Central Theme: Our film will explore the themes of jealousy and childhood innocence. It will explore these themes through the use of hypnotism and possession of the children showing that they are vulnerable and powerless suggesting their innocent nature.
Synopsis: A girl whose parents died in a tragic car crash was left orphaned at aged 5. She left the orphanage to seek a new life of her own but now finds herself, aged 10, residing in the woods not far from the place of the accident. The lack of company in the woods leads the girl to begin to wonder what else there could be to life. This is when she turns to witchcraft. When an old man is walking his dog a sudden flash of the girl catches him by surprise. As he goes to find out more he trips and falls unconscious. Little does he know that this is the beginning of the end.
Pitch: Our film will be a 15 rated however, our specific target audience will be ages 15-18. We chose to aim our film towards this age range because when research the BFI Statistical Yearbook we found that the top performing 15 rated film was of the horror genre. This tells us that this age category are particularly interested in this genre meaning that we will create a higher box office gross from this production. Our film will be different to other films as it will use a mixture of Point Of View shots from the old man and third party shots. This will allow the audience to view both perspectives and increase the audience participation in the film keeping them engaged throughout. We will also use a mixture of hand held camera shots and fixed shots. This will also help the audience to feel the same emotions as the character increasing the intensity of the film. Finally, we are subverting the stereotype that it is always a female character that is in distress as we have a male who is playing the role of 'damsel in distress'.
Characters:
Patrick (Old Man) - Patrick is a retired policeman who lives on his own with his dog dave. He has no children and often can feel alone. This character is one of the main roles in this film. When casting this part we will need to find a actor who is aged between 65-75, has grey hair and has previous acting ability to ensure they are capable of learning the lines and being able to easily follow instructions and pick up cues easily.
Evangeline - Often referred to as 'Evie' this young girl has become a master of witch craft after the loss of her parents at age 5. She soon becomes jealous of other children who have parents to care for them and so in the middle of the night she takes the children from their rooms and takes them to her home in the forrest where she hypnotises them. As this character is one of the main roles we will need to carefully select our actor in order to make the film feel authentic. The character of Evie is aged 11 so our actor ideally needs to be aged 10-12. The actor also need to be able to convincingly portray someone with spiritual power and be able to pick up lines quickly and deliver them with enthusiasm and power. We specifically would like our actor to have red hair as it not commonly seen in films. This will also help our film be set apart from others.
Bella (Child) - Bella is a child who has been taken by Evie. She is Aged 7 and is clever, confident and witty. She has managed to escape the spell from Evie and tries to help the other children escape but her plans fail when they all turn against her. For this character we need a girl aged 6-8 with a fiery personality.
Peter (Child) - Peter is an 8 year old boy who is outgoing and willing to take on a challenge. Under the spell of Evie he becomes very obedient and is one of her top followers. When we are casting our actors we need to look for a boy aged 7-9 preferably with light brown hair. The actor will need to be willing to wear a long white t-shirt that looks like a dress as it is an important part of the role.
Katie (Child) - Katie is a happy yet shy 9 year old who loves to dance. Her selfless nature makes her an easy target for Evie allowing her to be taken control of easily. For the character of Katie our actor needs to be aged 8-10 preferably fairly small and slim built with blonde hair.
Chloe (Child) - Chloe was the first person to be taken by Evie and is also 11 years old. She and Evie used to be best friends before the accident and Evie soon became very jealous of Chloe. She is Evie's closet follower and is left in charge of the others when Evie goes out to get more children. Our actor for this character will need to be aged 10-12 and be fairly tall.
Film Opening Sequence:
The scene opens with a long shot of a car driving towards the camera in the the dark with the headlights on.
The shot cuts to the man getting out his car and getting his dog out of the car.
The man locks his car and begins to walk off into the darkness with his dog until they can't be seen.
As the man walks through a pathway of trees he hears footsteps behind him. He turns to look and nothings there.
As the man is facing backwards the camera cuts to a front view of the man and his dog and we see he girl run in front of them and off into the woods.
This startles the dog and makes him chase after the girls into the bushes.
The man calls after his dog and after no response follows him into the woods to try and find him.
Whilst doing so the ma trips and hits his head on the ground knocking him unconscious.
The scene cuts to a black screen.
There is then a blurry long shot that pans left to right then back to centre and then a tilt from centre to up to down to centre.
