HORROR FILMS: 3 Ways To TERRIFY An Audience - Screenwriting Tips

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 11 чер 2024
  • I reveal the THREE major SCARE TACTICS that Hollywood filmmakers use to create suspense and terrify audiences.
    1. Jump Scares
    2. Rising Danger
    3. Dramatic Irony
    Which of these scare tactics will you use in your next horror movie or suspense thriller?
    Who is SCRIPTFELLA?
    I'm a veteran screenwriter, story consultant, film & TV lecturer. I've been optioned or commissioned by over 30 US and UK studios and production companies including: Universal Studios, Working Title, Bold Films, Scott Free, BBC and ITV. Recent produced credits include the award-winning motion picture Bram Fischer (2017) and the not-so-award winning Hard Target 2 (2016)...
    If you're a screenwriter, producer, or brand, and you'd like me to help you tell YOUR story, shoot me an email on scriptfella@gmail.com and let's have a chat.
  • Фільми й анімація

КОМЕНТАРІ • 51

  • @Scriptfella
    @Scriptfella  5 років тому +11

    What's the scariest horror movie you've ever seen?

    • @marksomers3887
      @marksomers3887 5 років тому +3

      Alien.

    • @dominicmorgan8830
      @dominicmorgan8830 5 років тому +3

      Good call @@marksomers3887 - I did think about screening the chestbuster scene for my students in China, but given their reaction to the Lights Out short I decided not to...

    • @heatherbrown384
      @heatherbrown384 5 років тому +2

      The house in which I grew up. Reality beats fiction EVERY time.

    • @Scriptfella
      @Scriptfella  5 років тому +2

      Heather Brown that sounds terrifying and every kid’s worst nightmare .

    • @marksomers3887
      @marksomers3887 5 років тому +2

      @@dominicmorgan8830 The build up to the chestbuster scene is genius. We're lulled into believing everything is OK and Kane is fine now. The face hugger is dead and Ripley over reacted when she wanted to enforce a quarantine on Kane. Now he and the crew just need a bite to eat and all will be right as rain. And then...

  • @robsandoval9677
    @robsandoval9677 14 днів тому

    Working on writing a supernatural horror script right now. Something with a take I haven't seen before.
    Doing some research by binging horror UA-camrs to get a view of the horror-thriller premise & concept landscape & also watching the bounty of horror short films out there.
    One clear takeaway I've found is that there are many aspiring horror writers/directors who can produce truly chilling & scary imagery for a horror film---monsters & jumps scares & rising tension & other effective creepiness.
    That baseline horror film talent seems to be very widespread at this point in the evolution of film production and the growth of film-making skill at the grassroots level. It's pretty remarkable actually IMO.

  • @dr.stiffsock3662
    @dr.stiffsock3662 3 роки тому +16

    "Jump scares" aren't scary they're startling

    • @crypt5129
      @crypt5129 2 роки тому +5

      They can be scary if done correctly

  • @heatherbrown384
    @heatherbrown384 5 років тому +20

    I never fear horror films as the usually loud soundtrack ALWAYS warns me when something is about to happen. So I'm prepared. Oh yeah, knew that was gonna happen. Which is why, yes, I agree, the the first piece in short film is much better than the Hollywood, crash, bang, wallop of the second full length feature version. Maybe one day, someone will make a spooky film similar to that of real life. In silence.

    • @benb.2053
      @benb.2053 5 років тому +4

      The Shining, Alien and more recently Heredity...

    • @benb.2053
      @benb.2053 5 років тому +1

      Hereditary*

    • @Scriptfella
      @Scriptfella  5 років тому +3

      I haven't seen Hereditary, Ben, I'll stick it on the to-view list.

    • @drewgold1
      @drewgold1 3 роки тому

      Nail on the head friend. Let’s all be the bold ones and bring it to the table! 💪

    • @jr5993
      @jr5993 3 роки тому

      @@Scriptfella it's one of the worst films I've ever seen if not the worst.

  • @itsvox4398
    @itsvox4398 4 роки тому +17

    The first jumpscare made me scream

    • @Scriptfella
      @Scriptfella  4 роки тому +2

      it is BLOODY scary...

