A Post Production
Horror Show!
During the first half of 2024, we have had a lot of fun supporting new film makers in posting four short horror films.
In ‘Enamel’ from One For The Road productions, VFX artist, Dan Hodge made a simple mirror shot “disgusting” by painting out the actor’s front teeth, before comping in fake blood and a replacement wiggling tongue (Dan’s own – filmed in the mirror!). This visual was then enhanced by John Cawte’s foley of pliers scraping and pulling on teeth, juxtaposed against natural mouth sounds – “to create tension” – before wet and gooey layers were added to mimic blood and gums. This shot climaxes with the noise of sinewy fibres as the tooth’s root is ripped from the jaw, to really drive home the horror aspect.
In his film, ‘The Witching Hour’, Ben Kersey chose to do a lot of paint-out based clean-up work to remove suburban features such as road signs, bollards, power lines and dog walkers, which he felt could distract the viewer’s attention from the cold, stark feeling of unease. He also created a number of strongly atmospheric comp shots, featuring increasingly eerie and spectral imagery in front of an artificial red light, complete with thick, drifting fog and manufactured handheld motion. The film’s “oppressive yet isolated” soundscape was formed though deep drones, the distant hum of traffic and rumbling machinery. The initial tuneful songbirds transition into the ominous calls of magpies and ravens, mirroring the growing presence of an evil entity.
Steve Owen graded Ben Steiner’s ‘OFF CUTS’ by enhancing the abyss-like darkness that already enveloped some of the scenes. This ominous atmosphere is juxtaposed with warm tones throughout – intensifying the overall tension and horror. The interplay between the shadowy depths and the warmth draws the viewer into the film’s disconcerting and nightmarish world.
We welcomed Gabriela Staniszewska back to post her most recent short, ‘Lis’. In her words it was shot, “knowing that the horror would be built in the post-production sound process” – for example, when the unseen monster growls at the main character from the darkness. A sample of eerie folk music weaving between scenes, along with the mix being kept quite raw at points in terms of level and frequency, combine to heighten the intensity of the narrative.