Analysis:
"The Woman In Black" Opening Scene Analysis
The sequence starts off by fading in from black, to signify the start of the film, to a close up shot of a set of small china cups and saucers and teapot which is "pouring" into the cups, but no liquid is coming out. This tells the viewer that the character pouring the teapot is probably a child having a pretend tea party. The fact that the cups, saucers and teapot seem to be made of a very fine china tells the viewer that the children probably come from quite a wealthy family that can afford luxury toys for their children. The fact that the crockery is made from china, however, tells the viewer that these children might become vulnerable in the near future, as china is a very delicate material that is easy to break. The main colour of the crockery is white - symbolising the purity and innocence of the children. The detail on the crockery is also representative of their possible wealth as the gold could symbolise money. Bluebirds are often used to symbolise happiness and freedom, and have also been used in songs to represent the hope of war coming to an end and, in this case, could symbolise, to the viewer, the hope of the woman in black’s "curse" being lifted, which is why they are pictured on the crockery. Also pictured are purple flowers, which are often used to represent mystery and so, in this case, could be being used to tell the viewer that there is an element of mystery to the film. These first few shots are very typical for the thriller genre of the film because the constant changes of shot make the viewer feel very on edge, as is the aim of a thriller. The innocence of the first few scenes also makes the opening scene feel very typical of that of a horror thriller because it makes the viewer feel stuck in a scenario of false security, adding to the tension of the film as events progress and worsen.
The fact that these first few shots are close up allows the viewer to get a sense of the scene from a child perspective, as they are very low down and close to the action, allowing for them to be more involved in the scene. The overall lighting is very dark and dim around the edges, with only small highlights of light in the middle of the shot, e.g. the dolls’ faces and the cups, and even when there are light colours, there are always hints of darkness, for example, the dark brown table, the big black eyes of the first doll and the jet black, thick hair of the second. This binary opposition tells the viewer that the situation they are being made to watch is what seems to be an innocent, light and safe situation, but really the situation is laced with fear and darkness –hence the constant use of dark colours even in the presence of light.
From the start of the sequence, cuts are used to make the transition between one shot to another, while the children have their pretend tea party. These short, sudden cuts tell the viewer that the events to follow in the film are likely to be very fast paced and sudden in places and also makes the viewer feel curious about what the current setting may look like. Right from the beginning, there is also music playing. This music is Non-diegetic as it is not coming from anything in the viewer’s field of vision. The music used is very eerie and nightmarish due to its mix of deep, menacing tones and light, almost tormenting light chiming sounds. This mix of sound is very effective to the viewer as it mixes the dark and threatening nature of the film with the horror of the fact that the children are the ones who suffer, which is made even more effective because the light tones sound like they are coming from a child’s music box, making the viewer feel sympathy towards the children. The music may also symbolise a kind of macabre – a suggestive of the allegorical “dance of death”. This means that although the happy, music box-like tones of the music are parallel to the sequence, the music as a whole is actually both parallel and contrapuntal, as the happy tune of the music box fits in with the happy tone of the tea party, whereas the deep, darker tones of the music are very much the opposite. This mix of both parallel and contrapuntal sound makes the viewer feel very uncomfortable, as it means that they are unsure of what to expect from the scene.
After the next few close ups of the dolls, the camera cuts to a medium-close-up-two-shot of two of the girls who proceed to smile at the third girl. During this shot, the lighting appears to brighten, as there are less dark objects in the shot, luring the viewer into a false sense of security that the dark aspect of the scene may vanish. But the camera then cuts using shot reverse shot to the third smiling girl who, although happy, is almost entirely surrounded by a dark background. This tells the viewer that a dark or sinister event is just around the corner, and makes them start to worry about what might be about the happen to the children.
The camera then cuts to a short deep shot of the tea party, which seems to be from the perspective of one of the toys, allowing the viewer to see all three girls from a different angle. This angle also acts as a sort of low angle shot which, again, leads the viewer into a false sense of security as they are made to believe that the girls are a lot more powerful and a lot stronger than they actually are, making them believe that whatever threat they may face will not end too badly for them, but because this is such a short take, this opinion soon leaves the viewer’s mind and the threat of the situation returns.
