Nightmare on Elm Street: editing and lighting analysis

Editing:
There is an initial establishing shot to introduce is to the scene. The zoom invites us in and provides a sense of unknowing which suggests that the character is realizing and so reassess themselves. We then see an over the shoulder shot which allows to connect to the character as we see what they see. This is done because if we connect to the character, then dramatic scenes are emphasized. The character (A) then turns to face us, this makes us as an audience feel involved of the scene which again connects us to the character. We also see a follow shot of the dinner which again makes the audience feel apart of the scene. Then the character walks in to the back and we are presented with a POV shot of the character looking at the slaughtered animals. A jump cut flashes to a medium shot to show the expression of character A and back to the POV of the dead animals. The rapid period of which the shots change, speed up the scene and creates fear and tension in both the character and the audience. Character As unnerving expressions connotes horror which is reinforced by the tunnel vision effects. Character A is attacked by the protagonist in quick shots to reinforce the action that is taking place. We see an initial over the shot of character A which briefly shows the villain. The camera then flashes to a over the shoulder shot of the protagonist so the audience can view the attack from their perspective. At this moment Character A wakes up from his dream suggesting none of the past evens were reality confusing the audience. A pan shot is used to slowly reveal the waitress in order to create tension and uncertainty as the audience wondered who the woman was. The waitress picks up a plate with blood on it suggesting death and conveying the narrative of pain. This links to the dead animals in the kitchen, demonstrating suffering. The blood is red which again signifies danger to come later on in the film.


Lighting:
The initial establishing has very low light which immediately conveys the horror genre. Dark colours like black are often used portray something evil and scary. It has negative connotations and is a very effective way to connote death. When we are presented with the establishing shot, we see a flickering sign which suggests danger, this again links to the colour black, It is as though the sign is warning us of the danger within the diner. The next shot inside the diner shows us the light shinning into the diner from outside. This side light conveys danger within the restaurant as it is darker inside suggesting secrets. The light shinning in could represent the exposure that is to come regarding the killer. The harsh sign lighting behind character A suggests a uncomfortable atmosphere. This also links to the fire in the next scene. The extreme light contrasts the low light suggesting a unsettling scene which is felt by both character A and the audience. When we first see the antagonist there is extremely low light hardly revealing the character,. This is to create an enigma surrounding him and to build up the suspense for the attack we see later. The imagination is the best way to create an enigma as it often creates exaggerates what is actually seen, this then effectively makes the dramatic more intense.