I watched an episode of Inside Cinema on BBC iPlayer about jump-scares, as i want to add the element of surprise into my film, and learning about how different directors use jump-scares in their films has helped me to get inspired on how i could include them into my own.
Jump-scares are usually executed by having a calm, quiet moment be disrupted with either a shock reveal of a 'monster', accompanied with a loud noise and tricksy editing.
The build up is just as important as the scare, as it builds the suspense and fear before the actual reveal.
Alfred Hitchcock thought it was more important to show the audience the danger before it happens rather than surprise them with it, to make the audience sense when a scare is coming, but they don't know when or when it will happen.
Another common technique used when it come to jump-scares is when us as the viewer look in one direction expecting a jump-scare, but it actual comes from another.
Anticipation, misdirection and surprise are three things that when used together really well, can help to create a jump-scare out of anything, even something mundane like a door slamming, kettle boiling, or even a cat.
People anticipate a jump-scare when a character is stood in front of a bathroom mirror, and i want to use that to my advantage in my film, creating tense scenes where the audience will expect something to happen, but nothing does. But i also need to be careful not to draw it out for too long, so that there is no fear by the time the jump-scare actually happens.
James Wan and Leigh Whannell use unique and innovative ways to scare people.
Overall, watching that short clip gave me some inspiration on how to execute scary scenes with jump-scares for my own film/trailer.
Harvard Referencing:
(2021), BBC (online), Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p09htd13/inside-cinema-shorts-58-the-jump-scare?page=2 , (Accessed 5th October 2021)
Comments