The Smiling Man- Horror

The Smiling Man is a horror film that is conventional as seen through the micro aspects that convey
its genre. The film is about a creepy creature that has murdered the child’s mum and the child soon
realise this after collect the balloons that the creepy creature has placed throughout the house. The
short film ends on a cliff hanger this fits the horror genre because most horrors finish with a cliff
hanger and the audience is left thinking what happened next. This goes against Todorov’s theory as
he believes that every film should have a beginners, an issue and finally they resolve the issue and
ends on a good note, whereas this film does not have a new state of equilibrium which is
conventional.

Mise en scene

The location of the film is set in America in a modern suburban house, all of the scenes within the
film are set in the house. Within this you see the kids bedroom, hallway and kitchen. This is done
because we are introduced to the main character who is a child and we identify her in her natural
surroundings. The costume used in the short film is what a normal 5 year old would wear, it is a
pinfore dress which is iconic for suburban children to wear. This presents her as innocent and
harmless and as an audience stereotypes are used to like this character which is conventional to the
genre. They use props like a tv to show that its an ordinary 5 year old by the tv show she is watching.
This helps the audience understand her age and how innocent she is. The lighting in the room is low
key to create a creepy, dark atmosphere.

When the antagonist is shown make up is used to convey him creepy supernatural creature which is
iconic to the monster subgenre of horror. A similar convention was shown in ‘IT’ with the main
clown to present him as scary and eerie to make the audience fear this character. The makeup is
used to show how creepy and strange the antagonist is, this makes the audience feel scared of the
antagonist. Also the makeup is used to show the antagonist in an creepy way this helps the audience
understand that he is the creepy and bad character. Also because the makeup is so good he
villain/antagonist is actually scary and this makes the audience scared and anxious about what
happens to the main character in the short film.

They use props use balloons in this short film to grab the attention of the young female actor. The
reason why they use a balloon because children are attract to balloons and generally enjoy playing
with the balloons. The antagonist use the balloons to lure the child or use a bait. This shows that the
little girl is prey to the antagonist because he is luring her In and the audience feels anxious and
worried because the little girl is following the balloons and falling into the antagonist trap.

In the last scene where we see he antagonist, the daughters mum and the daughter we can see
further makeup has been used such as fake blood so that the antagonist can use this to show that he
has killed the bystander (The daughters mum). They also used fake blood to keep it conventional to
horror films to imply violence and death, both themes within horror. Finally they used dark colour
and the colour red to show death and danger to show the audience clearly that the character is a
deadly villain.

The lighting used is low key to make the audience feel scared and worried for the innocent child. It
also shows that the girl is alone and trapped with the smiling man. Low key lighting is constantly
used in horror films for this purpose to terrify the audience and to create a sense of mystery. High
key lighting is later used to show props like the balloon and to show the audience that the mother
has died. This could be the disequilibrium for the daughter. Props were used in the short film to
portray what’s going on to the audience watching.

Cinematography

In the short film ‘The Smiling Man’ they used different shot types. They use a close up to show the
facial expression of the antagonist and the little kid to show the audience their expressions and how
they react to each other. For example this is a close up when the villain is shown looking at the child,
his facial expressions are clear due to this shot as he begins to wipe blood around his face. Close ups
are used thoroughly in horror films because it is necessary to see the reactions of characters to scare
the audience. Also they use a wide shot when showing the balloon for the time, the balloon is
positioned in the central frame to show its importance. This tells the audience that the balloon is
odd and isn’t usually there creating mystery as to how it got there. This might make the audience
feel on edge for the child as they are old enough to know that these things do not appear on their
own. A two shot is also used to show that the villain has killed the mother behind him, making it
clear to the audience where the blood comes from. This is before there is a mid- shot of the
daughter who first sees the mother dead for the first time. This is conventional to horror as usually
two shots show the difference between the victim and the villain to imply that there will be danger.
They also use a slow tracking shot to show how the child followed the balloons through the house
then too the antagonist to build tension towards meeting the antagonist for the first time. The slow
tracking shot shows the audience that she is walking towards danger as it builds tension.

