The Conjuring Opening Scene Analysis

The Conjuring Opening Scene Analysis

The film opens with a voice-over narration explaining a dramatic, mysterious incident with a doll. This is supposed by an extreme close up shot of a section of the dolls face; this creates enigma codes as the doll appears to be battered, bloody and broken. The extreme close up shot reveals that the doll has a cracked eye; dolls one a typical convention and cliché of the horror genre, the opening cuts  to a group of young adults who are shown through a medium shot, which highlights their anxious faces. also the setting is dark which is a typical convention of horror as it suggests due to the chaos and goings on in the film it turns all light to dark emphasising the evil destroying all the good of the world. the shot then zooms out to an over the shoulder shot, the audience is positioned behind ed and Lorraine warren who are listening to the girls explanations of the events which are taking place. this cause the audience to predominately give their attention to the girls who are talking which increases their screen time giving them prevalence.  then there is a long shot of the hallway, this creates an enclosed and claustrophobic feel which con-notates fear due to the sense of being trapped and isolated. this leads to a close up shot on the paper which says 'miss me?' which is written in child like handwriting, by having a close up shot it ensures the audience will see it creating suspense. this is followed up by a close up shot of the dolls hand holding the crayons which are red - therefore allowing the audience to assume the doll wrote the note. red is also a symbolises danger and death e.g. it connotes blood implying the audience should feel afraid and highlights the idea of danger.

the film opening begins with non-diegetic sound, there's a black screen and therefore the audience give their full attention to listening to the voice-over they can hear so they don't miss out. this often continues throughout  the scene as the audience aren't always positioned with the character who is speaking. the two girls have the most dialogue within the clip which gives them prevalence. there use of sound effects for creaking doors which is a typical horror convention. also there is a loud knock/bang at the door, this volume of the bang causes the audience to feel on edge by the dolls presence as it is near them making them more afraid.all the loud noises help too build on the sense of claustrophobia and there being no escape.

the first setting in the film is an apartment, this immediately implies fear and danger as the apartment is small - isolated. also a home is a typical setting for a horror film as its the place you are supposed to feel safest in. the spare room in the apartment is destroyed and full of drawings which are in in the red crayon this causes the drawing to stand out as the rest of the apartment is dull and lifeless. this is also accompanied by low key lighting used which is something that is expected to be seen in a horror film because quite often everything else in the shot will be dark but the light that is present makes the audience focus on a specific aspect.

Codes and Conventions of horror

Codes and Conventions sub genres of horror

 

Horror can be split into sub genres:

-Horror can often be spilt into sub genres which can include romance, sci-fi or comedy.

-Primary target audience – is males from 16-24 due to swearing and sexual content. 15 or 18 certificates depending on the level of gore swearing and violence

-Extensive use of Narrative enigmas at every turn the characters are faced with some form or terror or trauma that can’t always be explained by natures reasoning.

-Slow pace of editing, builds tension. Long takes.

Horror Genre Codes and Conventions:

-Three act narrative structure.

-Predictable narrative content (follows format).

-Clear binary opposition’s e.g. good v evil builds a clear.

-Use of low key lighting, use of CGI, FX.

-Dominant representation of gender: Male villain, The Female Victim which is usually due to relation with the audience e.g. ‘damsel in distress’

-Young/teenage characters as they are seen as weak and vulnerable and most likely to be attacked.

-Extensive use of close up, point of view shots, low angle shots these are used to build tension along with a story line.

-Use of hand-held camera: audience identification/realism.

Codes and conventions Action Codes

Codes and conventions Action

Codes: Technical (camera shots & techniques)

Action thriller films often have a low lighting on the ‘evil’ characters to show the audience that these characters are the villains as showing them in a lower lighting reflects how little purity and sanity they have left. They have shadows on their face making them dark and mysterious portraying their inner thoughts an intensions through the characters physical appearance. Action thrillers have fast paced cuts between shots to keep the viewer engaged during the heat of the action also this makes the viewer feel a part of what’s about to happen. Action thriller's also have extreme close up shots of the characters faces to show their expression and their emotion when all the action and tense moments are happening.

