4th Day of Filming - 'Hanging Man' shots

After completing our main shots that would make up most of our film, we had to go to a separate location to film a few other shots that will become dreams or hallucinations in our film. The location and setting for these shots was very important. The shots were of a man being hanged from a tree, with a figure running away in the background in one shot, and standing very still in the other. A couple of weeks before this shooting process, we had visited the location to make sure it was suitable and created enough enigmas for the thriller genre.

The location needed to be isolated, as someone would not be hanged in a busy area. That meant that the area needed to be open, with no houses or people in the background. It also needed to have a tree in the middle of a large field, as this is a typical place for an act like murder to occur as it is closed off from the outside world. It also gives the audience the impression that someone could be being watched but not know it, or that they may feel very uneasy and nervous out in the open. We thought the location was perfect, and would look very intriguing and suspenseful in our thriller.

On the day of filming, the weather was also going to play a big part. We didn’t want it to be very bright and sunny, as that would make the act look less psychotic and sadistic. We also didn’t want it to be raining and too windy, as then water would get on the camera lens and it would take away the feeling of realism in our film. As it turned out, though it was slightly windy, the weather was perfect, with greying clouds above giving the sense that this was a calculated murder and that a storm may be coming for whoever was responsible.

To film these shots of the man being hanged, we decided to use the tripod for some, but also try some handheld shots to see which looked better. As we filmed and tried a various number of shot types, we realised that using the tripod was easiest. Though using the camera handheld worked well for the point of view shot we were trying to get across, it didn’t look as if it could be coming from somebody’s eyes. When the tripod was used, the smoothness and the use of the tilt made it seem more like somebody was actually walking up to the tree and seeing this brutal act of violence.

We also filmed a few close up shots of the man in the background running away. This proved slightly difficult as it was hard to run after the character and keep the camera still at the same time. Thinking these shots hadn’t turned out particularly well, we didn’t hold much hope. But when returning to the editing room, the shakiness of the camera running after the running man looked very effective and added to the confused psychological state of our main character.

- Taylor Gladwin