Sound

Non diegetic sound is used in the short film to build tension when then child is walking around the
house. Volume is used for effect here as it increases at specific moments when referencing the
villain, such as when his hand approaches her. This is done to engross the audience and to scare
them at times as a jump scare. The music is at a slow pace and then builds up to create tension at
times. This is conventional to horror as they wish to scare the audience to show danger for the child.
They also use diegetic sound in this short film to build tension, in one scene they focus on the door
opening and closing, here diegetic sound is used from the door to create realism for the audience
and to make it believable. This adds to the tension and the disruption to the narrative to imply
something is about to go wrong. Also there is no dialogue between the two characters which is also
conventional as they use music as replacement of this to create the eerie atmosphere.

Editing

The pace of the edit is slow to engross the audience and feel close to the character without cutting
too much, this makes them feel like they are there. Also shot reverse shots are used when the villain
and the girl meet, along with eye line matches when we see POV shots from the girl looking at the
villain. They use this to show the expression on the villains face to scare the audience and to see the
relationship between the two. The overall pace of the film is quite slow to build tension in the short
film so the audience feel uneased or nervous for a jump scare which again is conventional to horror
films. Also they use different editing techniques to change the pace of the film because at the start it
slow and then it builds up the pace when the short film get interesting. They do this so that the
audience gets anxious and scared of the events that may come up in the short film. They also up the
intensity of the short film when they see the antagonist and when we shows the child her mom died
in the corner.

Retribution- Action

Retribution is an action short film how a guy steals top secret information from the FBI, it starts in a
hotel room where the main character downloads all of the data from the computer and then
downloads it all an puts it on to the a hard drive. The FBI is looking for the hard drive. But then turns
out to be a guy just wanting the hard drive to clear his name from the FBI and frames the guy who
took the drive. But then the man who took the drive kills the person who wants the hard drive to
clear his name.

Mise en scene

They mainly use a tracking shot to follow the guy with the USB stick through the city. Also costume is
used to a lot in this short film because the main character changes clothes throughout the film so
the FBI agents do not catch up to him. Lighting used in this short film is all natural lighting because
most of the shots/scenes. Also they used loads of props in this short film, the main one is a usb stick,
this usb stick is significant because this usb stick is the reason why all the events happen in the short
film like when the FBI agents try to chase the guy with the usb stick. Also in this short film they use a
lot of fake blood when the guy gets shot and when the guy gets stabbed. Also blood helps keep the
convention of a normal action short film. Also the use of violence in this short film allows the
audience to assume that is a action film, with some scene where there is violence like guns and fist
fights. Also because of the location they guess it’s the FBI after them because of the location is set in
the united states. How the audience know this is because when they do an establishing shot they
see iconic buildings in the U.S so the audience will see this and understand it’s in the U.S.
Sound

In the short film they use dialogue a lot to show the conversation between the character. The
dialogue helps the audience get a sense of what’s happening in the film and why different events are
going on. Also other sounds have been used like gun shots to show the audience what’s happening.
This is all diegetic sound. They also use non-diegetic sound where they use music to build tension in
the short film so the audience know when the action is going to happen. The music is all fast pace
because they trying to show that it is a conventional action short film. The sound also used in the
short film was non diegetic they used fake gun sounds to try and portray the gun are real. The
reason why they did this is because they want to make the film as really as possible so that the
audience feels a buzz because they portray the guns as real. Also they use fast pace music to draw
the audience in and make the scene or shot make meaningfully because of the fast pace music, this
makes the audience feel on edge because of the past pace music.