This deep shot from the corner of the room also allows the viewer to see all of the colours in the room, the mains ones being green – symbolising youth and misfortune. Green symbolises youth because of the idea of green plants growing and creating new, younger life and green also represents misfortune because of its link to poison and sickness, and the idea of sudden, unexpected death. These 2 very different interpretations come together very well as the young girls are in a dangerous and presumably misfortunate circumstance.
The camera then cuts to a close up of a dolls face and slowly zooms away from it as it did with the window, causing even more disconnection between the viewer and the girls but also between the girls and their lives. The camera then cuts to another deep shot from the left hand corner of the room, this time zooming out of the room to disconnect the viewer from the whole situation entirely. As the camera zooms out, a very vague, dark, enigma code figure is seen by the viewer in the right hand corner of the screen, allowing the viewer to make a vague connection between what has just happened, and its cause. The figure is an enigma code because though the viewer is able to identify them as “the woman in black” they unable to see who the woman actually is personally, meaning that there is a mystery about the film that the viewer may find out later on. The sound of the mother screaming continues into the next scene, making a sound bridge which connects the event to the events to follow in the film. The scene fades from the dark room to the light title screen, resetting the calm feelings at the beginning of the first scene to the viewer, allowing them to recover.
During the opening credits, the music in the background is non-diegetic because it is not coming from anything in the field of vision. The whole screen is filled with a thick white and grey fog, which tells the viewer that there is something mysterious going on and that it’s cause is hidden. The music is very deep and sinister sounding, which is contrapuntal to the images which fade in in the background, because the images are very happy looking as they are from a wedding, this suggests to the viewer that there is something sinister or sad about the wedding. The images of the wedding are also very white and hazy, which gives them a ghost like quality. This suggests to the viewer that the woman who is in the images is dead.
The credits themselves are very simple, using a black, rounded font which is all in capital letters. The font fades in and out of the screen by being covered by the fog. This tells the viewer that during the film there will be some aspects which need to be discovered and others that are being hidden away. The black font also matches the title of the film “The woman in Black” suggesting that the woman in black herself will be illusive. The fact that the words get hidden by the fog also suggests that the woman in black is an evil figure, because they are trying to hide her away or forget about her.
When the title of the film comes onto the screen, the music gets more dramatic and loud. This suggests to the viewer that “The woman in black” will be the villain of the story, because the sinister music becomes more evident when her title appears. This also suggests to the viewer that the woman in the wedding sequences is not the woman in black, because she is seen in a very calm light. The woman in white moves and is touches very delicately and when her eyes meet those of the viewer, it is not seen as a threatening look, this suggests to the viewer that her character, who we presume is dead, was a loved woman who was valued and not feared. The camera then fades from the white credits background to a very dark room with a very sad looking man in it, dressed in dark clothes. These dark clothes suggest to the viewer that the man is in mourning, made more prominent by the fact that he is sad. This suggests to the viewer that the man was married to the woman in white.
The only other sounds coming from the first minute of the sequence are diegetic sound effects which come from the china crockery. These diegetic sounds, however, have clearly been added in using Foley post-production. You can tell this, because the sound that the china makes is emphasised, so that it stands out again the loud non-diegetic music, and made to sound very echoed and ghostly. This, again, makes the viewer feel very uncomfortable because it takes away the viewer’s familiarity with the sound thereby encroaching on their senses.
