Assessment 2 - Analysis Continued..

This helps the narrative progress as we see that the character is planning a trip to france. This is re-established when he picks up the book 'Touring France'. However, when this book is removed, the title of the next book is revealed. The title of this book reads 'Death of a Salesman'. This, again, adds a mystery and reinstates the horror genre. It also links the flight to france with death. The fan blows the pages of the book open and begins to flick through them fast. The viewer only catches glimpses of each page untill it stops on a page. The image of this page is of execution. Again this brings the narrative back to death. Death is the theme throughout this sequence, and the whole film. It then flicks to a page that just says 'evil'. Again, a viewer watching a horror film will expect to see evil as a key theme in the narrative. It also creates an enigma as the viewer will want to know what is evil and why death is so important. The final image seen in this opening sequence are the words 'This is the end' i red writing. Red is a semiotic for blood. This is also a juxtaposition. As this says end and it is at the beginning, the veiwer wants to watch on and find out what it is the end of.Sound is very important in creating an atmosphere within a film. the sequence begins with a non-digetic soundtrack that runs throughout. This soundtrack is made up of strings. Strings are used predominantly in films accross the genre. They are used to build up suspence. The change of tempo throughout the track helps change the feelings of the viewer. Also, the track changes in volume to allow other sounds to be heard. This is known as a sound perspective.The first sounds, other than the strings, that we hear are the weather sounds. We hear the claps of thunder and the rain hitting the windows. These are synchronous and digetic sounds as we can see their source and they can be heard with in the frame. The fan can be heard within the frames in this sequence too. This adds an eerie tone to the soundtrack. In places, the fan sounds like a roar. This adds an air of mystery to the scene. The sounds of the pages turning adds to the atmosphere as the sound is magnified. This gives the feeling that something out of the ordinary is happening. Another sound which can be heard throughout is a scream. This is iconic to the genre. It also adds fear.As these screams sound echoey, it seems as if they are from far away. This adds to enigma as the screams are asynchronous. The viewer wants to know who is screaming and why. The way the images are framed and the way the camera moves are important within a horror film. The main shot used in the sequence are close-ups. this is to show everything in the room in detail. This is teamed with a lot of tilts and pans so that the camera is not still for long. it also allows the viewer to take in a lot of images in one shot. This is good because the framing is kept tight in each shot. There are a lot of zooms in and out used in the sequence. This makes the viewer focus on something specific with in the frame and see it in more detail. The zooms are usually into things that are key to the narrative such as the zoom in to the passport and plane ticket. This allows the audience to read the information given to them. Birds eye view shots are used to look down onto the books. Also, while looking at the books, a shallow focus is used. This, again creates a mystery and makes the viewer feel that they are only getting half of the information. Not much can be said about the editing of this particular part of the film. The pace of editing is quite slow with lots of fades and wipes used instead of straight cuts for transitions between shots. This goes with the soundtrack. When the soundtracks gets quicker, white fades are used. It is made to look like lightening. A few cutaways are used. The scene cuts from the fan to different eerie images. Along with this, cross-cuts are used. The scene cuts from parts of the narrative to the montage of images from the bedroom.I think that this is a successful opening sequence to a horror film as it immerses the viewer. It also creates an enigma, which makes the viewer want to watch on.