    • @itsvox4398
      @itsvox4398 4 роки тому +2

      @@Scriptfella it's the girl with white eyes that made me scream i was horrified

  • @marmar7835
    @marmar7835 3 роки тому +2

    Climax took rising danger to an entirely new level

  • @allistercooper8765
    @allistercooper8765 3 роки тому +4

    A good script
    Shoot during daytime
    No music - jump scares included.

    • @20blockrecords54
      @20blockrecords54 2 місяці тому

      Not horror. It needs mostly night, theatrical music and blood shed with minimal jump scares

  • @meuporg49
    @meuporg49 4 роки тому +3

    There're many interesting tools for scriptwriting . Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us : It really helps my work, at least in my case. I hope your next video will be like this, or like the"How to make a badass character" one. That would be great. Either way, take care of yourself and your students ;)

  • @RM-306
    @RM-306 3 роки тому +1

    Great video!

  • @kuaina7926
    @kuaina7926 3 роки тому +3

    I hate horror movie and everytime I watched it, I couldn't sleep, because I have Phasmophobia. But I always wanted to act in a horror movie

  • @BalbirSingh-yq2py
    @BalbirSingh-yq2py 3 роки тому

    I learnt alot from this video thanks!

  • @gummyfox7386
    @gummyfox7386 4 роки тому +26

    "What's the first way to scare an audience?"
    Class: "JUMPSCARE"
    Me: "...end yourselves"
    Jumpscares are cheap and flinch the audience into a natural response (for something flying at the screen with loud noises). It is pure laziness. You don't build the audience up to anything, you show them a dark room you can't see anything, and then throw a monster at the audience. You didn't scare me though: worrying about the characters or consequences these people make, you "flinch" me into a 1.5-second response to loud noises.
    Try better.
    Stop using jumpscares.

    • @numerousfrogsinacoat607
      @numerousfrogsinacoat607 4 роки тому +4

      gummy fox I do definitely think jump scares have lost their effect in especially modern Hollywood horror films, they can be used too frequently and not done well, and just used to get a cheap reaction. However, I do think they can be done well. For example, the jump-scare in Lights Out is one of my favorite because it has good build up, and good payoff. A lot of times nowadays, they just skip buildup all together and bombard the audience repetitively with jump scares, so they lose the overall effect and meaning. But if done correctly, they can be used to help establish mood and tone, make the audience tense and on their toes, and feel unsafe. When horror films rely on jump scares for all of their “spooks” then that’s lazy and not good

    • @deesnutz8406
      @deesnutz8406 4 роки тому +4

      Jumpscare are part of the genre.
      Movies today overuse them. Jumpscare work if its few and It has an amazing build up

    • @enesitsme
      @enesitsme 3 роки тому +3

      Jumpscares are like trying to make a baby laugh by tickling him. Maybe the baby will laugh, but it doesn't mean that you're funny.

    • @renzezekieldivida3014
      @renzezekieldivida3014 3 роки тому

      But if done properly. And a build up.
      It can make a scare.

    • @crypt5129
      @crypt5129 2 роки тому

      Jumpscares can work if done well

  • @deyomash
    @deyomash 3 роки тому

    Haha those shorts at the end are as J-horror asian weirdness as it gets!

  • @mr.m7592
    @mr.m7592 4 роки тому +2

    y isnt situational irony on here

    • @Scriptfella
      @Scriptfella  4 роки тому

      Hi - the third scare tactic: dramatic irony minute 4.49

    • @mr.m7592
      @mr.m7592 4 роки тому

      @@Scriptfella im saying situational irony is a good tactic in horror so how come it aint on the list

    • @Scriptfella
      @Scriptfella  4 роки тому +2

      @@mr.m7592This vid explores three major scare tactics that Hollywood filmmakers use but is not exhaustive, there are many others. For the record, I have never heard the term situational irony used in Hollywood and had to look up this definition. "Situational Irony occurs when actions or events have the opposite result from what is expected or what is intended." Which I guess is another way of saying when events occur in a story which are unexpected by the audience?