In this document, the author discusses various camera shot techniques that could be used to create tension and fear in a horror film opening, including: 1) Off-kilter shots, over-the-shoulder shots, and close-ups of weapons can create a sense of chaos, portray a character's point of view, and increase tension. 2) Extreme close-ups of a character's face can show their fear and make the audience sympathetic. 3) A 360-degree shot of an isolated protagonist can portray fear. 4) High-angle and low-angle shots can show a victim's vulnerability or a killer's power and control. 5) The use of shadows and suggestion can increase

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SHOTS

2. Off-Kilter shot
■ An Off-Kilter shot is a type of shot which is filmed at an angle.
■ You can use an Off-Kilter shot in action scenes in order to create a more chaotic scene.
■ I can use an Off-Kilter shot in my Horror film opening to create a more hectic layout of
the protagonist's fright and escape from the antagonist.

3. Over the should shot of the killer
■ An over the should shot is filmed over one of the characters shoulders.
■ It creates a dramatic effect.
■ It creates an perception into what the main characters point of view of the killer is.
■ This could also portray to the audience the antagonist chasing the protagonist in my
horror film opening.
■ In my horror film opening I could also do an over the should shot, over the antagonists
shoulder to portray the protagonists fear.

4. Close up on weapon
■ Close ups on the antagonists weapon portrays tension in a horror film.
■ The audience will feel fear when they see a bloodied weapon either lying on the
ground or in the killers hands.
■ I could use these close ups in my horror movie as it will furtherly create tension and
fear for the audience.
■ I could leave the last shot of my film opening on the weapon, to interest people and
also to leave it on a cliff-hanger, therefore creating more tension and fear amongst the
audience.

5. Close up/ extreme close up on fear
■ Close ups on the protagonists face portray their fear, this will make the audience
fearful for them.
■ Close ups of the protagonist will make the audience sympathetic and scared for them,
therefore they will want the protagonist to escape the antagonist.
■ In my own Film Opening I could use a close up shot of the antagonist to portray to the
audience that they should fear them and also to show the evil that will spread on the
antagonists face as it prepares to kill.
■ I could also use close ups to show fear to make my film opening more realistic and
scary.

6. 360 degree shot to show isolation/fear
■ A 360 degree shot of the protagonist will portray how isolated he or she is.This will
make the audience want the protagonist to get out of the situation as quickly as
possible.
■ Horror films are shot in lonely and isolated places, for example; a haunted house or
mental asylum. Lonely and isolated places will increase the fear of the audience for the
protagonist.
■ I could use the 360 degree shot to portray isolation and fear in my own horror film
opening to portray the protagonists fear of being trapped with the unknown
antagonist.

7. High angle shot to show the victims
vulnerability
■ A high angle shot could be from the point of view of the antagonist looking down on
its victim, this will portray how vulnerable the victim is.
■ It will also portray the fear on the victims face in the face of the killer.
■ A high angle shot could portray that the victim is trapped by the killer.
■ I could use this in my film opening to have a scene where the antagonist is bearing
down and about the kill the protagonist.This will create fear amongst the audience.

8. Low angle shot to show the power of the
killer
■ A low angle shot in the point of view of the victim will portray how much power the
killer has got.
■ It will portray the killer to have more control.
■ Adding more height to the antagonist will create more fear amongst both the
audience and the protagonist.
■ I could use a low angle shot in my horror film opening to convey the killer as having
power and control over the victim in certain parts of the film opening.

9. How to stab someone without hurting
them
■ To stab someone without hurting them I could cut the shot before the knife touches
the skin.
■ This will create fear and sadness amongst the audience as they know that the
protagonist will most definitely been wounded or even killed.
■ I could use this process in my film opening as it will make the audience feel both fear
and sadness , due to the fact that the protagonist or another character may have been
killed.The audience would so desperately want the protagonist to escape.

10. Point of view of victim and killer as victim
crawls away on her back as killer approaches
■ The victim crawling away from the killer will give a sense of tension and possible stress
for the audience because of their urge for the protagonist to escape.
■ The killer would be following their victim, giving the scene a more terrifying and tense
atmosphere.
■ The victim who is crawling away will be more vulnerable.
■ In my film opening, instead of the victim escaping when crawling away, I could have
the killer suddenly drag the protagonist away, this will create a jump scare and more
fear for the protagonist.

11. Use the power of suggestion
■ Using creeping shadows could increase the power of suggestion as the audience will
question who it is and what it is doing.
■ Using shadows will increase the audiences attention and will create mystery of the
identity of the shadow.
■ I could use the power of suggestion through shadows in my horror movie as it will
keep the audience interested and questioning the identity of the shadow as well as
keeping fear and tensions high throughout the film opening.