Editing

Editing they have used in the short film is all fast cuts to change to the next scene or shot. All action
films have quick cuts so it can continue with the action. Also they use shot reserve shot when the
two character are talking about the usb stick and what they are going to do. Also they use filter on
the camera when the man is scooping in to kill the man. They use crosshairs to show audience what
the man is looking through to kill the other man, this is a conventional action film because it shows
what the person is looing thought the scope and shoots the other character . The pace of the film is
quick because it goes by a standard action short film. this film goes with Todorov theory about how a
movie should have a start middle and end. Also they use a shot reverse shot to show the
conversation between the two character one the phone.
Cinematography

They use close up shots to show the audience what facial expressions of the actors in the short
action film. This helps the audience see the facial expressions of the character and how the character
interact with one another. They show an establishing shot of where the short action film is taken
place, they use this so the audience know the location. They also use a tracking shot where the
person with the usb stick is running away from the FBI agents that are trying to catch him and get
the usb stick back. Also when using a tracking shot the audience can see where the short film is
taken place. They use an establishing shot to show the location of the film. the reason for this is
because they want to show the location of the film so the audience can understand where it is and
why it is in that location. They use a high angle shot when filming, they use this to show the class
status because when the main character and the mob king and when the mob king was talking and
the camera was position where the main character was. They use this to show class and power, the
audience will think that the mob king was more power than the main character.

Roadside thriller short film

Mise en scene

The location that they used in roadside is a desert, this influence the
audience because the director is trying to show that the women is in a
lonely state because the desert represents a waste land and because no human lives in the desert it
shows that she is alone. In roadside they use a car as the main prop in roadside, they use the car in
an important scene when she pushes the antagonist out of the car and drives off. This prop is used
well because it and escape from the antagonist and this prop is used to get the women at of this
lonely state. The costume that they use in roadside has blood all over it this shows that the main
character might of got abused by the antagonist that gets out of the car in later scenes. In roadise
they use low key lighting to show the mood of the short film but when the women gets in the car
they use high key ligthing to show the mood changing. But in some clips they use natural lighting
because the director wants to keep the lighting the same because it outside and fits the location
well.

Cinematography

In the short fiom roadside they use different shot types to show the audince where the short film is
set, who is the antongist and who is the main character. They use a camera shot called the tracking
shot to show the audince the charactrer and where the charcater is. This shot shows the background
and shows where the women is going. They also use a close up shot of when the anotist arrives on
the main charcater. This is used to show the facial expressions of the main character and shows the
audince how she feels about the main charcater. In roadise they also use an estbalishing when the
car drive off in the distance. They use this because they want to show the audince where the
location of the shot is and what meaning this scene has. Also they want you to see this scene
because the girl kicks the antangosit. This is a convitional thriller film because you think that the
antagosit has taken the girl and then the girl kills the antogisnt and rides off in to the sunset.

Editing
The pace of the film at the start is slow, the reason for this is because they want you to see the main
charcater ad what she doing. It has a slow pace because the director of the film have done this so
the audince can see what she feeling. Also because of the slow pace the audince think that she is
alone and trapped because it isnt a fast pace and the mood of the film is quite sad. They use cuts in
the film to go from one bit of the film to another. They done this when she kills the antagonist and
drives away. Also they have a done a longer scene at the start. The director has done this so the
audience can understand the mood of the film and the mood of the main charcater.

Sound

They use sound in this short film to show the mood of the film. At the start of the film there is no
sound expect the background sound. This is used so that the audince can get a feel for the mood of
the film where the ain charcater is walking on her own in the desert.

Short Film Comparison Horror Film

Don’t look away

At the start of the film they have a women putting on makeup and takes a look
outside to see if its raining and then there is a figure standing outside her window. Then as the film
goes on the main characters trying to close everything in the house. Then she returns to the window
and they cant see the figure and then the figure is behind them. The figure grabs the girl and then
the parent of the two teenagers come in and saves them. But at the end of the film the figure is still
alive and appears around the corner from the house. They use Todorov’s theory in this film because
it goes through stages at the start and then they find the probably and then face the problem and
then they solve the probably and at the end its all over and finished.