We then change to a third person view of the man who is tied to a tree. The man shouts for help and no one replies.
We then cut to a shot of a tree with the word "Evangeline" engraved on it. There is a child's laugh in the background.
We go back to the man tied to the tree and the abducted children and Evie are slowly walking towards him.
There is a point of view shot from the man of the children getting closer and closer and then they begin to run at him.
The screen goes blank again and there is a shout from the man and the laughter of children.
Film Techniques:
When filming the opening to ur film we will use many different types and lengths of shot. For example -
Point of View shot - This will be used to show the Point of view from Patrick. This allows the audience to connect with him and feel his emotions creating a more scary and really atmosphere.
Long shot - We will use ling shots to create a sense of space which therefore makes Patrick seem more vulnerable as he is alone in a large space. This makes the audience feel worried for him creating a tense atmosphere.
Close Up - We will use close ups to show the emotions and facial expressions of the characters allowing the audience to engage with characters.
Canted Angle - We will use Canted angle shots when the man is lying on the floor. This will be effective as it creates a disorientating effect for the audience.
And other basic shot types.
Production Considerations:
We will need to consider our location of filming as we want to film in the woods.
When finding our actors we will need permission from parents as the film will be on YouTube.
We will also need to think about safety. For example a when running through woods their could be trip hazards.
Focus Group Feedback:
Katy - I think the idea for this film is good because it is different to most other films as the victim is older than the villain. However, it also has many similar themes to other horror films which means it is likely to be successful.
Ellie - I like the idea for this film as it is similar to many other horrors as it is set in a woods which is often seen as a scary place.
Adam - This film idea is good because it is different to other horrors as it flips the roles of the adult and child which means that it is easier to relate to a younger character for us as the audience.
Helena - I like this film idea because its got a good story line and relates to a wide audience.
"In a textiles warehouse, Esther (Lotta Losten) sees a silhouette of a woman with monstrously long fingers when she turns the lights off, but sees nothing when the lights are on. She warns owner Paul (Billy Burke) about the apparition and leaves. Paul is later dragged into the darkness and gruesomely killed by the woman.
Paul's stepdaughter Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) lives alone in an apartment, away from her mother, Sophie (Maria Bello), and brother, Martin (Gabriel Bateman). Sophie has a mental illness and depression that has resurfaced, in which she talks to an apparently imaginary "friend." When Martin sees the apparition with his mom, his fear gives him insomnia.
Because he fell asleep in homeroom for three days, his teacher sent him to the nurses office, where his Child Protection Services advisor, Emma (Andi Osho) calls Rebecca to the school. Rebecca takes Martin home, but after a fight with their mother, she takes him to her to the apartment to protect him. That night, she awakens to scratching by the silhouetted woman - who almost attacks her, though Rebecca manages to turn the light on, making the figure disappear. The next morning, Rebecca finds what the woman was scratching into her floor: the name "Diana." She recalls her experiences with Diana from her own childhood, and the reason she left when her father abandoned them.
That night, Sophie has a movie night with Martin, but includes her imaginary friend, frightening him. She tells him a story about Diana (Alicia Vela-Bailey), a friend she had when she was in a mental institution for her depression. Diana had an unusual condition that made her skin light-sensitive. Martin looks up to see Diana crouched above him and runs to turn on the light, and Diana throws Sophie out of the way to get to Martin. She fails and Martin escapes to Rebecca's.
Rebecca confronts Sophie about Diana but she denies the accusation. Rebecca, her lover Bret (Alexander DiPersia), and Martin decide to stay overnight to protect Sophie. Rebecca goes to her mom's bedroom door to reconcile when Sophie secretly passes her a note saying "I need help", before Diana tugs her back into the darkness. Rebecca realizes that her mother is being controlled by Diana, and turns on all the lights in the house to keep her away.
Knowing their intentions, Diana baits Rebecca and Martin into the basement by turning off all the lights. Bret is attacked but escapes and contacts the police. Rebecca realizes that while Diana disappears under normal light conditions, the use of a black light can allow them to see her. This black light allows Rebecca to discover that Diana can be materialized. Meaning that when Diana is exposed to first black light, then ordinary light, she will not just suddenly disappear. Her skin will actually burn. Rebecca discovers scrawled writings along a basement wall, explaining how Diana will not let anyone take Sophie. The writings on the wall reveal that Diana killed Rebecca's father, and will not allow anyone to take Sophie away.
