Analyse opening sequence of a film

The women in black

For analysis of an opening sequence of a film I have

decided to use the film The women in black, as the
narrative of the movie is similar to our production and
the genre that the narrative is based on is horror similar
to ours. 'The women in black' was released not long
ago in 2012 by a director called James Watkins. The
movies sequences were shown to the audience through
codes and conventions that have been used. Firstly, in
the beginning, of the opening sequence we are
introduced to three small girls that suddenly look up with a blank and shocked faces.
A non-diegetic sound is used for this scene such as creepy toy sounds that are very
gentle and slow paced to build up on the tension and to build suspense for the
audience. The score builds up as the three girls gradually walk towards the window
and jump off which gives an instinct of what will happen next in the next scene.
Once they jump out the window more non-diegetic music is used such as screaming,
crying and shouting to build a connection with the three young girls in the movie and
the audience of sympathy. This was used as a way of frightening the audience and
makes them more engaged to the movie with full attention.
The director uses diegetic and non-diegetic sound build
the dramatic effects and to understand the slow motion
editing that was used. This is of the main effects that
are important during a trailer as the narrative of the film
is not given to the audience as much as it will give
away what will take place on the film. During a horror
movie trailer you want it to be left as a cliff-hanger.
The editing that has been used is bringing an impact on
the audience while watching the trailer for The women in black. The way the editing
is done also creates an impact on how the audience reacts towards the film for
example if the editing does not have a clean finishing and if it is not sharp then the
way that the message of the movie is supposed to be conveyed to the audience

Maheen Hashmi

would not. Continuity editing was used throughout the scene as it was taken in a
nursery room with a slow pace effect. Jump cut was used in the trailer, but this
editing is usually used in films that are based on genre as it's a technique used by
the director and the editor to scare the audience watching the film. Eye line match is
used to show the audience what the three girls are looking at which is another
character that is behind the camera and the window.
The setting of where the opening sequences start
from is a nursery room where all three girls are
playing with their dolls. The costume that they are
wearing are dresses that were the fashion suing
the 1800s style which also shows the audience
of when the movie was set. The colour of the
dress is very dull and the design on the dress is
very simple and plain which shows the simplicity
of the three girls. The colour of the scene was very Graney as a colour effect has
been added to it to represent the horror as a Mise-en-scene.
The cinematographer has filmed every shit carefully by using certain rules such as
the 180-degree rule followed by the codes and conventions of the movie. Extreme
close up shots was used for the dolls and cutlery that were used as a prop. This was
used in the opening sequences first few seconds to emphasise the small girls
playing like any other child. Medium shots were then taken to show the three girls
playing followed by a high angle from a point of view shot of someone looked down
on the three girls and looking possessed.

Maheen Hashmi