Planning/Research: Lighting

Lighting is a key factor within teaser trailers and specifically in supernatural horrors as it is largely responsible for creating the ominous atmosphere which is conventional of the genre. As we are going to have some of our scenes filmed outdoors, specifically at the beginning of our trailer where it sets the scene and the narrative when the family are just moving into their new home, natural lighting will play a huge role for part of our trailer. As we want the weather to be sunny at the beginning to reflect the happy mood at start of the narrative, this could prove difficult as the time of year that I will be filming in is quite unpredictable. We may have to use artificial lighting to solve this problem or try and plan to film on a day where good weather is predicted.

Having the start of a supernatural horror narrative set during the daytime and for the mood to be quite happy is conventional as it contrasts against the bad things that happen during most of the film and also lulls the audience into a false sense of security in teaser trailers. Some examples of the genre which begin like this include:

Sunny weather show in an ES at the beginning of Annabelle (2014) trailer.

Establishing shot at the start of Insidious: Chapter 2 (2014) trailer.

Throughout most of our teaser trailer however, we will be filming indoors. We will have to use the lighting supplied by the house and other lighting equipment to create the effective atmosphere that we are looking for. Conventionally, supernatural horrors are set at night and so we will have to film at a time which reflects this or else it may be unconvincing. Also, typically, a lot of supernatural horror narratives use low key lighting to create a foreboding and scary atmosphere for the audience and reflects the icon nighttime setting.

Low-key lighting shown in an ES in the Sinister (2012) trailer.

We may also use lighting to create shadows in our indoor shots, which are an icon of the genre and add to the eerie atmosphere and sense of the unknown.

The iconic shadow in the classic horror film Nosferatu (1922).