Paranormal activity

Paranormal activity


This film builds suspense and creates a tense atmosphere without showing the viewer a lot of action and detail. It does this using a lot of techniques.


Camera
This film is shot in a home video style. This film contains mainly point of view shots and tracking shots and still long shots of the room. 
The point of view shots work well to create a tense atmosphere as us as an audience feel like we’re there as well. It shows the psychological state of the character. It shaking shows the characters nervous and afraid which then has an effect on how we feel. Following the screams and action builds suspense as we are waiting for the person to get there to find out what is happening. We feel like we’re there as we see things the same time as the characters do. 


Sound
The sound plays a big part in creating tension in this film. The sound elements used in this film are all diegetic but are created to sound louder and more intense. The noises heard such as foot steps, door slamming and creaking, scratching, groaning, screeching and dialogue all add to the tension. They create an eerie atmosphere and make us aware of danger without actually showing us.


Lighting
The lighting is all natural coming from sources within the setting. These create shadows and result in most of the film being in darkness. This instantly makes us feel scared and unaware of the surroundings.

Mise en scene
The setting is a normal home with a normal couple which in its own way makes the film scarier as it makes people relate to real life and feel that this situation in the film could be a reality. 
The characters facial expressions and body language create a lot of the scary atmosphere as their responses to what is going on in the house show their fear. 
The male character has a lot of pride and feels he should take care of the problem as its he’s girlfriend being haunted. However he soon realises the situation is out of hand and becomes very nervous. We don’t see a lot of his facial expressions but his point of view shot is always shaky and disorderly which shows he’s nervous. 
The female character is very vulnerable and scared. She is dependant on the male and is always showing how frightened she is. Her crying, screaming, grabbing hold of the man in panic and her general facial expressions build up tension. 
Their dialogue also contributes towards the atmosphere as they are always talking in fast paced, panicky tones.


All of these aspects create the atmosphere without needing to show us a lot of action. Although we never see what is actually haunting the woman, the noises it makes and the fright it causes still scares the audience.