This new production by Nicolas Winding Refn has resemblance to that of Black Swan. As he stated "One morning I woke up and realised I was both surrounded and dominated by women. Strangely, a sudden urge was planted in me to make a horror film about vicious beauty."
We took inspiration from the framing in these long shots, where the protagonist is positioned in the centre of the frame surrounded by symmetrical mis en scene and locations on either side, the use of symmetry makes the scene lose its qualities to catch the attention, instead having the audience focus their attention on main character who is isolated in the centre of the frame.
The use of mirrors is another symbol and motif of duality within a person especially in an over the shoulder shot or a close up, demonstrating alter ego's perceived on either side of the pane of glass. We use this especially within our sequence as in both the public and private bathroom, where her reflection of herself spurs the flashbacks to her eventual inevitable realisation of her alter ego.
The representation of the darker alter ego, is especially representational in the darkness surrounding them especially within lighting such as in the flashback of the bedroom where she is immersed in the darkness, since we only used a key light and no back light. The dark colours even of the costumes and makeup especially in the bottom of the three pictures, with the dark eye and lips to outwardly depict the darkness of the persona. This is the atypical rebellious character, depicted in more hollywood productions likely as promiscuous.
Juxtaposing this, you have the use of white light and high key lighting with the more passive persona, surrounded by reflective objects. This is the atypical fragile "girl next door" character who is timid and vulnerable hunted by the darkness of her thoughts. The lack of intense makeup combined with the paler clothing complimenting her skin tone, produces an angelic quality.
We further used the domesticated settings of bedrooms and bathrooms as they do here, despite the above location depicting a hotel room, we use a similar concept of the public facilities evident in the bathroom, where she attempts to find refuge yet cannot, hence is driven home to her own bathroom.
We decided due to the nature of it being a psychological thriller, and the use of a schizophrenic multiple personality main character to take and gather inspiration from Black Swan with the use of mis en scene and camera angles/ framing.
Dance of the White Swan
The high key, key and fill light used here accompanied by the top lighting, within an eye level close up shot, emphasises her innocence and naivety but also accentuates the pure sadness and distraught facial expression. We used a similar shot within the bedroom by the innocent persona, using torches to highlight her expression, but lacked any back light to demonstrate the immense darkness she experiences as a result of her mental health issues.
We additionally, use light as a medium of disorientation or confusion of the innocent persona, as a means to demonstrate the distinct difference between her dark and light personality traits. This is generally a key light, such as the spotlight in Black Swan which is instead a light in the tunnel within our chase scene.
Here the makeup reflects the face of our character within the contrasting bath scene, the eye level close up shot with the shoulders included is parallel to the character within the bath tub. The pale face to highlight her cheekbones, determines her as thin and ill whilst colour on the lip here being red the alternative in ours being black connotes tension and suppressed anxiety.
We use a similar close up eye level shot of our character crying, as a means to demonstrate the depth of sorrow and anxiety they are feeling, in both there is a greater use of back light to contrast the character to the great darkness surrounding them.
Similarly, the use of the pastel colours and lighter colour scheme within her dressing room we imitate further in our bathroom with the stereotypical beige and wood inner decor to contrast greatly to the flashback images of the alter ego.
Odile Appears
These two close ups of the alter ego "Odile"'s eyes demonstrates the inner battle between her sanity and her sanctity, yet here we finally see her relinquish to this demonic part of her mental state, evident in the close up and more extreme close up of her face with focus on her eyes. We took inspiration from this by having a number of close ups of her face within the mirror(s), in the bath tub, and further in her flashbacks, with the flashbacks having white contacts as a contrast.
Despite the dramatic makeup being used in Black Swan being used as stage makeup, we used a similar concept as a means of contrasting with the two aspects of her personality. The extremely dark and more manic eye makeup is used on the darker aspects of her personality, as a visual representation of her alternative personas. Even with the more passive and innocent character, we use shots where she attempts to rub off this enhanced eye makeup, to reveal and free herself from this part of her soul.
The Bedroom
The most iconic part of this scene is the use of mirrors as a symbol of duality within a person to demonstrate the two distinctive alternative personalities found in one body. We thus used this in the more intense and industrial toilet setting, but again also in the more domesticated bathroom in her house. The two bathrooms also providing a clear contrast from each other, being an extended metaphor of her two personalities within the surrounding setting. The cold, lifeless public toilet in contrast to the cosy, homely bathroom.