Mise en scene

They use mise en scene in this short film to make the film more eventful and more meaningful. The
location of the film is set in America, in a sub urban house. There main locations are the girls room
and the garden where you see the figure appear in both places. The reason why they sue the girls
room is because she is the first one who sees the figure outside her bedroom window. The reason
why the audience know that it is a girls bedroom because the colour of the room is pink and has
loads of girls stuff around the room. They use costume in the short film to make the film more scary
with the figure they have chains around the mask. This makes the character more mysterious and
because it more mysterious it makes it more scary. The audience will feel more scared of the
character because it mystery of what the character is. The lighting used in this short film is
chiaroscuro lighting because when they inside they use high key lighting and low key lighting . This
goes against the genre because most horror short films are low key lighting. The props used in this
short film are used to create meaning. For example when the figure arrives in the girls bedroom they
use a mirror to defeat the figure. Finally the colour of the film changes because at the start it is a
happy mood and when they see the figure the colour changes to dark colours. Also the costume that
the figure is wearing is all dark expect for a white shirt.

Cinematography
In this short film they use many different camera shots to show the expression of characters in the
short film. They use a close up at the first scene of the short film with the girl doing her makeup.
Instantly the audience knows that girl is the main character because she is first scene of the short
film. Then they use a tilt and a long shot of figure, the director used a long shot so the audience
knows where the location is because the figure is in the back garden of the girls house. Also the
reason why the used a long shot because the audience are seeing the figure from the girls
perspective. They use a tracking shot when following the girl around the house when she closes all
of her windows and doors. The reason why it is a tracking shot because she is rushing through the
house to close everything so the figure doesn’t get into the house. They also use a two shot in this
short film when the two characters are talking. The audience can see the two character talking and
this helps them get an understanding of the what’s going on and who the conversation is with the
two characters. Finally they use an over the shoulder shot in the short film when the girl looks at her
brother looking for the figure. This shot is powerful because we see what she is looking at from her
perspective.

Sound

In this short film they use a lot of dialogue between the two characters in the film this is diegetic
sound because this is what the camera picks up when filming. They use dialogue to help the
audience understand what’s going on and what’s going to happen with the two character and also
what relationship they have with one another. When the main character looks out of her bedroom
window, they use non diegetic sound to get audience more attract to the short film. in the short film
they use non diegetic sound in the background, the reason why the director did this is because they
want the audience to hear the birds singing, normally when you hear birds singing the mood or
environment is calm and peacefully. When the main character sees the weird figure standing in her
back garden, they add a fast pace music to build the tension. This goes with every horror film
because every horror film they use music to build tension, so this short film goes with that
convention. Also the music gradually gets fast and fast when the main character sees the figure.
They also use diegetic sound when the main characters phone goes off. This helps the audience
understand what’s going on because she picks up her phone and answer this. Also this is a
distraction normally used in horror films because they want to get your attention away from the
antagonist and focus on something else so that the antagonist can either jump scare the audience or
come out at a different time.

Editing

They use editing in this short film when the two characters are talking to one another. They use a
shot reverse shot a lot when the two characters are having a conversation. The reason why they so
this is so that the audience can understand who the conversation is between and they can see the
reaction or emotion that the characters have when talking to each other. Also they use shot reverse
shot when the main character is looking at the figure. They do this to show the emotion of her face
when she sees the figure staying at her. Also they do this to show the audience what she is looking
at and this fits well with storyline because the title is called don’t look away and if they don’t look at
the figure the figure will come for them and try and kill them. Also they use a lot of cuts to separate
the scenes so that the audience knows what’s going on. The pace of the film slow builds up when the
main character sees the mysterious character. This fits well with the horror genre because every
time the antagonist is shown the pace of the movie increase to try and scare the audience watching
the short film.