Bret discovers that Rebecca and Martin were in the basement, and as he was trying to open the door, Diana attacks Bret. Bret barely making it to his car, leaves the house to fetch for help.
A pair of police officers arrive, responding to what they believe to be a domestic disturbance. The lead officer is attacked and killed by Diana, but not before freeing Rebecca and Martin from the basement. The officer's partner calls for backup before pursuing Diana further into the house. Rebecca sends Martin outside to Bret, and goes back inside to rescue her mother. Diana is about to kill Rebecca when Sophie arrives brandishing a pistol. Sophie exclaims that she's the only connection Diana has that tethers her to the human world. She sacrifices herself with a bullet to the head in an effort to save her children, causing Diana to burn away and disappear.
Afterwards, the police carry away Sophie's body, with the distraught Rebecca, Martin, and Bret at the ambulance, as they embrace and vow to stay together. The lights in the ambulance momentarily flicker, but Bret dismisses it, to Rebecca and Martin's relief."
Lights Out (2016 film) n.d. In Wikipedia. Retrieved 15th November 2016. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lights_Out_(2016_film)
Producers -
New Line Cinema - "New Line Film Productions Inc., often simply referred to as New Line Cinema, is an American-French film studio founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as a film distribution company, later becoming an independent film studio."
New Line Cinema. n.d. In Wikipedia. Retrieved 23rd November 2016. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Line_Cinema
RatPac-Dune Entertainment - "RatPac Entertainment (trading as RatPac-Dune Entertainment) is an American motion picture production and financing company formed in a merger by producer-director Brett Ratner, his partner billionaire James Packer, and Dune Entertainment's Steven Mnuchin, which provides funds to a number of Warner Bros. films.The company is the result of a 2013 merger between RatPac Entertainment and Dune Entertainment, following a collapse in negotiations between Dune and 20th Century Fox – which led the company to close a deal with Warner Bros. instead, replacing Legendary Pictures as Warner's key co-financing partner.Dune had been co-financing Fox films since 2006."
RatPac-Dune. n.d. In Wikipedia. Retrieved 23rd November 2016. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RatPac-Dune_Entertainment
Atomic Monster Productions - "Atomic Monster Productions is an American film production company, founded by director James Wan. The company was founded in 2014 and is known for producing horror films such as Annabelle, The Conjuring 2, Lights Out and the upcoming film Annabelle 2."
Productions of Note -
Annabelle (2014) - Budget 6.5 million USD - Box Office 256.9 million USD
The Conjuring 2 (2016) - Budget 40 million USD - Box Office 320.2 million USD
Lights Out (2016) - Budget 4.9 million USD - Box Office 148.1 million USD
Atomic Monster Productions. n.d In Wikipedia. Retrived 23rd November 2016. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_Monster_Productions
Distributors -
Warner Bros. - "Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (often referred to as Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros., Warner Brothers and also shortened to WB) is an American entertainment company and a division of Time Warner, headquartered in Burbank, California. Warner Bros. is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America."
Warner Bros. n.d. In Wikipedia. Retrieved 23rd November 2016. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros.
Timeline -
00:00-00:05 - The scene opens with a man walking down a dark corridor. There is low key lighting and diegetic sound of the mans footsteps and the sound of his keys rattling in his hand.
00:06-00:09 - The shot cuts to a close up of the back of the mans head. There is a small sting in a minor key. The man turns his head.
00:10-00:11 - The shot cuts to a view of the corridor. There is low-key lighting with spotlight lighting staggered down the corridor.
00:12-00:24 - There is a close-up of the mans face as he walks towards the camera. This shot fades into a long shot down the dark corridor. The man walks back down the corridor he came up. The diegetic sound of his footsteps and keys is present again.
00:25-00:29 - The camera pans round as the man turns a corner. Incidental music builds up rapidly. The lighting is still all low-key and everything has shadows across them. As the man turns the corner a dark figure is revealed in between two of the spot lights. The incidental music is still building up.
00:30-00:32 - There is a close-up of the mans face as he speaks to the figure.
00:33-00:37 - There is an over the shoulder shot. The figure slowly stands up. There is diegetic sound of crackling as the figure stands up.
