Codal Analysis of Horror films

1. Codal Analysis

2. Codal Anaysis
For the Codal Analysis, I will be analysing three films
openings from my chosen genre – Horror, and
looking at the different codes and conventions:
• Visual Codes
• Audio Codes
• Technical Codes
• Narrative Codes
• Enigma Codes

3. Dead Silence

4. Visual Codes
• At the beginning of this film opening there is a series of
short clips, all of which relate to the idea of a
ventriloquist dummy. There is a few shots showing a
women looking through a book and we zoom in on an
image of a women holding up a dummy. There is then a
further sequence of shots showing the creation of a
ventriloquist dummy. These shots are all very quick and
short and the transitions are not very long so the clip
appears very jumpy and sketchy. The short, quick clips
are used to create tension. The lighting in the opening
is also very dark to create tension and suggest that
something is unusual about the doll.

5. Audio Codes
• The music used in this film opening is very quick however it is
also very eerie, this is used to create tension. The music
sounds like it is maybe coming from a music box similar to a
child’s jewelry box. This may be used because we could relate
a ventriloquist dummy with entertaining children and with
this eerie music in the style of a music box we could associate
the two with each other. As the pace of the clips speed up,
the music speeds up to match the pace and also becomes
more dramatic because of the bass within the song increasing.
Towards the end of the into the clip the music changes slightly
the include a sound in the style of choir singers. The pace also
speeds up a lot towards the end and whilst the last shot is
placing it stops and the music box sounds begins playing again
however very slowly to show that something is out of the
ordinary.

6. Technical Codes
• The majority of the shots within this clip are close-ups, for example
close-ups of the drawing in the book of the doll and also close-ups
whilst they are making the doll. These are used to emphasise the
point that something is unusual. Sometimes a close-up is used
however the shot then transitions very quickly to an extreme close-up
of the same object.
• There is one shot used towards the end of the clip which I think is
very effective because in the image there is a drawing of something
in the background and in the foreground we can see that it is the
ventriloquist doll however it is blurred but the doll then comes into
focus and the drawings in the background are then blurred. This is
effective because it is showing the link between the two objects.

7. Narrative Codes
• In this film opening, the narrative of this film
is the creation of the doll. This is done by
initially showing a few images of a women
holding the doll and then we begin to see the
process of the doll being made. We are
showed the initial drawings of the doll, then
we see the process of the doll being made and
finally at the end of the clip we see the final
finished doll.

8. Enigma Codes
• The enigma code within this clip is that we do
not know the relevance of the doll however
we can assume that there is something
unusual or out of the ordinary about the doll
as it would not be included in the opening of
this film.

9. The Conjuring

10. Visual Codes
• Towards the beginning of this film opening there is a
close up the side of a dolls face, the shot is moving and
then we see a two girls sitting on a sofa talking. The
initial shot of the doll is very unusual and creates
suspense however once we switch to see the girls it is
not quite as unusual or creepy. We then see two girls
walk through a door and they pick up a note saying
‘miss me?’, this creates tension because we don’t know
why this is happening. There is then shots of the doll
to link it to what’s happening. We then see one of the
girls throw the doll in the rubbish and theevents after
that then show the doll making its way back into the
house.

11. Audio Codes
• At the beginning of the clip we can hear
dialogue of some girls talking, they are talking
very slowly and sounds rather sad. There is
dialogue from four characters within the clip.
When the clip shows the doll being back into
the house there is very typical, intense horror
music.

12. Technical Codes
• There are a variety of shots used within this
clip. The close-up shot used at the beginning
of the clip is used to show that the doll has
some relevance and also that this is maybe
something negative. There is then a two shot
of the girls whilst they are speaking. There is
also a series of quick paced close-ups shots
involving the doll and events involving the
doll.

13. Narrative Codes
• The narrative of this clip is that these girls are
explaining events that happened involving the
doll. We then see some clips of what has
happened which the girls have described and
this enhances their point.

14. Enigma Codes
• The enigma code within this is that we initally
don’t understand the relevance of the doll
however the girls then explain the relevance
and we then want to know more of how the
doll is doing these things to the girls.