Horror short film

‘Clap Clap’

‘Clap Clap’ is a short film that starts off in a sub urban house in America, the first scene is a man
driving into the garage and going into the house. The reasoning behind the film is that the house has
lights that turns on and off every time a person in the house claps. In the first couple of the scenes
you see the main character test out the light by clapping over and over again. Then the man falls
asleep to a movie that he is watching. Then suddenly a noise come from down stairs, the man then
rush’s down stairs and checks it out and then when he returns to go upstairs there is a strange figure
waiting for him and the strange figure claps his hands and the lights go out. Then the man tries to
turn the lights back on but the strange figure moves behind. Then they go back and fourth turning
the lights on and off until the mysterious figure disappears again. Finally the man then gets taken
and killed by the strange figure. This goes against most horror films because normally there is some
sort of happy ending where the murder gets killed or captured.

Mise en scene

The location in this short film is in a sub urban house that a the main character visits. All of the
location of the film are ever in the lounge, hallway and kitchen. But some shots are outside. The
reason why they do this is because they don’t want to change the location so the audience doesn’t
get confused of what’s happening and where it is happening. The costume used in this short film is
what a ordinary 40 year old man would wear, because the main character is in his 40s so this fits the
his age. The costume for the antagonist is all black with a white and black wig. The reason why they
done this is because when it goes pitch black the audience cant see where the antagonist is and
because you can’t see it’s face this makes it mysterious and more scary. The lighting they use is low
key and high key because when the lights are on the lighting is all high key and when the light is off
and the mysterious creature is trying to capture the main character it is pitch black. In this short film
they don’t really use that many props that relates to the movie or the reason behind what’s going
on. But with the lights being turned on and off when someone claps this is a prop. Also the audience
will get a sense that when the guy claps the creature comes out, this prop is the reason why the
events happen so the audience will think this is main prop used in the short film. The colour they use
in this short film is all bright colours at the start because its all calm and the colours fits the mood of
the movie. But when the antagonist comes the colour all changes and the mood changes. When the
antagonist moves or tries to hurt the main character the colour used is black. This suggests that the
colour black is a bad colour. Also black is used a lot in horrors to show to the audience when its dark
the antagonist is there.

Cinematography

The camera shots used in used in this short film help the audience get a better understand of what’s
going on and the perspective of the main characters so the audience feels like they are there. They
use close ups a lot in this short film. the reason why they do this is because they want to show the
expression on the characters face when an event happens. When the antagonist comes into the
short film the guy is scared and nervous they use a close up shot to show the audience that he is
scared of the antagonist. Also they use a closeup shot of what the guy is looking at is the audience
understand what’s going on in the short film. they use a background shot a lot in this short film so
the audience can get a sense of where the main character is and what is the set behind him. They
also use a high angle shot when the main character is on the floor and the antagonist is on the sofa.
They used this shot to show how more powerful the creature is and this also shows vulnerability. In
media when this shot is used normally the perspective that the audience is seeing this shot at is the
vulnerable persons perspective so the audience will think that the main character is vulnerable. They
use an over the shoulder shot to show what the character is looking at and what he is doing. They
see this so the audience can see what the character is doing and this makes the audience feel like
they are there and this makes it more scary.

Editing

In this short film they use editing to make the film more realistic and smooth. They use many editing
techniques like shot reverse shot, cut, pace and cross cutting. In this short film they use shot reverse
shot to show the character reaction when he is sees the antagonist they use this because they want
the audience to see what he’s looking at and his reaction so they use this to show the audience
what’s going on. The audience will think that he is afraid and scared of the antagonist because of his
reaction. This helps the audience see what’s he’s looking at and the reason behind why he is scared
of the antagonist. Also they use a montage clip when they are turning the lights on and off between
the antagonist and the main character. They use to show the back and fourth turning on and off the
lights. They reason what they did this is to show how one of them wants the lights off and the other
wants them on. They use a lot of cuts to keep the short film crispy and smooth. The reason why they
did this is because they want the audience to keep watching it and if they don’t the short film will
get boring.

