HOW TO CREATE A SCARY SHORT FILM

Creepin’ It Real

Hi my name is Abbey Burgett and I am one of the videographers here at Sage Creative and in honor of Halloween coming up, I wanted to describe how editing goes with a a scary movie! Once a week, my roommates and I pick a scary movie to watch in our cozy living room. As long as there is no possessions or exorcisms happening, I will watch it. I’m not sure what it is about scary movies that I like so much, but I enjoy watching them. Especially in October. Sometimes it's good to get a sense of horror without having to live through it in real life. The jump scares and slow building of the climax is what lures the audience into your film. Suddenly, you get a rush of adrenaline, chill bumps all over, and a weird sense that someone is watching you. Have you ever thought about making a scary short film? After all, it is spooky season...  Halloween is right around the corner! 

To begin a scary short film, you need to have a script first. You should create engaging characters with opposite goals to rope in your viewers. When writing your script keep these things in mind. How many actors can you afford? What locations can you film at? What gear do you have access to? Do you have a good mic? If you don’t have a microphone that picks up good sound, you may want to have less dialogue and more silence in your movie. Just creepin’ it real! After you have your script, you will need a shot list. A shot list is a document with all the information you will need to carry out your scene by describing each shot within the film. Next, you can make a storyboard, which is a sequence of drawings with instructions and dialogue, showing the shots you plan to make. When you are done, hire your actors/actresses, and figure out which camera, lenses, microphones and lighting you want to use.  

The basics in shooting is to first adjust your shutter speed, then your aperture, and ISO last. If your ISO is cranked up too high, the quality in your shot will be grainy. You want to keep it between 400 and 1600 if you can help it. Say you’re filming in a house at night. How would you decide which room to use? If you want the protagonist to be in the dark, a room with natural lighting would be your best choice. For example, if you choose to shoot in the living room or kitchen, the windows can let in porch light through the curtains creating unique shadows. To generate more suspense, you can even change the color of the light bulb to orange or red. Camera movement is also important when recording a scary short film. Using slow movement throughout the house builds tension within your audience. This naturally keeps us on our toes because we are always thinking, what is going to jump out next? To be more creative, record a long take of the scene without cutting. This gives you a sense of dread replicating the killers point of view. If you decide to film in a bedroom, you can use a bedside table lamp as a light source. For example, a woman can be in her room getting ready for bed when she hears something outside her window. She slowly opens the curtains for a peek. The next shot is the antagonist's point of view watching her through the bushes. She closes the curtains, not seeing anyone, and turns her light off. The killer walks toward the back of the house, all you see someone in a black hood. Keeping the antagonist's identity hidden for as long as you can will make it even more intriguing when they are revealed later.  

I love working in the film industry because it allows me to get creative and put my artistic mind to work. To make sound effects for your horror film, your best bet is to make the foley yourself, or download sound effects online. What you probably don’t know about foley, is that you can use just about anything to get the sound you want. It's important to get foley while you are on set so your sound will be more accurate. Walk around the scene capturing door knobs turning, creeks on the stairs, bushes rumbling, etc. If you need a gory sound, you can stab knife into a pumpkin, watermelon, or any fruit for the effect of someone getting stabbed. Pull the watermelon apart to get good crunch sounds. To break someone's bones, you can break a carrot for that creepy effect. For bat wings, you can open and close an umbrella repeatedly. Anything you can think of you can use! This is great for people who have a small budget and cannot afford to buy SFX.  

When filming, make sure you have multiple different angles of your character, as long as it follows the 180-degree rule. To get the suspense look, use a prime lens for reaction shots. Maybe throw in a couple of Dutch angles! This makes your audience feel more uneasy. For a medium shot, use a 35-50mm lens. For a long shot, use a telephoto lens to capture the establishing shot and the characters from head to toe. These lenses typically start at 70mm and higher for super zooms, like the 55-200mm. If your camera has an 85-135mm range, that would be ideal to use for close up shots. Close up shots are very important to have in a horror film. Close ups catch the reactions of the character when they are frightened or showing emotion. To decide what your shutter speed will be, if you're filming in the dark, you should stay between 1/30 and 1/50. Your aperture should be between F/1.2 and F/2.6. Your F-stop, or aperture, is the opening in your lens that allows light in. After adjusting these, you can then focus on your ISO. The ISO refers to the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor. You do not want to go above 1600. Preferably the lower the better. If it is too high, you will lose definition and have a grainy shot.  

When you have all your footage and foley, it's time to edit. Light a candle, make some hot cocoa and get your spook on! After getting cozy and settled, download your footage onto your computer. Create your project in whatever software you use. I personally prefer Adobe Premiere Pro. I have used this software since college and it has never given me any trouble. If you are new to filmmaking, you can download iMovie for free and follow the tutorials. Since I started working for Malik a couple of months ago, my skills have gotten better every day. He really encourages us to be more creative and artistic. Working with my team, we give each other the feedback we need to make each video great. That’s what I love about videography and editing, you can express your artistic side into each and every video you make. Finally, when your short horror film is done exporting, viola! A scare is born!