Annabelle

2. Props Charact
ers
Setting Mise en
scene
Camera Sound Other
Weapons,
knife
Young
people,
teenage
rs and
children
, ghosts,
spirits,
vampire
, killer
(usually
male),
Isolated
areas,
woods/fore
st, country
side
Low key
lighting,
colors red
and black,
blood,
chiaroscuro
lighting,
overall dark
and dull,
Extreme close
up to emphasize
to object or
person, tilt to
create
confusion,
establishing
shot, handheld
giving a sense of
verisimilitude,
tracking, point
of view, low and
high angles to
show a conflict
between the
superior and
inferior.
Slow when
something
mysterious
is about to
happen but
fast when
there is
action,
screaming
Short
takes
(editing),
psycholog
ical (sub
genre)

4. Annabelle (2014)
Annabelle is a horror film, directed by John R.
Leonetti.
Annabelle is about a man who gave a doll to his wife as
a gift. One day, their home was invaded by satanic
cultists. This led to violence and terror.

5. There is a fade to black then fade to an establishing shot
of the setting. At this moment, everything seems fine
and there is a sense of verisimilitude.
There is a medium shot of a woman walking into a bright
and colorful room. The use of medium shot allows the
audience to realize that she is pregnant. This makes the
audience feel sympathy towards her because she is seen
as vulnerable. We realize the room she walked into is the
room for her new baby.
The teaser trailer of the film ‘Annabelle’ starts with a
fade in to the logo of the companies involved in
producing and distributing the film. The companies
are Warner Brothers and New Line Cinema which as
both owned by Time Warner (conglomerate). This
implies that the film is major film as the companies
are major companies. The score starts off with the
logos. The score sounds joyful and cheerful.

6. WHAT CODES AND CONVENTIONS HAS BEEN USED?
There is a medium/close up of the doll that
allows the audience to examine the doll. The
costume of the doll makes the doll seem
innocent, as there is the colors red and white
used. White symbolizes purity and red
symbolizes love. However, the fact that the doll
has heavy made up is strange.
This is a convention of horror because there is
always something strange that is left for the
audience to figure out. The use of make up ruins
the innocence of the doll in which dolls are meant
to be.
There is a medium shot of the woman placing the
doll next to the other dolls. This juxtaposes the
new doll to the other dolls. The other dolls do
have make up but the new one is extreme
compared to the other dolls. This is therefore a
convention as it scares the audience as they think
the doll is not as innocent as they thought it was.
This has been used in this way so the audience can
compare between the good and the bad. The doll
next to the new one has a little rose on her dress
compared to the huge rose on the new doll’s
dress. The juxtaposition is a convention of horror
as it allows the audience the compare dolls. The
convention has been used in this way to create a
tense atmosphere.

7. WHAT CODES AND CONVENTIONS HAS BEEN USED?
The score changes when we see the title of
the producer and it is tense and mysterious.
The score is a convention of horror and is
used to create enigma. The audiences
realize something is wrong so start to get
scared.
The use of low-key lighting is a convention
of horror and is used to create an anxious
atmosphere. The ambient sound of the
heavy wind makes the situation usual.
The camera moves from the woman to the
window. Unexpectedly, there is blood on the
window. Blood is a convention of horror and
is used to create a sense that danger is
close by. The score adds to this as it starts
again with a high volume all of a sudden.
The score is in time with the blood. At this
point the audiences are frightened.

8. WHAT CODES AND CONVENTIONS HAS BEEN USED?
There is a scream, which is also a
convention of horror. This is used to attract
the audience and grab their attention. This
is because it happens all of a sudden and
they have no choice but to pay attention to
what is going on.
The audiences see a man with a knife in the
same place. A knife is a typical prop used in
horror films. The use of knife builds the
feeling of terror the audience already has.
There is cut to black. The use of cutting to
black implies there is something odd and
strange. This scares the audience, as they
do not know what is going to happen.