Sound
They use sound in this short film to make the film more realistic and scary. They use diegetic sound
to show the audience that the events are really. They use this a lot like when the tv is playing so the
audience feels like they are there with the character. They use non diegetic sound a lot to build up
tension in the short film when the antagonist is first scene in the short film. They do this so the
audience gets anxious and scared when the antagonist is one scene and by slowing building the
music up the audience get more anxious and scared. They always do this in a horror genre because
they want to build tension and make the audience worry about the character and the events that
are coming up. Also they use non diegetic sound to keep the scary more engaging for the audience
because if there was no background music or noise the movie will be boring.

The Bells short film

The bells is about a how a guy hears bells outside of his house and starts hears them getting louder
and louder over time. The bells get so loud it hurts the main character, then suddenly stops and then
a huge bang goes off and the main character starts hearing them again but louder. Then the guy cant
hear a thing and then a figure walks past him and follows the figure. Then he looks for her and then
she comes out of nowhere and attacks him. Then you don’t know what happens next its left on a cliff
hanger.

Mise en scene

The location of the film is mainly in a sub urban American household, the first scene is where he is in
the kitchen talking to his wife, then suddenly hears bells and goes outside of the house to see where
it is. The other location are his lounge and bedroom the reason why they have done this is to show
that he is in his own household and the antagonist comes into his house and kills him. This is
meaning because he is in his own house and gets murdered in it so the audience will have a better
sense of what’s going on and why the film is set there. The costume they use is in this short film for
the main character is a normally 40 year old would wear so the audience will know how old the main
character is. Also the antagonist costume is good because they use a lot of makeup to make the
antagonist look scary. The audience will be scared by this antagonist because of the costumer she is
wearing, the costumer is all black and they use props like fake teeth to make it even more scary. The
props used mainly in the short film is the phone because at the start he calls her wife and after the
phone call everything happens after it. Also the lighting chiaroscuro lighting because they want you
to focus on some aspects of the shot than other this is why they have used chiaroscuro lighting. The
audience will get focus on some parts of the film like the key props that they use.

Cinematography

They use different camera shots when filming the bells to get a better perspective for audience.
When the antagonist and the main character meet for the first time they use a two shot because
there are two people in the shot. This is meaningful because the antagonist is waiting for the main
character to turn around. The audience will have sympathy for the main actor because they don’t
want the main character to turn around because the antagonist will kill him. When the main
character hears the antagonist brake something when he walks past him, there is a close up shot of
his face. So the audience can get a sense of what the main character is going through by his facial
expressions. They use a tilt shot a lot in this short film because they want to show the facial
expressions of the main character.

Sound

They use a lot of non-diegetic sound in this short film when making the scenes more scary and
making the audience scared and nervous. They used this a lot of non-diegetic sound when the
audience first see the antagonist in the film, they use this to create tension. Also they music to build
up the tension, they do this a lot in horror film so this short film goes with the genre of a horror film.
They also use diegetic sound in this short film when they use dialogue between character. They do
this so the audience knows what going on in the short film. They also use non diegetic sound like the
bells when the main character hears them for the first time. They do this because this is where the
first part of the short film that gets interesting.

Editing

They use editing in this short film a lot to make the movie smooth and make the events more scary
by adding editing techniques. They use shot reserve shot a lot in the short film when the main
character see the antagonist for the first time, they do this because this allows the audience to get a
insight of what the character is going through by their facial expressions. The audience will
understand that the main character is scared of the antagonist because of his facial expression. They
do this a lot in other horror film, so this goes with the genre of a horror film. they use cuts a lot in
this short film when making the shots smooth and crispy, also they do this because they don’t want
the audience to get bored of the same scene. Also when they use cuts t starts a new scene so the
audience are left on the edge of their seat because they don’t know what going to happen next and
this creates tension and this is what you want t experience when watching a horror. This manes that
this shot goes with the genre.