Symbolic Codes

The characters often have blood or dirt on their body also ripped or dirty close to show the viewer that they have been close to the action and drama or due to crisis haven’t been able to return home to clean themselves up. The characters often start with clean, immaculate clothes and end the film with their clothes being scruffy and torn, which is a symbol for their situation – which usually can be quite desperate until the ‘job’ is done or their issue solved.

Written and Audio Codes

Action thrillers have fast paced and dramatic music to help emphasise the tense moments to create suspense and to match the action, this also builds excitement for the audience as they are enticed by the pace of the music as they remain hooked on the protagonists action packed triumph. Action thrillers often have music to suit the characters personality, e.g. when a villain enters the frame the viewer would hear dark music symbolising the character is ‘evil’ and vice versa when the main protagonist is on scene there will be up-beat or heroic music.

Diegetic: inside the film meaning all characters in the film are a part of this type of dialogue/music/noises - dialogue, action noises.

Non-diegetic: outside of the film only meant for the audiences ears genuinely – soundtrack, voice-over or sounded added into the film during the editing process.

KEY PARTS OF THE ACTION GENRE

- The films are usually 12-15 certificate to maximise youth’s chance of watching and enjoying action films.

- Can often be part of hybrid genres such as Sci Fi/Adventure/Romance to create more drama.

- Mostly made and distributed by major Hollywood film companies.

- Have high production value including CGI and other affects.

-fast pace editing is a key part to action films as they create suspense and tension.

- Predictable chain of events – cause and effect.

- Dramatic non-diegetic sound as this also adds to the tension and suspense of the film.

- More narrative action codes, like enigma codes as it allows the audience to engage and connect more also participate in solving the characters puzzles and dilemmas.

- Clear binary oppositions – good versus evil which is very typical of an action film because they’re clear right and wrong aspects.

- Audience identification/expectations.

- Romantic sub-plot usually the protagonist meets some form of partner usually of the opposite sex and will sacrifice anything to save and protect them, humorous dialogue – also the partner may be funny e.g. crime fighting partners usually policeman/detectives.

- Relationships with new technology (youth audiences).

- Use of close up.

Genre conventions Table

Genre	Genre conventions Narrative and characters	Genre conventions micro-elements (sounds,Mise-en-scene)	Film Examples
Action	Good and bad figures, chase scenes, fighting, conflict	Guns, knives, cities, weapons	Jurassic park, marvel films, James bond films, the matrix
Adventure	Sifi elements, super natural , missions , fantasy ,adrenalin rush	Ropes, treasure, desert – exotic settings travel, quick shots	Avatar, Harry potter, Indiana jones, star wars, pirates of the Caribbean
Comedy	Jokes, and comical situations , humouring bad situations	Laughing, up beat music, happy setting usually a holiday or home town	Borat, anchor man , just go with it , American pie, Superbad
Romance	People finding /losing love, broken heart, dates, weddings, happy endings	Show romantic ballads, pathetic fallacy	Notebook , love actually, titanic ,lady and the tramp
Horror	Death, murder, haunting, spirits , supernatural thriller.	Sharp loud noises, lighting can differ between light and dark to create an element of fear, empty building forests	Saw, the last insidious , paranormal activity, mama, women in black, orphan, conjuring.

genre is defined by oxford dictionary as 'A style or category of art, music, or literature'.

Codes And Conventions of The Conjuring

Codes And Conventions of The Conjuring

Camera/ Editing

close up shot of the crayon moving

extrme close up shot of doll

slowly zoom out

medium shot of 3 people

high angle of doll being put in the bin - doll has no power.