00:38-00:42 - The lights in the corridor turn off. There is a faint image of the man waving around to trigger the sensor for the lights. At 00:41 the lights turn back on and there is a low tone sting. The figure which we can now see is a woman has got closer.
00:43-00:51 - There is a close up of the mans face. He is looking around the room. The music builds up, getting louder and faster.
00:52-00:53 - There is an over the shoulder shot down the corridor. The woman is gone. The incidental music is still present and building.
00:54-00:56 - There is another close up of the man as he looks around the room. We see him begin to run off.
00:57-01:02 - There is a tracking shot of the man running down the corridor. The lighting is still all low-key with spotlighting. The incidental music speeds up as he runs. The man trips and falls to the floor. There is diegetic sound of his keys hitting the floor.
01:03-01:08 - The man stands up and is flustered. There is a close-up of his leg which shows there is a large wound. There is a mid-shot of the man. We can see that he has seen something as his eyes become fixated on something and he looks scared.
01:09-01:11 - There is a long shot where the woman is again between two spotlights and slowly stands up.
01:12-01:13 - There is a tilt upwards of the man. He is sweating and has a scared facial expression.
01:14-01:19 - An over the shoulder shot of the man shows the woman's head. She is close to the man now. The woman steps towards the man and a mid-shot shows him stagger backwards.
01:20-01:23 - There is a tilt downwards to show the bottom half of the woman. The shot ends with a high angle of a spotlight on the floor.
01:24-01:28 - The man looks up. The shot cuts to a close-up of a light. The man looks back down to the creature.
01:29-01:36 - The camera pans round to show the office. The door is still open and the lights on. There is a tracking shot of the man running towards the office. The man gets into the office and closes the door. As he closes the door we can see the figure try to get in. The screen goes black.
01:37-01:56 - The man walks to the window in the office. The shot cuts to a long shot from outside the office. We can see the man in the window. The shot goes back to inside the office. The camera pans around to show a shelving unit with a baseball bat on. The man grabs the baseball bat and walks back to the window. The shot cuts again to an outside view of the office. The two small spotlights above the mannequins go off. The incidental music is faint at this point.
01:57-02:09 - The lights in the office begin to flicker. The man says "no, no, no". An outside view of the office shows the lights in the office turn off. There is an added 'bang' of dietetic sound at this point. There is a close up of the man holding the baseball bat in front of his face. He slowly walks backwards. The music builds up again and the lighting is very dark.
02:10-02:14 - There is a close-up of the office door. The camera zooms in and the handle moves.
02:15-02:18 - There is a close-up of the mans face. There is a dark shadow cast across half of his face.
02:19-02:29 - There is another close-up of the door. The handle turns and the door swings open. There is a creak sound as the door opens. The shot cuts to a mid-shot of the man holding the baseball bat. The incidental music builds up.
02:30-02:32 - There is a loud bang and a dark blur pushes the man backwards. We cannot see what has happened as there is very low-key lighting.
02:33-02:35 - There is a shot of the mannequins from outside the office.
02:36-02:42 - There is a canted angle shot down the corridor. The a spot light comes on to show the man played on the floor. He is covered in blood and evidently dead. The music gets louder at this point. There is a close-up of the mans face which is covered in blood.
02:43-02:50 - The lights flicker and then the screen goes to black. The music carries on over the black screen.
Analysis -
Mise en scenè - Setting -
The opening of this movie is all based in a textiles warehouse. Warehouses are large spaces usually in an industrial estate that is off the beaten track. This adds effect as if something happens in the warehouse there is nobody near by to help. The opening is set at night so everywhere is dark. This is typical of the horror genre as things can hide in the dark more easily without being spotted. The inside of the warehouse is dark with spotlight lighting. This creates shadows in-between the spotlights. Shadows are typically seen as eerie and creepy and create a tense atmosphere for the audience. In the warehouse there are mannequins used to test the textiles on. Mannequins are lifeless models. This creates a creepy effect as they look realistic and could be interpreted as humans.
Lighting -
The majority of this opening scene is filmed in low-key lighting. This creates shadows across the corridors and across the faces of the characters. This creates a sense of fear for the audience as they don't know what could be lurking in those shadows. There is one section where the man is in the office where high-key lighting is used. This creates a lighter atmosphere releasing tension.
