Shock! A New Horror

Reflection

In our final work, Trance, we hope to shed light on mental health, encouraging viewers to empathise with the confusion and isolation that can come when having mental illness. Observing the audience at the exhibition, I briefly saw how the audience was trying to engage with the film, visibly concentrating, and trying to piece together the disordered reality of Sam’s world. Trance stands as an art-house horror piece within the genre of “post-horror” where it focuses more on the visuals and is  “less narrative-driven, more prone to focus on symbolism and metaphor.” By prioritising the atmospheric visuals through Sam’s eyes focusing especially on lighting and setting, we allowed the audience to confront the emotional weight of mental health struggles through the unsettling visuals.

One of our most successful aspects of our finished work would be our use of bold, colourful lighting used throughout the film. Through the use of coloured gel lighting we were able to create a surreal, dream-like atmosphere that disconnects both the character and the audience from a grounded sense of reality. I felt this was shown especially in the forest location in our film. “Post-horror films that use wild, unpopulated landscapes as an effective adjunct to their minimalist form” and by using the lights in the large park atmosphere created an unsettling dream-like reality. I also thought the lighting was used effectively in the hallway scene where Sam is walking down the hallway towards the red light.This contrast between the red light and the green towned hallway heightened the unsettledness of the scene and their skewed perception of the world around the character.

One of the most problematic aspects would be our time management. When first creating our plans for shooting and allocation days to film we were not being realistic and we then realised that we were falling behind almost everyday of our initial planned shooting schedule. Due to this we had to allocate additional days to film and while we realised our problem and planned what we were going to be able to shoot in a more realistic manner, we didn’t get to film some of the scenes that we had hoped to include in the short film which I felt had importance to the film.

I think we could do some more improvement on the sound editing. I felt like some of the audio editing choices we made sounded a bit too jarring and out of place when watching it during the exhibition such as a few of the sound effects and audio included in the dinner scene. I think we could utilise and play around with  some audio effects such as  fading to make it sound less jarring. I also feel we could work more on the colour grading to make all the scenes look slightly more cohesive. Due to time constraints, I felt we were not able to play with audio and colour grading as much as we wanted to.

The key takeaway from this studio has been the realisation of how deeply a genre can be explored, particularly in horror, which offers a broad spectrum of storytelling possibilities. I realised this when exploring the subgenre of post-horror, which I had little understanding of before. Movies like Hereditary and The Babadook redefine horror by incorporating elements of drama and existential dread, challenging audiences to confront deeper fears and anxieties without the need for conventional scares. Post-horror “often eschews genre tropes in favour of social realism and psychological themes.” This approach can be far more unsettling, as it lingers on human emotions and mental states. Through this studio, I’ve come to appreciate post-horror’s ability to not only to scare but also to explore complex emotional and psychological issues in ways traditional horror typically avoids. While this has helped in creating Trance, This knowledge will stick with me for any future post-horror works I create or get to be a part of.

One key takeaway from working collaboratively on a short film is the vital role of clear and consistent communication. Effective communication ensures that everyone understands the creative direction, avoids misunderstandings, and allows for smooth problem-solving. I was fortunate to work with a group of strong communicators who ensured that everyone was aligned on our roles, goals, and creative direction throughout the whole process of creating Trance. This clarity made it easier to handle challenges and adapt quickly to changes, especially with a few different issues relating to scheduling and planning coming up unexpectedly where communication was crucial to making sure we were back on track. Through this process, I realised how clear communication not only prevents misunderstandings but also builds a sense of trust. I cant emphasise enough how comfortable and supported I felt working with everyone on Trance, which allowed me to bring the best version of myself to every shoot and meeting and I hope to bring these values onto the next media project I am a part of.

References 

Church, David. Post-Horror : Art, Genre and Cultural Elevation, Edinburgh University Press, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rmit/detail.action?docID=6425053

I called it ‘post-horror’ – and now I’ve created a monster, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/aug/02/i-created-a-monster-how-post-horror-it-comes-at-night-a-ghost-story?CMP=share_btn_url

The Emergent Trend of Mainstream vs. Art-House Horror Films, https://danielhassall.medium.com/the-emergent-trend-of-mainstream-vs-art-house-horror-films-7096f9a9ed3e