This is a texture analysis of the opening of the film The Woman in Black for part of my media course.

1. The Woman in Black is a 2012 British horror/thriller film directed by James
Watkins and written by Jane Goldman, based on Susan Hill's novel of the same
name. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer, Sophie
Stuckey and Liz White.

2.  Throughout the short opening a variety of editing techniques are used. The first
being the use of cutaways from each girl to them making their dolls drink out of
an empty cup. The use of cutaways here is very affective as it is the first thing you
see in the opening and creates this very intense atmosphere as to what could
happen to the three girls and what the dolls have to do with it such as whether
the dolls symbolise the girls fate or if the dolls have an impact on what might
happen to them, as at this point the audience are completely unaware.
This is a screen shot of one of the girls pretending to give
her doll a fake cup of tea. I thought in this picture particular
screen shot the facial expression of the doll is none existent
or as if it is a grieving a death and maybe this was to hint at
what may happen to the girls.
 The second piece of editing I picked up on was the fact that as the girls jumped
out the window the music stops. I believe this was affective because it may
symbolise that the end of the music is the end of their lives and this sets the up
the dark nature of the film as the fact children have died in the opening scene.

3.  There are a wide range of different camera angles/shots used throughout the opening of The Woman in Black. The
first shot I believed was very affective was the point of view mid – shot which shows all three girls looking in the
direction of an obvious un known figure with blank expressions on their faces. I believe this shot created a very
confusing and disturbing atmosphere because if there was an unknown figure that just suddenly appeared in your
room the expression and reactions would be panicked and of fear, however the girls were very calm and didn't react,
this makes the audience question what power the unknown character has and whether they are supernatural.
This is the is the point of view mid –
shot showing the girls looking at the
unknown figure (The Woman in Black
 The second thing I picked up on wasn't a camera shot but was the use of zoom. This was used when
the girls looked up at the window and the camera began to zoom and focus closer and closer at it. I
believe the use of zoom here was affective as it gave the impression that the window was drawing
them in to jump and I believe this was a result of The Woman in Blacks doing.
 The final camera shot I picked up on was a wide angled shot of all three girls stood at the window
ledge about to jump. I believe this was a good use of a wide angled shot because it again shows the
facial expressions of the girls to be none existent which must mean they are possessed as they show
no emotion right before taking there own lives.

4.  During the opening scene of The Woman in Black, there is a large amount of different
sound techniques incorporated. The first technique I noticed was at the very start of the
scene when it showed the three girls playing with their dolls and tea set, there was a calm
child's lullaby playing over the top however this music changed when the three girls looked
up at The Woman in Black or at this stage the unknown figure and the music began to slow
down and add a lot lower and darker beats. I believe this change in music gave off the
presence of a very dark and evil being. It also in more detail gives off the impression that
she infected the song like she infects the girls and that everything she comes into contact
with is poisoned.
 The second use of sound I picked up on was the sound of the tea cups shattering as the girl
dropped it upon standing up. This was a creative use of sound as I believe the shattering
symbolised the shattering of the girls lives and the way they would go. So therefore
showing another hint of what is to fore come.
 The final piece of sound I picked up on was the use of dialogue at the very end of the
opening. A woman who was obviously the mother of the three girls screams followed by
the words ‘my babies’. This is an affective use of dialogue as it confirms that the girls are
dead but leads the audience to believe that the locals may not know of the evil at work and
the reason for the death.

5.  There are various affective uses of mise – en – scene throughout the opening scene of The
Woman in Black. The first example I picked up on was the place in which the opening scene
took place, which was the attic of an old house. I knew this as the way the roof pointed,
this was an affective technique as it allowed the audience to grasp that the distance the
girls jumped would almost certainly cause death as it is from the peak of the house.
 The second piece of mise – en – scene I picked up on was the way in which as the girls
walked towards the window it showed one of the dolls being stood on and crushed. I
believe this was affective as it symbolises the fact that the build up to death has begun and
the same fate could fall upon the girls. Again this relates back to the dark and twisted
nature the film is trying to capture as the girls are crushing something that made them
smile and laugh, symbolising that even things that make people happy in the film are
crushed.
 The final piece of mise – en – scene I found was at the very end of the film when a glimpse
of a dark figure or the head garment from her black dress is shown looking in the direction
of the window. This is effective as it allows the audience to piece together everything that
happened in the scene and understand the there is evil at work.