Costume and Make-up -
The man had smart-casual business wear on. He wore a blue shirt with rolled up sleeves and jeans. Suggesting that he was in charge of the factory as factory workers would be dressed in less formal clothing like aprons or overalls. The woman has no clothing on and her hair is long, not tied up and looks wet. This suggest to the audience that she is abnormal in some way or in fact not even alive.
Key Shots, Camera Movements and Edits -
00:00-00:24 - The scene opens with a shot of the man walking down the corridor. The use of low-key lighting sets a tense and eerie atmosphere. This engages the audience as they have to look closely to see details. There is no background music at this point which add emphasis on the diegetic sounds of footsteps and keys. This creates the feeling of the warehouse being large and empty as the sounds almost echo around the building. This is scary as it makes the man vulnerable as he is alone in a large space. The close-up of the mans face shows the audience that he is scared. The minor key sting creates tension as it infers that something bad is about to happen. The long shot down the corridor creates a sense of vulnerability and makes the audience feel scared for the man.
00:25-00:56 - The camera pans round the corner. This is disorientating for the audience making them feel worried as to what could be round the corner. The incidental music builds up rapidly. This suggests that something bad is about to happen. The shadows from the low-key lighting create a sense of mystery as not everything can be seen. This becomes evident when the dark figure is revealed. We cannot see any features of the figure which makes it seem scarier and more intimidating. The close up of the mans face allows the audience to connect with him and understand his feelings making them feel more involved in the film. As the figure begins to stand up there is a diegetic sound of crackling. This infers that the figure is not of human form as this is not a typical sound that a human makes when standing up. The lights in the corridor turn off. This shocks the audience and makes them intrigued into what will happen next keeping them engaged and watching. When the lights turn back on there is a low sting in the music. This suggests something bad has happened as low tones create tension. The man looks around then an over the shoulder shot shows that the woman is gone. The incidental music is building up suggesting that something bad is going to happen. The close up of the man shows him run away. This suggests that something bad is happening in the factory as men are stereotypically seen as strong and not scared however he is subverting these stereotypes.
00:57-01:28 - The tracking shot of the man running gives the impression he is being chased. This makes the audience feel tense and scared for the man. This idea is reinforced by the fact that the incidental music speeds up as this is a typical convention for a chase scene. The man trips and stands up flustered. The close up of his leg shows that he has been injured. The wound is large and deep suggesting that whatever did it had sharp claws/nails. These are not traits of human beings which suggests that it is a creature of some sort. There is a long shot of the woman slowing standing up. The fact that she stands up slowly adds to the suspense and makes the audience feel uncomfortable. The man looks up and the camera cuts to a shot of the light. This shows the audience that the man has worked out that the creature cannot be in the light; it has to stay in the dark.
01:29-02:32 - The camera pans round to show the office. The door is open and the light is on. This lets the audience know it is a safe place for the man to go as the creature can't come into the light. As the door closes we see the creature try to get in. This makes the audience feel scared as they know that the creature is outside and trying to get to the man. The lighting is high-key which suggests that nothing bad can happen when he is in the light and that he is safe. This is reinforced by the music being faint. When the lights begin to flicker the audience know that something bad is going to happen as this is a common convention in the horror genre. This creates tension and makes the audience feel scared and insecure.
02:33-02:50 -The lights flicker causing the audience to fear that something bad is going to happen. The screen then goes to black. This shocks the audience and makes them think that something bad will happen in the dark. The screen remains black and the music carries on over the top. This allows the audience to reflect on the scene and makes them want to watch more to find out why the man was killed.
Focus Group Feedback -
Adam - "This film opening is very effective because already it has many jump scares and this is what is needed in the horror theme to engage a viewer to keep on watching and from watching the opening scene, I would carry on watching the film."
Ellie - "This film opening is very good because it sets the scene and the setting really well and is easy to understand and watching it puts me on the edge of my seat already."
Katy - "I enjoyed watching this and I think its effective because it leaves a mystery and makes the viewers want to carry on watching so having a good film opening builds suspense and makes the viewers like me want to watch on."
Helena - "This opening film definitely had more jump scares than I expected and already shows a lot of action going on making it more interesting and putting me at the edge of my seat."