After the initial few close ups of the tea party, the camera then cuts to a wide shot of three little girls sat on the floor, before then cutting back to the dolls in close up shots. During the time in which we see all three girls, we can see that the room they are in is actually quite gloomy-looking, as the floor is bare, dusty and dark apart from a dusty and old looking rug, and the walls are an unkempt and uneven green. These colours and appearances contrast with the initial thought that girls’ come from a rich family because they appear to have to play in a dark and dreary room, this makes the viewer feel more sympathy towards them. However, the girls’ themselves are dressed in very fine looking, elegant clean dresses, and they have perfect hair. Also, their toys are set out very neatly on a white, clean mat covered in posh, red roses. Because of these elements of mise en scene, the viewer is able to deduce that the children, although wealthy, are being forced to stay in this dark room, suggesting that they are being hidden away to keep them safe. The fact that the children are sat in such a relaxed manner and are smiling so much tells the viewer that they are well looked after and that they are happy, but the sinister side to the music, as mentioned before, makes the viewer feel very uneasy and tense, as the music suggests that their safety is about to be compromised.
The camera then cuts away from the short take and is now showing a deep shot of the room. The camera is situated in a corner of the room looking towards the girls who are sat in the middle, but still obeying the 180° rule as the girls and the props still appear to face the same way to the viewer as before. It is then clear to the viewer that there is a clear divide between light and dark within the room, because at the far end of the shot there is a window which is very bright, causing everything facing the window to be highlighted, whereas the side of the camera, where the viewer is now “placed” is very dark because all of the darker coloured objects in the room are here and all of the shadows cast by the window are facing this way.
The girls all then very suddenly look straight towards the viewer in what feels to the viewer like a very long and uncomfortable take. During this take, there is a momentary lapse in the music, before it then restarts with another eerie, wind-like tone added in to the previous ones, this makes the viewer feel very nervous as they become aware that the girl’s situation is changing, signified by the slight music change. Their happy facial expressions have turned very cold and their eyes are immediately transfixed over the shoulder of the viewer themselves. This immediately causes the viewer to feel very anxious and scared because they are now under the impression that there is something in “this corner” of the room. This is a very clever piece of camera positioning as it makes the viewer feel like there is not only something watching the children, but there is also something watching them, right over their shoulder.
Brown: brown symbolises stability and comfort because it is a very simple, stable colour with not many variable tones. This represents the safety and comfort of the room they have been put in.
Cream: symbolises quiet and calm because it is a very neutral, un-presuming colour which is usually used to tone down an otherwise busy area. – the fact that the children are playing happily and calmly before the terrible event happens and finally black, which symbolises the fear that the children have of whatever is over the viewer’s shoulder and the death that follows, because black is a very dark colour, which is often used to hide objects and it is also associated with night time, which is when bad things are supposed to happen, especially with children e.g. “monsters”under the bed.
The camera then cuts back to being right in front of the girls in another wide shot, and the girls all move their heads from the left of the screen, where the camera was positioned in the last frame, to the right of the screen, which the viewer now knows is where there is a large window. At this point, we notice that whereas in the last show, the right side of the room was very bright in comparison to the left, we can now see that both the right and left halves of the screen are very dark at their edges, this suggests to the viewer that the window that was a source of light and, therefore, a source of safety in the previous shot, is now a much more threatening and dangerous element of the room, suggesting to the viewer that something bad is about to happen involving the window. The girls themselves also seem to have changes, because they are now very blanked faced and are transfixed, as if possessed, on the window. This makes the viewer feel very worried about the girls because they seem to have become unable to control themselves and are now under the control of someone or something else, meaning that something might happen to them that they will not be able to stop.
The camera then cuts to an eye line match to show the viewer that the girls are looking at the window. The camera then zooms in, by adjusting its focal length, to show the viewer that the window is very significant in the shots to follow. The whole area around the window is in darkness, suggesting to the viewer that the window is going to be a park of a dark and potentially life-threatening situation, and the fact that the window’s boarders are also black makes them stand out the most against the light, this effectively draws the viewer’s eye to the middle of the windows and acts as a kind of target for their attention. As the camera cuts to this shot, the music also becomes louder and more intense, this, again, tells the viewer that the scene is about to get a lot darker and scarier because the music is now starting to get uncomfortably loud for it’s accompanying, silent video.
