1. The Conjuring (2013) Detailed Intro Analysis
The conjuringisa movie thathasbeenrecentlyreleasedin2013, itgrossedover318 milliondollars
duringitsrelease periodmakingitone of the all-time grossingmovieswithinthe horrorgenre.For
thisanalysisIam goingto be focusingonthe first3 minutesof the openingsequence.
The openingsequence beginswith a short title sequence. It shows who the main distributer of the
filmwhichisWarnerBros and thenispans roundina circularmotioninto the production line which
is new line cinema. During this opening title sequence there is also a soundtrack that lasts for
preciselysixteenseconds,it definitely adds some atmosphere to the opening sequence as you can
define whatgenre the filmisgoingtobe because the soundsthatyou would associate are very high
pitched and that is exactly how the soundtrack.
The next scene is a medium close
up as you can see, the reason I
have judged it as a medium close
up because you have and extreme
close up of the eye but you can
alsosee the hair in the background
so itis notfocusing on one specific
feature. The close up on the eye
suggests to me that the girl is in emotional pain because you can tell if a person is not themselves
and upsetor maybe feelingsomethingdifferentthroughlookingattheireyes,thisis then backed up
by the picture above as it looks like the doll is crying. In this scene there is also non-diegetic
voiceover sound, there is a man and a woman talking about the creature in the picture above but
youcan’t physicallysee themwhichmakes it non-diegetic sound. During this sequence the camera
then begins to zoom out and pan
to the right showing more of the
face of the doll. The camera then
keeps panning right as it passes an
object which makes the screen
black and when it then passes this
object it then reveals to us a
medium three shot of three
characters.The camera seemslike thatitisalsoon a canteredangle tothe right, this suggests to me
that the characters are confused why the doll has been left with them. The reason I have decided
that the canteredangle representsconfusion is because when you are confused, you generally are
disorientatedsoeverythingisall abitblurryand scatteredlike the cameraangle used.The coloursin
this scene are also very dark, everything is shaded darker which could suggest to me that the
characters are all in the dark about what has happened, like they don’t know what is going on. The
narrative inthisscene isnot directlyaddressingtothe audience,insteadthe charactersare talkingto
a man explaining the doll’s actions.
2. This is the next shot in the
sequence. Itisa close uptwo shotof
the two characters speaking about
the doll and it’sactions.The reason I
think they used this camera angle is
to show the confusion and panic on
the characters faces about why the
doll has been placed in their home,
it also focuses on the characters
mouths which suggests to me that what they are saying is ver important and relevant to the
storyline.The characterclosesttothe camera isalsonot infull focusandwhen it is in focus on her it
is only a close up shot of her eyes which tells me that she is the most shaken by the events . The
mise en scene of this scene is also very informative. The two characters are both talking to what I
presume tobe a priestdue tothe supernatural aspect of the sequence.Theyalsoare still describing
what the doll was doing on its own accord. During this narrative sequence the characters are not
addressing the audience as they are facing away from the camera and speaking to the presumed
priest. Whenthe priestresponds and asks the questions to the characters we cant actually see him
whichisknownas non-diegeticsoundaswe cant actuallysee himbutwe can hearhim. There is also
no otherbackgroundsoundsinthissequence becausethe filmwantsustohearclearlythe events of
what has happened as it may be relevant to the plot of the whole film.
The nextscene is then introduced
as a flashback to a previous event.
Here we can see a match on match
shot of the two charactrs entering
theirhome.Itis shotat a lowangle
which tells me that the characters
are vulnerable in this scene as
there is a greater power upon
them. As the characters open the
door itsqueeks,itisdiegeticsound
as youcan see the objectthatis makingthe noise. The two women are also laughing when walking
throughthe door. (Mise enscene) One of the female characters then stoops down to pick up a note
which says “miss me?”, it is shot as a close up so the audience can see the note which creates
tension as you think who has left this note in blood ? The two characters then stare at the doll and
begingtomove towardsit.We thenhave a POV shot as theymove towards it and it looks as though
the camera has been used without a tripod and is in someones hand as it is shaking and jumping.
Thiscreatesatmosphere asitgivesmore of a realisticfeeltothisscene.There isalsosome voiceover
as the character describeswhre theyhadleftthe doll beforetheywentout,tothe presumed priest.
We are then introduced to the next scene after a
cut, as you can see from the picture it is a close up
shot. I found that a lot of horror movies use close
up shot and the reaon I think they do is to capture
the facial expressions and emotions that they are
feelingasthismakesthe vieweralotmore scared if
a character is scared. Again there is diegetic sound
as the girl opensthe door itthencreaks.This helpscreate an edgy atmosphere as you’re already on
the edge of the seat, any little simple sound make you jump slightly. We then have score and
3. diegetic sound. The score is very jagged and spiked and sounds like that it should be in more of a
thriller horror movie rather than a supernatural horror. There is non-diegetic sound in this scene
also,whenthe girl opensthe dooryoucan clearlyhear a murmerbut youant actuallysee where it is
coming from. Colouring in this has also gave the overall sequence a different feel. Mostly the
characters are in darkness which shows vulnerabiltiy to the forces at hand, it also has an effect on
the viewer as you don’t know what is going to come next, so It gives the suspense feel to always
keep you on edge.