Sounds

Voice

high pitched music non diegetic

sinister string music

Mise-en-scene

doll cracks in glass eye

lighting low key

Flashing lights

child like handwriting

being interviewed enigma codes

destroyed room

terrified facial expression



Women in Black Opening Review

Women in Black Opening Review

   The women in black opens with eerie and unsettling non-diegetic sound combined with a close up shot of a children’s tea party this highlights the audience that the film is part of the horror genre. The scene creates several enigma codes for the audience as the music creates a sinister atmosphere whereby the audience suspects that something dramatic and unsettling is going to happen at the tea party.

The mise-en-scene includes playful, innocent image of the three girls having a tea party which turns into something creepy and conventional of horror films, as the approach the three windows at the end of the room. The audience follow the girls through a tracking shot. This further creates enigma as the audience want to know what the girls are looking at and doing. Match-on-actin is used to show that the girls open the window, this creates tension and suspense as this is highlighted as a significant action.

The three girls jump out the window and shockingly die, this is conventional of horror film. This is followed by a medium shot of the empty bedroom, creating an eerie unsettling scene. The sequence is silent, except for the non-diegetic horror score that drives the scene, until we hear the off screen sound of a scream of the children’s mother, as we cut to a startlingly quick close up shot of a creepy looking doll.

Dawn Of the Dead Opening Review - Horror

Dawn Of the Dead Opening Review

Dawn of the dead opens with silence pacing into dramatic music, the first shot is of an alarm clock and a family picture which could indicate its family film however the sound and darkness of the scene tell us this is a conventional horror. For the first 40 seconds the film only uses two camera shots to build tension and suspense. Both of these shots also create a sort of enigma code as they change so suddenly it’s as if they are mini cliff hangers. The girl standing in the hallway is shown as a dark figure almost like a shadow is suggesting also that the film is in the horror genre, the camera shot is at a low angle when facing the girl to make us feel over powered by her. 

The mise-en-scene shows the girl dressed in white, which emphasises the blood in her clothes to create a more dramatic effect and show that this is something out of the ordinary for this family.  There’s also A Extreme close upshot of the girl showing us she’s got demonic features such as the churned lip and cut neck suggesting she has been attacked by something unknown to the family. The shot of the girl biting the parent figure is backed by high pitched diegetic noise (man screaming) this is a high angle shot which alludes the man is a vulnerable figure. We are then shown a medium shot of the mother figure pulling the demonic child off the man, we are also shown blood and skin coming off the man these are connotations of horror. The audience are shown a power struggle between the three characters as they swap control and power throughout the opening this is proved by the flip between angles to show power via high and low camera angles as they determine who’s in control.

The high angle of the man falling to the bed dramatizes this shot as he again is wearing white to show the blood on his clothing to create the desired effect on the viewer. The opening also uses match-on-action to create more suspense/tension as they lock the door and the girl tries to open it forcefully whilst the mother figure assists the man by putting pressure on his bleeding neck. This followed by more high and low angle shots of the struggle between the man and women as the girl has turned the man into another demonic character and he turns on the women, showing their power struggle through camera angles, with short sharp shots causing the audience to be entranced by the scene.

Opneing analysis of dawn of the planet of ther apes

OPENING ANALYSIS OF DAWN OF PLANET OF THE APES

The opening to Dawn of Planet of the Apes starts with a close up shot of a powerful looking ape. He connotes power because he's looking at the ground and his hand is in the air. The non-diegetic sound is intense music which creates tension. The close up shot widens to a medium shot so the audience know that the ape is part of a tribe. The diegetic sound is of an ape calling, he commands his army to hunt. 

All the apes start running and the action sets off, this shows the apes in a powerful light. Suddenly, there's a medium shot of a roaring bear that appeared from the bush making one of the apes scream. The bear attacks the ape but does not succeed as another ape steps in and kills it. This shows us how powerful they are and symbolises that hunting in a pack is a lot safer than hunting on your own. There's a close up shot of the apes to show an intense relationship.

The medium shot of the apes on horses shows that they have authority and the sinister faces symbolize violence. The non-diegetic sound of calm triumph music shows that the hunting is over and has ended in success.