Practical Investigation of Lighting in Shoreditch

 

In Shoreditch, there is a church and is in located in an alleyway. This means that at night, it is very dark here, and if used in our final project, the darkness would frighten the audience more. Religious references and symbolism is often used in horror and slasher films because religious contains an element of the unknown, something transcendent to humans, and this could be associated with the killer, he is mysterious and his thoughts and plans are unknown.

Annie and I came across a door which was made of wood and has been painted brown. The paint is worn out and the white painted bricks of the house are also worn out. This is on the side of a house, coming out of another road, and the lighting here was very dim, even in the afternoon when we went. This kind of house with its lighting would be good to use for our final project, if we were to include his house, because the worn out look and darkness would tell the audience of his oblivion to appearance - he is only interested in killing.

The lighting here, in a side road, is very dim, there are buildings and trees enveloping the road so not much light can sufficiently illuminate it.

This is a small sports ground, the natural lighting was good here. The houses and buildings blocked some slightly but it would still be fine to film there. However, there is nothing in our inital ideas that involves a sports ground. But still, there is graffiti on the houses closeby which adds to the authenticity and urban vibe.

 

 



There is a lot of graffiti here, especially on this wall. Naked women were painted on the doors with bars in front of them and we could have the killer walk past this to symbolize his obsession with women. However, this wall is in a dark road so we would have to illuminate this using artificial lighting (if her were to walk past at night).
This is another work of graffiti, "Let's Adore and Endure Each Other" is on a wall and this could be included in our opening by having the killer walk past it using an establishing shot to show the audience. The phrase is ironic because our opening will be a slasher, so the killer will not be adoring or enduring people - he will be mercilessly killing them.

Another street with graffiti on the walls, however this is colourful which would contrast with the darkness of the killer's mind and actions. This is disadvantageous because, again, there are building blocking a lot of natural sunlight so the graffiti nor the killer would be particularly visible walking down this street.

This car park is where the killer could catch his victim because the shape of it would trap her. It was fairly light there, and with the use of artifical lighting aiding filming, it would be a good place for him to corner the victim and catch her.

This is the road next to the car park which would be a good place for her to run down before he gets her. There is graffiti on the walls and rubbish on the ground which adds authenticity. However, the same issues as before, there are tall buildings surrounding the road so we would have to use artificial lighting which may look unnatural when we are filming and it is supposed to be dark.












Overall, I believe this was a beneficial trip because it has provided us with inspiration for our film opening. However, we will probably not film here due to the lighting issues and how many of the gloomy side roads which look ideal, in fact are not ideal because the buildings enveloping the road block off a lot of light. The main roads have street lights which would be beneficial when filming in the dark, however the roads are very busy and in our film opening we want the victim to be secluded to emphasize her frailty and isolation.