Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Step1
Pre-Planning: Ask yourself questions like “Do I want to focus on gore, scares, or both at same time?” Storyboard your shots, and really focus on a unique story because anybody could just record a fake murder. The story is key and gore will only help add depth and thrills to that story.
Step2
Setting Up: For fake guns, just spray-paint some water guns or for an even more realistic gun, use a BB handgun. There are plenty of fake knifes for sale online and at stores and you can even find realistic rubber pans for alternative weapons. Location is also an important factor. A creepy house, dark woods, or a basement will help set-up the creepiness without any effort involved.
Step3
Shooting: There are many different methods to pulling a horror scene off. First, visualize yourself watching the movie in your head. Picture how the scene will work and what the audience’s reaction will be. One of the best methods to use that can be found in many horror movies is a slow to shock technique
Step4
The scene will start off slow and methodically, usually following a character or panning around the setting. The audience pretty much knows that the shock is coming, but they do not know when. A popular distraction and scare is an object or animal like a cat jumping out from a corner. Then twist it around with the real scare right after.
Step5
Editing: the gore and screams may be on time, but to put the scares together, requires precise editing. Trimming a few seconds before and after a shot can help with the pace, and quick cuts can help fake stabs and other violence to look more realistic. Music is also really important because it can make or break a horror scene. The original Halloween was screened to horrible reviews without the music added, but when the score was put in, there was a new horror classic that remains popular to this day.
Novice 
