“If it excites you and scares you at the same time, you should probably do it” (Anonymous)
I guess it struck me on Monday the scale of the job I’ve got to do – coming to this course with (almost) zero knowledge of digital media was always going to be a challenge but I realise now how much I’ve got to learn but I’m up for the challenge and though it will certainly take time before I’m up to speed with my digital-native contemporaries I am pretty sure that I will get there – even if a homespun analogue quality remains! And so, making a start, with the ‘homework’ from yesterday’s session, here are my thoughts on photographic composition styles:
Camera Angles
First, an ‘Extreme Wide Shot‘, also known as an ‘Establishing Shot‘ taken from the Final Dual scene of the 1966 movie ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’. Source: https://archive.nerdist.com/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-final-shootout-analyzed/
Also from ‘The Good, The Bad and the Ugly’, a medium shot. Source:https://www.vintag.es/2025/04/good-bad-ugly-final-duel.html
This shot features a close-up shot of Taron Egerton in the 2024 film ‘Carry On’. Source: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/carry-pretty-typical-action-film-170300764.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFGkVcgckNnO5G2MrNs5NQotmUChAfcyyg0uc3FDgAOw365WXg141ZEvDZS4IpipSqauz_vzimkZUyovVdGGzOA2nWM1kQseLj-WHWVHoxAz8aMHzt19K1fL8lTTx00M4i4n1c66pMuxSMyg1_681Ph2c3AC1dPO9pTLY5Ize-Lu
This example of a wide shot come from the movie ‘North by Northwest’ featuring Cary Grant. Source: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/wide-shot-camera-angles-movements-examples/
A Full Shot …
This still from ‘Thor’ shows an example of a full shot. Source: https://www.careersinfilm.com/types-of-shots-in-film/
Back to ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ for this extreme close up shot.
Source: https://steemit.com/art/@marinauzelac/steemit-film-school-film-class-1-essential-camera-shots
Composition Examples
C-Shape | Source: https://www.jimzuckerman.com/blog-post/an-elegant-c-curve
Golden Section | Source: https://progradedigital.com/composing-balanced-images-the-golden-ratio/
V-Shape | Source: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/tree-v-shape
Unbalanced | Source: https://www.kreslavsky.com/balance-photography-composition/
Balance | Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/two-cyclists-racing-side-by-side-18503103/
Music Video Project
The brief:
In the team – which includes Tony, Ivanusa, Ben and myself – we dicussed the options and possibilities and agreed that the song upon which our video would be based would be: Hunter’s Moon by Ghost:
And that the theme for the video – given the date of submission being Monday 20th October 2025 and close to the end of the month – would be Halloween. With that in mind, I started to think about the production and shared my thoughts with ChatGPT:
Which came up with the following idea for discussion with the group tomorrow:
Perfect brief 👻 — thank you for framing it so clearly. Here’s a fun, simple, one-minute storyboard for Hunter’s Moon by Ghost, designed with beginners in mind (especially your late-50s analogue student who’s stepping into digital filmmaking for the first time!). It keeps the Halloween vibe light, playful, and achievable with no budget.
🎥 Hunter’s Moon – 1-Minute Student Music Video
Theme: Halloween, trick-or-treat with a spooky twist
Style: Playful pastiche of horror movies, fun not frightening
Setting: ARU campus corners (doorways, steps, small green spaces), could also use a graveyard-like spot or simply dim corridors.
Storyboard (Shot by Shot)
Opening (0–10s)
- Shot 1 (Wide, static): Three students in makeshift Halloween costumes (bedsheet ghost, paper witch hat, vampire cape from a towel) appear, tiptoeing across campus.
- Song lyric: “It’s been a long time coming…”
- Visual gag: They’re clearly students — one is carrying a backpack full of snacks instead of candy.
Middle Build (10–40s)
- Shot 2 (Close-up): One student knocks on a classroom door — trick or treat!
- Shot 3 (Cutaway, low angle): Door creaks open. A lecturer in dramatic shadow offers… not sweets, but lecture notes / textbooks.
- Reaction (Close-up): Students pull exaggerated NOOO! faces, then laugh.
- Song lyric: “Though my memories have faded / They come back to haunt me once again…”
- Shot 4 (Tracking): Students move through campus like a horror movie chase — except they’re being “haunted” by piles of coursework (loose papers floating, a laptop screen glowing with deadlines).
- Visual gag: A ghost is literally just a floating assignment sheet held by string.
Climax (40–55s)
- Shot 5 (Dutch angle, dramatic): Students run into a “graveyard” of broken pens, old takeaway cups, and empty Red Bulls (study graveyard).
- Song lyric: “Now it’s time for me to strike again / Tonight it’s a Hunter’s Moon.”
- Action: They dramatically raise their sweets / snacks like a victory offering.
Ending (55–60s)
- Final shot (Wide, group freeze-frame): Students pose like a cheesy 80s horror movie poster, snacks held high, shadows stretched behind them.
- Visual gag: Suddenly someone’s phone torch flicks on — ruining the spooky vibe. Everyone bursts into laughter. Fade out.
Camera Tips (simple for beginners)
- FPS: 25 (UK standard).
- ISO: Keep low if outdoors/daylight; bump up (400–800) if indoors/darker.
- Shutter speed: 1/50 (natural look).
- Aperture: f/4–5.6 for general shots; wide open (f/2.8) for dramatic close-ups.
- Angles:
- Wide for group scenes → sets location.
- Close-up for reactions → brings comedy.
- Dutch angles / low shots → playful horror parody.
Props (zero budget, home/classroom finds)
- Bedsheets → ghosts
- Towel / hoodie → cape
- Paper witch hat, marker-drawn fangs
- Torch / phone light for “scary” shadows
- Loose sheets of paper = “haunted coursework”
- Snacks in a backpack = trick-or-treat stash
Tone
- Keep it fun, camp, and tongue-in-cheek.
- Think Scooby-Doo meets ARU campus at night.
- Embrace the DIY look — it’s part of the charm.
Would you like me to draw out a simple 8-panel storyboard (like a comic strip, stick-figure style) to make it really easy for your group to follow on shoot day?
Demographics
The demographic I have in mind for this production is that the primary audience will be those aged between 16–30 year-olds who enjoy Halloween content, perhaps also light ‘horror’, gothic atmosphere and – because of the music choice, also rock/metal culture. The secondary audience will be fans of Ghost, music video enthusiasts, and students of digital media/short form video production (of course!) and the primary platform will be – as in the project brief – .mov or YouTube – but the video will also be suitable for TikTok and Instagram Reels.
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