Film Opening Assignment

 Film Opening Assignment

The Conjuring

1.  The only words displayed during the entire opening scene were shown in a dull yellow text. It read “Annabelle Case- Year 1968”. This gives the audience a slight understanding on what is going on and alludes to a flashback.
2.   The main image prioritized is the doll, Annabelle. The movie directly opens with a shot of her as it zooms out and constantly cuts to shots of her.  The opening also focuses on the people who deal with Annabelle and the frightening demeanor they hold. 
3. Annabelle provides an evil/scary connotation. She lacks color yet has rosy makeup on her face and sinking blue eyes. Dolls in general are usually a symbol for something evil. 
4. Genre is reinforced through technical codes with the loud and intense music, the flashing/dark lighting, and the common themes seen. The buzzing and jarring music is a very common technical and symbolic code for horror movies. Shadowy lighting is also a common technical code. The theme of a possessed doll scaring a family is a common symbolic code. 
5. The film establishes enigma from the outset by using suspenseful music and starting the film with out of context dialogue.
6.  The target audience of this film is most likely young adults to older generations. The way they kept this film from looking child friendly was by dulling the colors down and not allowing any vibrancy. This also helped with the horror conventions.
7.  Technology has been used effectively through angles, editing, and lighting. The dark shadowy lighting with flashes of bright lights emphasizes the creepiness the setting hold. The different angles and editing pull together the storyline in a way that keeps the audience scared and in suspense. The angles are often very crooked, tilted, or in a way that brings out a sense of “fight or flight” in the audience, much like the thin hallway scene. 

It

1. The opening scene displays the main title screen and a title screen that includes the credits. The title of the movie is shown in a deep red, eerie font, whereas the credits were displayed in a bold white font.
2. The images that were prioritized were the boy in the yellow raincoat, the paper boat, and the clown in the drain.
3. The connotations of the boy in the raincoat demonstrates innocence and childhood. The paper boat is undetermined what it might mean but it could hold future meaning of adventure and again childhood as it rushes away. The clown connotation is clearly evil, predatorial, and mean.
4.   The genre is reinforced through symbolic and technical codes such as the lighting, angles, and editing. The lighting is very dark and drab which leads the audience into the “horror genre”. The angles show the smallness of the boy versus the entity that he sees in the drain. The added suspenseful music symbolically by creating a tone that makes the audience think about what could happen next.
5. The film establishes enigma by creating suspense for the audience. They don’t know why the clown is in the drain or why the boy is on the mission he is on.
6.  The strategies used to appeal to the correct audience is by using dark lighting, dim colors, and a scary figure as one of the main characters. Horror films are usually targeted towards older generations, rather than young kids. These elements help deter any young children from thinking this movie is for them while also keeping the older generations interested.
7. Technology has been used effectively by creating tone and mood with angles, lighting, editing and sound. All of these elements work to crate the common conventions found in horror movies. For example, the music in the background is eerie. The angles used creates hierarchy between the characters and allows the audience to read into their behaviors throughout the film.

Halloween

1. There was one title displayed during the opening scene. At the very end, the title “Halloween” was shown in bold, orange letters.
2.  The images that were prioritized were the security cameras, barbed wire, other people in the insane asylum, the barking dogs, screaming people, and the mask. 
3. These images all seem to carry negative connotations. Unlike the previous films, they don’t necessarily give off the feeling of an evil entity, but rather the presence of a dangerous figure or situation. The people screaming and dogs barking created chaos, a common horror convention. The mask was a main focus point. It clearly held some sort of dark past and was being used to rile up Michael Myers.
4. The genre is enforced through symbolic and technical codes in many ways. For example, the quietness followed by the intense piano shows a symbolic rise of suspense. The piano turns into chaotic screaming and barking, which created symbolic chaos. The lighting is a technical code. It is faded and grim in this institution. Although in the bright sun, the colors still seem dull. These all work together to create common conventions for the genre of the movie, horror.
5. The film establishes enigma because one of the interviewers refers to a certain night while asking Michael Myers questions. The audience does not yet know what Myers did or what happened that night. It creates suspense, which is crucial for a horror genre.
6. In order to appeal to its target audience, which is young adults and adults, the film uses certain color pallets, language, imagery, and themes. Kids like vibrant movies, and this was was very dull. The sounds in the background would most likely scare a child. The theme and critical thinking needed to connect pieces of the movie/opening together caters towards older generations that possess the skills to do so. This also keeps them interested.
7. Technology is used effectively by creating suspenseful and eerie clips through music, sound, setting, camera angles, and lighting. The plot of the story would not be as clear without the emphasis on certain angles, such as when the interviewer holds the mask up.