The camera then cuts to a medium shot of the girls, who then slowly start to stand up but the camera stays in the same position, suddenly the camera cuts again from that one short take to close up short take, this time of only two of the girls as they stand up. Again, the camera doesn’t move during this shot, this fast paced cutting makes the viewer feel very on edge and anxious and the fact that the children keep towering over the camera makes the viewer feel uncomfortable as well as powerless, as they realise that nothing is going to stop the children from doing what they are about to do.
The camera then moves again. This time it moves to an extreme close up shot of one of the girls’ feet and then quickly to another extreme close up of the same girl’s hand, holding one of the little china cups. This gives the viewer the idea that although the girls are only young, which you can see by the fact that the foot, hand and cup are so small, they are a very big part of the storyline, however this is only because they are being forced into doing something, represented by the unnatural and extreme close up – making the girl’s features seem bigger in relation to the screen than they actually are. During the extreme close up shot of the girl’s hand, the viewer also sees that the girl’s light pink coloured dress is now engulfed in a large, dark shadow, suggesting to the viewer that the girl is being influenced by some kind of dark or evil force.
The camera then cuts back to a view of the foot and rug, only this time they are accompanied by a china cup, which falls onto the floor and smashes in impact. As it smashes, another echoed, diegetic sound effect of a china cup is heard, reinstating the unfamiliarity of the viewer towards the scene. As the girl turns around, her feet seem to be quite rigid but also disorderly as her feet seem to stumble as she turns, this tells the viewer that something is making her turn and walk, because her movements are far too clumsy and disorderly to be her own. The fact that the white china cup is broken symbolises the fact that all of the happiness and safety is leaving the room as one by one; the objects that provided the ideas of innocence and safety in the first few shots are trodden on and destroyed by the possessed girls, who then cast their dark shadows over the broken toys.
All of this happens in a series of close up and extreme close up shots which all happen very soon after each other, gradually getting quicker, suggesting to the viewer that the outcome of this possession is soon to follow. The camera then cuts to a medium shot of the three girls who are walking towards the camera and, therefore, the window, while the camera tracks out using a tracking dolly. This makes the viewer feel uncomfortable because they know that the girls are walking towards the window, which is now situated “behind” the viewer, but they are unable to stop them. As the girls walk, their background becomes darker and darker, suggesting to the viewer that the situation is getting worse. The girls’ faces are very blank and their posture is very rigid, adding to the idea that they are possessed.
The camera then tracks out beyond the window, causing the dark window boarder to now set the girls as a target for the viewer’s attention, suggesting that where there was glass in the window before, there is soon to be a girl. The camera then stops tracking backwards and allows the girls to step right into the camera, giving the viewer a sense of how uncontrollable the girls have become. The camera then cuts to a wide shot of the window as the girls are lined up in front of it with their backs to the audience, the fact that their backs are to the audience disconnects them from the girls and signifies the end of hope. This is also signified by the fact that the whole background is now in darkness apart from the light coming from the window, which is now being blocked out by the girls’ bodies.
The girls then move concurrently with each other as they reach for the dark handles of the window. The dark handles make the viewer feel very on edge because they can see that the windows are the same height as the children, which suggests that they may be about to jump out. The fact that the non-diegetic music is still so calm gives the sequence a very eerie feel because even though the situation has changed, the music has stayed the same, changing from a more parallel sound track to a very contrapuntal one.
The camera then cuts to a close up shot of one of the girls’ hands turning the handle and opening the window. The dark handle is also curly; this signifies the twisted side of the storyline and makes the viewer feel very uneasy. The camera then cuts back to the view of the back of the girls as they simultaneously step up onto the window ledge and jump out of the window. At the point, the music stops and the light returns to the room, but this time the light coming from the window is uncomfortably bright, making the viewer feel very uneasy and grievous. The only evidence of music is a small tone that is left behind by the music which then forms a sound bridge because it turns into a woman screaming; who we assume is the child’s mother. This scream is ambient sound as we cannot actually see the mother in the field of vision. This makes the viewer feel very disconnected and allows them to imagine what the mother has seen, without actually seeing it for themselves. During the scream, the camera zooms slowly away from the window, again, causing the viewer to feel disconnected and powerless over the situation.
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