What I have learnt -
When analysing this film, I learnt that jump scares are effective as they make the audience re-engage with the film. This idea can be transferred to the production of my film opening. We can use jump scares in the form is loud abrupt sounds to make the audience feel scared for the characters. We could also use quick moving images to startle the audience.
I will also used different angles of shot when producing my film as they were very effective in this film. The use of tracking shot was particularly effective in this opening scene as it gave the effect that the man was being chased. In our film there is a scene where there will be a chase so we could used a tracking shot to signify this.
"In 1971, Roger and Carolyn Perron move into a dilapidated farmhouse inHarrisville, Rhode Islandwith their five daughters Andrea, Nancy, Christine, Cindy, and April. Their dog Sadie refuses to enter the house and one of the children while playing a game of 'hide and clap' finds a boarded-up entrance to a cellar.
Paranormal events occur within the first few nights: all of the clocks stop at exactly 3:07 AM and Sadie is found dead in the backyard. One night in bed, Christine feels a tugging on her leg, which is a spirit only she can see. She screams and says that the spirit wants the family dead. Another night, Carolyn hears clapping in the hallway. When she goes to investigate, following the noises, she gets trapped in the basement by the spirit. At the same moment, Andrea and Cindy are attacked by a spirit on top of the wardrobe.
Carolyn decides to contact noted demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, who agree to take on the case. The Warrens conduct an initial investigation and conclude that the house may require an exorcism, but they need authorization from the Catholic Church and further evidence before they can proceed.
Ed and Lorraine discover that the house once belonged to an accused witch, Bathsheba (a relative of Mary Towne Eastey), who sacrificed her week-old child to the devil and killed herself in 1863 after cursing all who would take her land. They find reports of numerous murders and suicides in houses that had since been built on the property.
To gather evidence, Ed and Lorraine place cameras and bells around the house. They see Cindy sleepwalking into Andrea's room, and from the EVPs coming from the radio, they hear a spirit luring Cindy into the wardrobe, where she reveals a secret passage inside. Lorraine enters the passage and falls through the floorboards to the cellar, where she sees the spirit of a woman whom Bathsheba had long ago possessed and used to kill her child.
The Perron family decides to take refuge at a hotel while Ed and Lorraine take their evidence to the Church. The Warrens' daughter Judy is attacked in their own home by Bathsheba, though Ed arrives in time to save her.
Carolyn, now possessed by Bathsheba, takes Christine and April back to the house. Ed and Lorraine find Carolyn in the cellar trying to stab Christine. After tying Carolyn to a chair, Ed decides that an exorcism needs to be performed on Carolyn, but realizes there isn't enough time to wait for a priest to arrive. Ed decides to perform the exorcism himself, and in the process is attacked by Bathsheba. Though Carolyn escapes and attempts to kill April, Lorraine is able to distract Carolyn from killing her daughter by reminding her of a special memory she shared with her family, allowing Ed to complete the exorcism, saving Carolyn and April and lifting Bathsheba's curse forever.
Returning home, Lorraine tells Ed that they had been left a message saying that they had gained approval from the Catholic Church to perform the exorcism. They also have another case to investigate on Long Island. Before leaving, Ed adds a music box from the Perrons' house to a collection of items he and Lorraine have saved from past cases. It inexplicably opens and plays music as the screen cuts to black."
The Conjuring. n.d. In Wikipedia. Retrieved on 29th November 2016. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conjuring
Producers -
New Line Cinema - "New Line Film Productions Inc., often simply referred to as New Line Cinema, is an American-French film studio founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as a film distribution company, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary first of Turner Broadcasting, then Time Warner in 1996, and was merged with larger sister studio Warner Bros. in 2008."
New Line Cinema. n.d. In Wikipedia. Retrieved on 29th November 2016. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Line_Cinema
The Safran Company - "The Safran Company is a film production company that was founded by Peter Safran. The film company had produced Josh Peck and Alice Eve's horror film, ATM. The film company has also produced Paul Walker's movie after his death, Hours, and is producing Benjamin Walker and Teresa Palmer's lovely drama film, The Choice. His company has produced many films including The Conjuring, Chef, Annabelle, Vehicle 19 and Over Her Dead Body."
The Safran Company. n.d. In Wikipedia. Retrieved on 29th November 2016. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Safran_Company
Distributors - Warner Bros. - "Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (often referred to as Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros., Warner Brothers and also shortened to WB) is an American entertainment company and a division of Time Warner, headquartered in Burbank, California. Warner Bros. is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America."
