Location Recce!

Locations Locations Locations!
we thought good places to use for our sequence would be:

• Trent Park
• Epping Forest
• Other parks - the playgrounds, forests, paths, lakes etc.
• Houses (any of ours really)
• A random alleyway
• Alexandra Palace
• Cineworld Enfield car park

Anyways, I thought it would be a plan to go out and take loads of photos to see what they turn out like and for some inspiration, as we've gone with an alleyway and house as main locations - also it was gonna have to be dark and I didn't want to be hanging around any of those other places on my own with a camera! So, I've ended up with 167 photos... which is rather a lot to post them all on here, so I've picked out the best 15:

This is one of the shots I took on my road - it's a bit blurry - I blame the camera, it's pretty old and has fewer megapixels than most mobile phones... and it was kinda dark... and ok, I do have quite shaky hands. BUT anyway. Not particularly scary, the sky's a bit too pretty for that, but I like the lighting and the shadows, particularly the way the trees are all silhouetted against the [very very pretty] sky. Also, just as I was taking the photo, a car was pulling out and driving downt he road, so you get those crazy beams of light which are a bit strange - but quite cool, à mon avis.

This is on my road again, and I was trying out different effects - this one's in black and white (clearly). I like it 'cause there's the postbox in the foreground which makes it a bit more interesting. The light's also reflecting nicely from the street lamps - the effect of which I love - in black and white they look like little baby moons! But yeah, it's dark - bad things happen at night etc...



Again, this one's in black and white, and is the same place as the previous one, but more over to the right. In this one the focus is more on the pavement and you can see less of the road and cars, and you can see the houses, lights on in some windows, which I think has a good effect. It's a long road - long corridors/roads etc. are things I found to be conventional in the genre of horrors and thrillers (click here for more), and so I've got quite a few like this. You get that sense of ambiguity and that you can keep running but you won't escape..

Yep, black and white again. And again, long road, (that postbox again.. haha), darkness, nice street lamps. It's kinda blurry - although I quite like the effect of it in the photo (if you don't look too closely!). The postbox in the foreground is in sharper focus. I like the trees and blurry lights.

This is an alleyway I thought we could use for our opening - it's convenient because it's literally just down the road from my house but is fairly interesting-looking.. I like the lighting and how you can see it's dark - there's the whole section on the left that isn't lit up (there is in fact a gate there 'cause there's some kind of generator or something so it's quite scary to be taking pictures around in the night). There's a street lamp, a corner, lots of trees... I love it! However, the garage might be a problem if we're doing the whole night club thingy...

This one is the same alley without the corner, and I think from the other end. I can't really remember to be honest. I think it gives quite a good sense of perspective (as in getting narrower, not like on the 'bigger picture' or something like that) - that's good for that being pursued thing, and it's just nice for framing (yeah, I know this isn't particularly well framed but hey..)

This is just the same as the above but in BLACK AND WHITE!!

Yes, I am rather a fan of the black and white in photos :D So in this one, I've taken a shot of the alley with a bit of wall in the foreground - we're going to be making use of a subjective point of view (POV) shot in our opening, so I thought this was quite in the spirit of that - it's as though someone's peering from behind the wall, waiting for an unsuspecting victiiim, of darkness in the alleeeey...

You know what I like about this one? It's not all blurry!! :D Yeah, there's barbed wire and sort of scratchy-twiggy-wiry tree/bush things at the top of the walls on either side of the alley, and I thought it might be good to get a picture... I like the colours and lighting, especially on the tree branch on the right.

Other view of this end - just good because it's a different perspective. Also, there's the corner out of the alley too, and the street lamp an bollard make it a bit more interesting.

This is the alley BUT from the ground - not at a particular angle, but just at a different level which is quite interesting, as though it could be something/someone creeping along on the ground.

This one is interesting because what you can see of the alley is framed within the shot by a bit of the lamp post and the darkness of the wall - again you get that stalkerish, someone hiding/watching/waiting in the dark. Also, I took it at a canted angle, which makes it a bit scarier, helping to build tension and giving a sense of 'psychological uneasiness'.

I love this shot!! It's not blurry!! [Probably because I was resting the camera on that bollardy thing.] I really like the lighting in it, and the way the trees sort of lean over the wall, and they look kinda claw-like, as though they're gonna reach down and take a swipe at you... And again, you don't know what's around the corner - and whether you're in the POV of the victim or the villain. I just love the location to be honest - but obviously it might not work so I don't mind either way.

This is just outside my house, and although the shot itself is really blurry etc. I really like it. The shadow of the tree is really foreboding and sort of reaches out to you, and the lights have a nice effect. It's very dark and you just don't know what might be lurking in those shadows!! It's also kind of pretty though.. I like how in these shots you have an ordinary setting that you see everyday, but it can look quite scary.

This is just a shot taken inside my house at the top of the stairs, looking down between the banister posty thingies, so it's high angle, and the little bit of banister posty thing that you can see makes it kind of POV. It's looking down into the hallway to an open door with nothing but darkness inside. The effect is kind of ruined by the kitchen light being on but hey... maybe it emphasises it? :D haha.. Again, everyday setting taken and made look a little bit scarier.

So yeah, that's that. Please bear in mind I wasn't using anything other than a [really old] camera... They'd be better with people in them, to get more of an idea about them as locations for things actually happening... But what the hey.

: )

- Posted by Mia