world and the success of his films before
his death in 1999 in addition to the legacy that he left has shown
me that in order for my film trailer to be a success I need to use
similar devices that he did.
Especially the techniques in which he highlighted the mental states
of the main characters as the main protagonist in my film will
experience their mind deteriorating and I want my audience to be
able to relate to her despair as if they are enduring it too. I will do
this as I will use his zoom techniques in my trailer to get a similar
reaction from my audience in regards to the character.