Improving the Lighting

On the set of our real shoot, we experimented with different light set ups to get the effect that we wanted.  In the end we decided on using two lights for most of our shots, one with a blue filter to create a blue tint and a second light to fill and reduce shadows. We mainly had to focus on the lighting in the bedroom, because we wanted it to look particularly dark and mysterious. It took us a while to get the right position to set them up but eventually we managed to get the correct angle. For some of the shots such as the one from outside the house looking into the window, we decided that the natural lighting inside the house would look effective on its own and that we didn't need to use the lights.

Overall the lights helped a lot, because they allowed us to get good quality shots which weren't grainy like in our previous shoots, but still created a dark horror atmosphere. However to improve our shots even more we will still need to use grading in post production. 

We gained a lot of inspiration for our lighting effects from a tutorial on YouTube showing how to illuminate an actor in the dark using just one light, and many ways to enhance the look. We were getting a lot of shadows on the walls with one light however so we decided to add in another. 

In some of our shots we wanted to make it seem like the room is being lit by a lamp in the corner with no other lighting, such as the shot where Violet looks through her bedroom window. To achieve this we set up a light next to the lamp, set the brightness quite low and shone it in the actor's direction. The result was the impression of a weak light source, but it was still quite dark around the room.