I am still in the process of picking a film idea, the closest I have come to a decision is a horror type film that uses sound over visuals to create tension. A short film that somewhat relates to my idea is the short film ''Lights Out''. It utilises camera tricks and light to manipulate the audiences emotions, creating a steady build up of tension.

I like this short film because it manages to become terrifying by only using a  couple of simple techniques and clever timing.

 This simple use of either editing or stopping the camera and moving the person creates the illusion of someone appearing when the light is switched off. The way this short film uses editing is clever in that it doesn't need to be quality editing because you cannot fully see what is being edited. During the post process editing of this film they have made the person shadowy black to match the surroundings which have been edited to appear darker, this helps create realism and makes the shot seem more realistic.


Because of the lack of funds and poor quality of editing this technique of using light to reduce the visibility of an object is something which I could incorporate into my own film as we have very little in terms of computer generated graphics.

Most of the screen time of this extract is the woman, the director has done this to demonstrate her emotions and make the person standing in the corridor seem more mysterious. It achieves this because the being is never fully revealed and the audience is left guessing on what it is.


The film releases the built up tension by revealing the person for a split second, this is an affective way of executing a 'jump scare'. I could incorporate this into my own film by using the same technique of releasing the tension in a slit second. Another way this films jump scare is effective is because of the use of unexpected sound during a period of lack of sound, when the little girl is displayed the non-diegetic music peaks in volume, reinforcing the effective release of tension.