The Conjuring - Film Opening Deconstruction

Synopsis - 

"In 1971, Roger and Carolyn Perron move into a dilapidated farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island with 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."