Lights Out (2016 film) - Film Opening Deconstruction

Synopsis -

"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.