Warner Bros. n.d. In Wikipedia. Retrieved on 29th November 2016. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros.
Timeline -
00:00-00:07 - There is a black screen with dialogue in the background.
00:08-00:28 - The corner of the dolls face appears on the screen and the shot slowly zooms out to reveal the whole dolls face.
00:29-00:32 - The shot cuts to mid-shot of three people in low-key lighting with text superimposed over the top "Annabelle Case - Year 1968"
00:33-00:37 - The shot changes to a close-up, side view of the three people. The lighting is low-key and there are dark shadows across the sides of the face's of the people.
00:38-01:02 - The shot returns to a front view of the three people and slowly pulls away to reveal the sides of two people, one either side of the camera.
01:02 - 01:03 - The shot goes back to a side view of the people.
01:04-01:06 - The shot cuts to a mid-shot of the doll and slowly zooms in.
01:07-01:09 - The shot goes back to a side view of the faces with dark shadows across them.
01:10-01:20 - There is a mid-shot of a door. The door opens and two women walk through laughing. They look down and pick up a piece of paper that says 'Miss Me?' written in red crayon. At this point some background music is added. The music is low and slow.
01:21-01:22 - An over the shoulder shot of both women shows the doll sat halfway down the hallway.
01:23-01:25 - the shot goes back to a front on view of the women and shows them beginning to walk towards the camera.
01:26-01:28 - The shot reverts back to facing the doll and the camera is shaky as it moves towards the doll.
01:29-01:31 - The camera goes back to the two women as they reach the doll.
01:32-01:33 - The shot cuts back to the doll and is unsteady moving around the doll.
01:34-01:35 - The shot cuts to a close up of the dolls hand which contains red crayons.
01:36-01:45 - The blonde women opens the door behind her which is covered in red crayon scribbles. She looks around the room and sees all the other red crayon. The music changes at this point and is more serious and is louder.
01:46-01:47 - The camera pans around the room and shows a flickering lamp which has been knocked over.
01:47-01:48 - The camera does a close up pan to show a broken picture of one of the women. At this point there is a sting in the music.
01:48-01:49 - The shot cuts to another picture of the two women with their eyes scratched out. There is another sting in the music. It then cuts again to another photo of a women with the eyes scratched out. There is another sting in the music.
01:49-01:50 - The two women are looking around the room. The music gradually begins to build up.
01:52-01:56 - The shot returns to the women who are looking round the room. It then cuts to the ceiling, back to the women and then back to the ceiling to reveal the message 'miss me?' written on the ceiling in red crayon.
01:57-01:59 - The shot goes back to the women who's eyes widen and become fixated on something.
02:00-02:07 - The shot shows a close up of the red crayon which rolls across the floor getting closer to the camera.
02:08-02:12 - One of the women picks up the doll and takes it out the front door. The other woman follows shouting after her.
02:13-02:18 - There is a high angle shot of an alley way. The woman carrying the doll comes into shot and she throws the doll and the note into a large industrial bin. She closes the lid on the bin.
02:19-02:21 - The screen goes to black and the sound fades out.
Analysis -
Mise en scenè -
Setting -
The opening scene is set in an apartment somewhere in America. We know this as all of the accents from the characters are American. The apartment is dull in colour and has mainly neutral and earthy tones. The rooms are all dark and have low-key lighting. This gives a more sincere and eerie atmosphere enhancing the effect on the audience. We can tell that the narrative is set around the 60's due to the use of decorative pillows and a checked sofa.
Costume and Make-up -
Key Shots, Camera Movements and Edits -
00:00-00:07 - The scene starts with a black screen with a voice-over. This is diegetic sound. This allows the audience to listen to the dialogue without any distraction from images making them immediately engage into the film and want to carry on watching.
00:08 - 00:28 - The shot then cuts to an extreme close up of the dolls face. There is a sound of an old camera as this transition happens. The sound is loud which startles the audience making them re-engage with the film. The use of the doll acts as a symbol for the genre of the film as china dolls in particular often have bad or scary connotations. The fact that the doll is the first thing we see also infers it has great significance in the narrative. The dolls face is broken and scarred suggesting that it is was treated poorly however it also makes the doll more scary and makes the audience fear it even more. The shot begins to zoom out as the voice over continues. As the shot zooms out we see that the doll has got a fixed grin. This can have connotations of evil and creepy suggesting to the audience that the doll is not a pleasant character and will cause harm to others during the narrative.