The extreme close ups of the scratches and injuries as an outward representation of her transforming schizophrenic state, we use visually with dramatic makeup the focus on her eyes as this visual representation with her confusion and extreme rubbing of them demonstrating her intense fear and desperation to be separated from this alternative persona.
The red contacts here imitate the white and black contacts we use in her alternative personalities, these are clear to distinctly identify along with the costumes which persona is dominating the main character at that point in the sequence.
Scream(1996) is a horror movie belonging to the sub-genre slasher. It was directed by the respected film director Wes Craven, who also worked on 'Nightmare on Elm Street'.
The opening of screen is one of the most well-known, recognisable and effective film openings made for a horror film due to it's strong use of mise en scene and sound.
The editing used within the opening scene is very fast pace nearer the end as the danger of the girl's situation increases which helps to build suspense and tension. However the rest of the editing is fluent which it needs to be for the narrative to flow properly.
For me, the opening scene of 28 Days Later clearly demonstrates many of the key conventions that are expected from a monster horror. At this point the only backstory we have is a rage virus being released and after 28 days, a carrier patient (Jim) wakes up from a coma. I chose to deconstruct and break this film opening down to illustrate the concepts used when making a monster horror (in this case, the monster being zombies). Sound:
In the background throughout this scene, there is a low and quiet soundtrack playing which helps to build suspense and give the film an ominous theme to it, this ties in with the genre as horror films need tension/suspense to foreshadow what is to come.
Jim's desperation is shown when he calls out and the echo that follows shows his loneliness from the world as there is no contact with anyone else at this point, this builds tension as no one would want to be in a situation where you are on your own. Location:
Another technique of note is the location that has been used. In the vast majority of zombie horror films, the location will be either an isolated and empty cottage house/outback forest area where human activity is at a complete minimum. In this scene, Central London has been portrayed as trashed and abandoned. The contrast from a city filled with life and constantly being kept clean going to empty streets covered in litter. To carry this out, streets were blocked off and collected bags of trash were used to cover the streets. Camera Shots:
A lot of the shots in this scene are extreme long shots apart from those used to show Jim's facial expression, which are all medium shots. By using the extreme long shots, thereby making Jim appear small and insignificant, the weight of the situation is expressed. By showing a now empty city, an ominous atmosphere is created and tense as we wait to see some other sign of life that we are deprived from in this scene.
The Possession (2012) is a horror movie belonging to the sub-genre possession, hence the name. The movie is supposedly based on a true story regarding the 'dybbuk box' (a wine cabinet which is said to be haunted by a dybbuk: a restless, malicious spirit), where a young girl is found to be possessed and along with her family who are aware of it, take a life threatening and thrilling journey.
Summary:
The opening scene of the movie is fairly short which consequently adds to its effectiveness. It starts with a pan of the photos hung on a wall in a living room, making it seem like a perfectly normal and ordinary room. Stood in the middle of the room is an old lady who appears to be staring at an empty box above the fireplace. After looking at it she goes to touch it but is frightened by the tick of a clock. She then puts on some music and looks at her reflection in the mirror. However after gently stroking her hair she finds a lot of it falls out, possibly blaming the box due to a sudden glare towards the fireplace. Returning with a hammer she goes to smash the box, but is prevented when she starts shaking (clearly possessed). A man is then seen ringing the door bell only to hear screams coming from inside, he is then seen entering the house. Meanwhile, the lady is violently attacked by whatever possessing her, finishing with her frozen on the floor, possibly dead but it isn't confirmed although it's highly likely.
Movement:
The camera movement used within the scene varies from shot to shot. A pan is used at the beginning of the scene to present the living room wall of photos finishing with a shot of the woman facing the fireplace. The camera lens then zooms in on both the woman's face and then the box. Zooming in and out is used a lot throughout this scene to create the sense the subject is getting bigger thus making it seem a lot scarier. For example, zooming in to the box on the fireplace makes it look as though it's increasing in size and potentially becoming more dangerous as well. Nevertheless still shots are also used when the audience's attention should ideally be focused on the old woman's movement. During the last shot as the 'son' enters the door, the camera lens zooms out showing a bigger view of the house.
Framing:
In addition, lots of different camera shots (frames) are used to create a certain atmosphere and feeling depending on the action taking place. No extreme wide shots are used due to the scene's surroundings being a living room and the idea that the woman is very private and that the attack is not a public show. Also using this kind of shot in a possession movie would have its disadvantages, one being that the subject is barely visible so the 'possession' would not be shown in as much detail. Close ups ( not extreme) are used on the woman to show her facial expressions, being that she's both confused frightened and eventually possessed. The use of close ups are effective as they highlight every aspect and feature of the woman's face, with huge detail. Nevertheless the majority of the scene consists of a constant switch between mid shots and wide shots showing the woman's constant change in character along with her body movement, to add fear.
