Shortwave

Shortwave’s roots stem from the human psyche of true horror. The idea behind
Shortwave is to show how far characters will go to find the truth they are seeking,
and ultimately their disregard for loved ones while searching for it.

The overall experience of Shortwave will be that of no other film to date. The goal
of the movie is to throw the audience into such a rash, overwhelming sense of
anxiety, that you truly understand the torment the characters go through in their
quest for the truth. Through the avenues of music, shot composition, location,
and lighting, Shortwave an environment of ultimate psychological terror.
The lighting of Shortwave will play off from gorgeous natural lighting
environments, such as countrysides and vineyards. However, since the house is
a character in itself, the lighting schemes will accompany it's mood, the
character’s mood, and the location of characters. The lighting will move with the
characters throughout the house as they move around, since it's an automated
house. The lighting will also accompany the mood with red's, dark blues, and
greens for the anger and horror of the film. Pinks and yellows will follow for
relaxed moments and confusion, and white light will be used for anxiety and
heartache.

The score of the film will almost always be present throughout the film. The fast
tempo and high frequencies of the music will create a world where the audience
is never really sure what is going to happen. Most horror films will elude to the
fact that something terrifying is about to happen. The audience then realizes that
they are about to be spooked in some sort of way. However, Shortwave will do
the opposite of this. The music will consistently be high energy while the
characters perform everyday tasks. This will bestow a sense of anxiety so that
our viewers feel how the characters actually do. The flip side of this is that when
something horrific does happen to our characters there will be little to no music.
We will only hear the sound of the Shortwave radio and the breathing of our
characters. This runs with the idea of real life and how we perceive life
threatening situations. In real life there is never really a soundtrack. It will be truly
a shock to the audience to go from something that has them on edge the entire
time to trying to grasp the horror of a situation and they feel as though they can
relax because the music has stopped but in reality the visuals will keep them on
edge as the horrific scene takes place. This raises them to a whole different
heightened sense of terror not yet touched in today’s market.

The shots and aesthetic of Shortwave are as unique as the music. Negative
space will be our biggest asset in the film. By showing less of the character and
more of the overall surrounding and house we force the house to become a
character. The other amazing aspect of using this is that is gives the audience
false send security as they see beautiful vast landscapes, but in return are
thrown into high intensity situations that cut from negative space and wide lens's
to that of extreme close-ups and very little light. This stark juxtaposition will serve
as a platform of extreme angst among the viewership.

There is always more than meets the eye in Shortwave. Using beautiful and
unconventional settings for a horror film is an unconventional take on the genre.
In real life, it happens anywhere, and that is what I want to demonstrate. It can
take place on a sunny day at a picnic or a dark, decrepit house on Haunted Hill.
The location of a remote house in the Hollywood Hills serves as the perfect
epicenter for a film filled with terror. Giant windows and glass doors give a false
sense of freedom, as we will quickly realize the house is all but free. In addition,
the look and feel of a new-age, 2015 interior will rattle audiences in the sense that
it’s not your everyday home. The adjacent upstate New York landscapes will play
against a false sense of freedom, as rolling hills and lakes provide a picturesque
hallmark feel. However, the beauty will only be a false cover for the horrors that
lurk below the surfaces of those locations.