Before we start shooting and the pre production, I decided to look at the usual places that most movies are shot at to get some inspiration for our own horror movie opening. The most common place that I found in a variety of articles was an abandoned place. Having the setting be an abandoned place actually makes a lot of sense because it makes it seem as if the characters have no help and creates an eerie effect. Although choosing the right setting is essential, an article that I used to get some insight on horror movie settings was, “6 Horror Film Tropes” and it said that they way you write and deliver the scene should not be entirely dependent on the setting because the setting is only a small factor in the big picture. This is something I know for sure I will keep in mind when deciding with my partner where we want to film.
In a separate article, I found called, “Top 10 Horror Movie Settings!” it played out the most typical settings and includes a couple examples. Some of the settings that I found that would be the most reasonable to do were:
- Hotel/motel
- Graveyard
- School
- Abandoned house
A similarity I found in these setting are that most of them always seem to be abandoned even if they are a public place such as a school.
When choosing a setting, we will keep in mid that most horror movies take place in an abandoned or isolated setting and make sure that the setting contributes to our tone but doesn’t overpower the rest of the elements such as the cinematography, editing, and mise en scene.
Sources: https://www.raindance.org/6-common-horror-film-tropes/ https://www.joblo.com/horror-movies/news/lists-top-10-horror-movie-settings/item#8
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