9. WHAT CODES AND CONVENTIONS HAS BEEN USED?
The woman wakes up and tells her husband that she heard a
scream.
The use of dialogue (diegetic sound) frightensthe audience as her
voice sounds worried. This is a convention because in a typical horror
film, the dialogues of characters sound scared and worried. This is
because there are constantly people in danger.
The use of match on action of the husband opening the door
emphasizes that he is going. This terrifies the audience, as they
would think that something might happen to him as well. This is a
convention because it makes the audience scared and the terrified
feeling is the main purpose of a horror.

10. The use of low-key
lighting (convention of
horror) prevents the audience from
seeing her face. The low-key lighting is used
in this way to grab the audiences’ attention.
This is because the audience would want to see her face.
As she is an unexpected character, the audience would panic
because they do not know what the woman can do. At this moment the
score is tense and suspicious. The tense and mysterious score is a convention
and is effective for the audience. The score adds to the tense atmosphere.
The woman walks and there is a voice. The voice whispers,
“I like your dolls”.
We cannot see the person saying it, which makes us panic, and we thought
the woman was alone in her house. The whisper builds
suspense and is a convention of horror because it
feels as if there is some sort of secret about
the dolls. The whisper has been used
to create a tense atmosphere.
There is a medium shot
of a woman holding
a doll.

11. WHAT CODES AND CONVENTIONS HAS BEEN USED?
The woman stutters,
“My husband is coming back”.
The fact that she stutters makes the
audience feels afraid too as they realize
that she is petrified. This is used in this
way to establish the genre of this film.
Characters are usually scared the most in
horror films.
A man with blood on his clothes appears
behind her. Again, blood is a convention
and is used in this way to make the
audience realize that he might be the
killer in the film, creating a tense
atmosphere. The blood also makes the
audience be sure that the woman is in
danger and the man would hurt her.
There is cut to black, which makes the
audience wonder what he could do to
her. The audience feels sympathy
towards the woman because they believe
she is vulnerable.

12. There is a constant change between a black screen and some actions that are not clear.
This is because of the constant short takes. Short takes are a convention of horror and is
used in this way because it grabs the audiences’ attention. This is because they do not
know what is going on as the screen quickly cuts to black. This makes the sequence fast.
WHAT CODES AND CONVENTIONS HAS BEEN USED?

13. The camera zooms in to the woman
holding the doll on the floor. This makes us panic
and we think there is some sort of connection
between the doll and the woman. The woman
has blood all over her. The medium shot allows
us to see the letter A on the wall written with
blood. This makes the audience wonder what is
special and unique about that letter. Blood is a
convention of horror and is used to make the
audience petrified. Plus, it builds up the tense
atmosphere.
WHAT CODES AND CONVENTIONS HAS BEEN USED?

14. The camera zooms in the doll and the audiences realize it is the new
doll the man bought for his wife. The blood on the woman drips
onto the doll. This is shown through the use of s l o w
m o t i o n . The slow motion emphasizes the dripping of the blood.
Blood is a convention of horror and creates a tense atmosphere. This
is because the blood used in this way could imply that the woman’s
evilness is passing onto the doll. This therefore leads the audience
to worry. When the blood drips, the score starts. The score starts in
time with the blood dripping. The blood dripping implies that the
doll’s innocence is gone and evil has entered. As the camera zooms
in, the blood goes into her eyes, suggesting the evilness has gone
through her and evilness is spreading. This makes the audience timid
because they do not know what is special about that doll and what
the couple is going to do. Overall, this trailer has used a range of
conventions to reach their target audience. The convention used is
to establish the genre, horror. This is because the main purpose of
a horror trailer is to make the audience frightened.

15. What would I borrow/repeat?
Juxtaposition
Compare between
different shots
Could lead the audience to
ask questions
Medium/ close up
Examine characters or
objects
Facial expression, make
up
Long shot
Examine characters or
objects
Costume, posture,
props
score
Adjust the volume and
pace
At tense moments, the
volume would be high
and the pace would be
fast
low key
lighting
Creates a tense
and dangerous
atmosphere
blood
Symbolizes
danger
scream
Grabs the
audiences
attention