00:29-01:09 - The shot cuts to a mid-shot of three people, two women and a man. The women are explaining the events of the doll. They appear to be speaking to someone behind the camera. The shot then cuts to a close up side view of the dark haired women. There are dark shadows across the women face. This could suggest to the audience that there is a dark presence in the room watching over and controlling the lives of the women. The scene changes between these two angles multiples times. This could be a symbol for the repeating incidences with the doll. At 01:06 the shot changes to a mid-shot of the doll and slowly zooms in. This gives the impression that the doll is getting larger perhaps suggesting that it is becoming an increasing problem to the women.
01:10-01:22 - The scene cuts to a flashback. It starts with a mid-shot of a door. We can see light coming in from around the edge of the door frame and hear laughing from women. The dark room suggests that something bad has happened on this side of the door and the light on the outside signifies that the evil force or spirit cannot act outside of the apartment. The women come through the door and their laughter stops immediately. This suggests that they have seen something unexpected. This makes the audience feel worried as they don't know why the women have stopped laughing as so they feel tense and uncomfortable. These feelings are typical of the horror genre. The dark haired woman bend down and picks up a piece of paper that says 'miss me?' in red crayon. The red crayon is a motif in the opening sequence that to show that the doll has struck again. The use of the colour red connotes fear and danger, implying that the audience should be scared. The fact that it is written in crayon reinforces the fact that the doll is possessed by a child as crayons are typically used by young children. There is then an over the shoulder shot of the two women looking down the hallway. The doll is sat at the end of hallway. The long, thin corridor creates a sense of claustrophobia and makes the audience feel scared for the women as they are trapped by the doll.
01:23-01:35 - There is a point of view shot from the women as they walk towards the doll. The camera moves as the eye line of the women changes. This allows the audience to connect with the women and feel involved in the story. It allows them to feel the fear that the women are encountering through the use of dutch camera tilts and shaky movements. The shot cuts to a close up of the dolls hand containing red crayons. This signifies that something bad or evil has happened and the doll is involved.
01:36-02:07 - The blonde woman then goes into the room and sees red crayon scribbled everywhere. This reinforces the significance of the colour red in this genre. The shot pans around the room showing the destructions that has been caused. There is a flickering lamp on the floor. This is a typical convention used in horror films as it shows uncertainty. The speed and shakiness of the camera creates a sense of fear and suspense. The close-up shot of the two women shows their eyes widen and become fixated on something. This creates tensions as the audience cannot see what the women are seeing; its the fear of the unknown. The camera cuts to a close up shot of the floor and a red crayon rolls into the frame. This is creepy as crayons are inanimate objects that need an external force to move. This means that it has been pushed or rolled by the doll proving to the audience and the women that the doll is inhabited by something.
02:08 - 02:21 - The dark haired women grabs the doll from the hallway and runs out the door. The blonde lady calls after her. The shot cuts to a high angle shot which shows the lady carrying the doll and throwing her in a large industrial looking bin. This shot choice allows the audience to follow the characters actions and feel involved in the film keeping them engaged and watching. The opening scene ends with a black screen. This builds up anticipation as the audience wait for the next scene to begin and allows them to reflect on the previous scene and remember what they have just watched.
Focus Group Feedback -
Katy - "The opening to this film is effective because it uses dark lighting all the way through which shows us that bad things are going to happen. The beginning is good because it starts blank for a while which lets us listen to the speaking so that we understand the storyline. The flickering light is good because it is creepy and shows that bad things are going to happen."
Ellie - "I like the opening to this movie because it has lots of quick changes between shots which makes it more frantic and scary. There is also intense music used which makes you feel worried that something is going to jump out."
Adam - "This film opening is good because the speaking allows us as the audience to understand the story. The tense music helps to set the scene and make the scene have a faster pace."
Helena - "The opening to this film is good because it starts with a slow pace and then gets faster when it goes to a flashback. The high angle shot at the end is good because we can see everything that is happening. The black screens at the beginning and end are effective as they allow us to think about what is happening without the distraction from images."
