Horror Films, Behind the Scenes Filmmaking

If you cannot be on the set of a horror film during shooting I believe that the next best thing is to study behind the scenes footage. You learn a great deal about how the director handles the cast and crew. Some of the little problems that will pop up while you are shooting your film. Too many people believe that shooting a film is all sunshine and rainbows. It is hard work. From start to finish it is hard work and when it is finished shooting the really hard work of editing and marketing begins. The cool part about this post is that so many film makers took the time to do BTS reels so I had a great deal of them both micro budget and big budget to pick from.
First up are two videos from the guys at Bloody Cuts, They are great at delivering quality behind the scenes footage.

 
   

Here is footage from the big budget film the Conjuring.


   

 Good luck until next time. If you would like some hands on information from film makers who are out there doing quality work today you should pick up a copy of my film making manual On Low Budget Film Making available at itunes and in paperback at Amazon. The links are below.   At amazon click here.

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The Fan Horror Film

  The Fan Horror Film You learn by doing. Film making is that simple. You learn by making one. All the tutorials on earth do not make up for being on a movie set. I realize that there is a lot of pressure when it comes to making a horror movie. Coming up with a story and then a script can be overwhelming to the beginner. Perhaps the best way to start is to start filmmaking with something familiar. Why not do a fan film. Many of us started off by shooting short films based upon our favorite movies.
The most obvious question about fan films is can you legally use someone else’s characters and situations in your movie? The answer is yes, as long as you do not try to profit from it. You can not sell a fan film. You are making it for the love of the game. You have to offer them for free. This is not the worst thing when starting out. Not having to make money takes the pressure off. You get to learn film making wile shooting your film and you get your name out there as a film maker. Some of these fan films have become franchises of their own. Are you familiar with the movie Scream. The movie inside a movie called Stab has become a long running and popular online franchise. Pick a horror movie and there is a fan film connected to it. In the world of scifi there is an industry built around the Star Wars universe. Along with a growing number of films based upon the Dark Knight universe. There are so many movies and series that are ripe for fan films. Do Supernatural or Grim. Take a comedy and turn it into a horror film. The sky is the limit and the characters are already there.

                  Lighting Your Horror Film



    The first thing that separates the men from the boys in the film making world is good lighting. Learning the basics of what is called 3 point lighting should be the first step you learn if you want to become a good film maker. The 3 point lighting rule is one that you will break from time to time and when shooting a horror movie you will break this rule on purpose more often than in your standard drama or comedy film.

    I say that you will break it because you will want deeper shadows or a character lit from only one angle to achieve a certain type of effect. But you will need to learn the rules before you will want to break them. Let us begin with a fun little basic tutorial on the 3 point lighting set up.


    Okay while shooting your no budget horror film you will want to know the basics of good horror film lighting. Just keep one rule in mind here, that is the things that you don’t see are more important in a horror movie than the things that you do see. Some times you can not afford the best effect or creatures and that is what shadows and darkness is for.   Think of movies like The Descent and Alien and The Grudge. Darkness and shadow is as important as light in these films. Learn to control the light and you may someday be able to rule the darkness.


    Okay we have come to the end of another post. Remember to tell a friend about this Blog, leave a comment and to stumble us on Stumbleupon or add us to your Google plus.

    At the end of each future post I am going to try to add a trailer for a lost or hard to find horror movie. I think that all of us love the idea of seeing a really good horror movie as much as becoming a horror filmmaker. Here is the trailer for the legendary Cannibal Holocaust. This first of the found footage movies was band for many years for a reason. It is brutal to living things.