Angles:
The majority of the opening scene uses eye level as the camera angle. The camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene. It creates more of a tense and dark atmosphere, making it even more scary.
I think that the opening scene to Halloween (1978) is a typically great example of an original slasher movie, displaying many generic codes and conventions, and effective cinematography to achieve its effect. The scene begins with two adolescences, alone in the house kissing on the sofa. The dark lighting of the outside establishes that it is night time, and the slow, brief pan over the pumpkin makes the audience aware that it is Halloween; which immediately has spooky and dangerous connotations that set the atmosphere straight away. The entire opening is filmed using a point of view shot in the eyes of the killer, combined with hand held camera movement to make the view seem realistic, unsteady and uncomfortable - which is effective because it makes the audience feel uneasy and very involved and up-close to the action happening right before their eyes. Furthermore, the shot is one smooth cut right up until the unmasking, lacking in any kind of jumpy editing. This makes the scene very seamless and slow paced, building up the tension gradually. A lot of low-key lighting is used in the darker areas of the house, creating shadows and casting grey light. Where there are lamps on, the warm light is dim and shadows are lightly spread over some areas, showing how no one else is home, and the rooms are still and empty. Furthermore, as the killer approaches the girl's room with his weapon, mise en scene elements such as her frilly lamp suggest that this girl is sweet and innocent, juxtaposing against her sexual behaviour with her boyfriend and the fact she is wearing a lack of clothing. This helps to achieve the surprise of the attack, and corresponds with typical slasher conventions; such as the first victim who is often promiscuous, and the killer being masked and unidentifiable. Lastly, the non-diegetic score is a constant, ringing high pitched shrill, which only faintly changes in key, with accompanying slow piano chords, to build suspense and tension throughout. At the attack. a loud crescendo sounds to enhance the fear and shock of the character, with the eerie ringing continuing right until the end to leave suspense lingering in the scene. The music gets more and more intense toward the end of the scene when the killer (Michael) is unmasked as a little boy, and so to emphasise this uncovering, the score gets louder, drops in key, and the camera zooms put at a high angle to display the small boy with his weapon highlighted in the moonlight. This makes the audience feel shocked, and makes the scene appear much more scarier, although the location is simply in the front garden of a normal house.
Personally, I believed that the opening scene of the film "The Ring 2" recognised and illustrated, many generic conventions of the sub-genre which I investigated, which was psychological horrors: thus decided to deconstruct it.
Initially, the birds eye view of the ocean is an unnatural and strange angle, making the familiar view of the water seem unrecognisable, yet almost daunting; it makes the audience members acknowledge how they will be overseeing the following events and not feel like a character within it to provide assurance, an omniscient view despite having no power to help the victims; moreover, it demonstrates how something deemed unnatural will occur in realistic and natural settings, a common convention of psychological horrors that turns the audience more fearful, believing such events could happen in scenes or areas around them in everyday life.
During the mid shot, which is another method to depict a natural scene, the camera is instead focussed on the video tape to give the audience the significant fear from psychological horrors of everyday objects replacing the concept of weapons; it is filmed from a low angle to depict that it has higher authority than both the audience and characters, automatically confusing the viewer as the background loses focus providing a disorientating effect to add to their current overwhelming state of powerlessness and vulnerability (emotions shared with the female in this scene).
The pan of the room, reflects and establishes how the setting is a conventional big house, with its furnishing of lamps, sofas and drawers, again focussing on everyday life, using more soft furnishings in contrast to the events that will happen in them presents an oxymoron to the audience in order to confuse them. The transition from more soft light from the lamps where diffused light diminishes the outline and clarity of characters, minimises our understanding of them depicting how little we know about them, to the kitchen with low key lighting that uses shadows and darker scales demonstrates the males hidden dark agenda, or his hidden truth which is his curse since the key light which could recognise hope is less bright and does not dominate the setting, whilst illustrating another convention of ordinary people exerting horror on other characters.
The music used, however defeats the the convention of contrapuntal sound, with the non-diegetic score of violins and string instruments complimenting the suspense in the scene to create tension. Furthermore, the character of the female is dressed in light pink with minimal makeup or jewellery, to depict a childlike innocence, which are traits often embodied by victims in psychological horrors to emphasise their vulnerability and receive pity from the viewers.
