The Woman in black opening sequence analysis

The opening sequence of The Woman In Black, creates a sense of gloom and darkness, by the use of camera angles, it starts with a shot of china pots, the three girls that are introduced in the scene, are playing with the china tea pots, the camera angles change from a two shot of the pots to when the tea pot is being used, the camera action is titled, through this we know that the three girls are playing innocently. The diagetic sound that s played over the music are the chiming of the China wear, this creates a sense of tension and produces the theme of horror - the sounds are quite echoed and muffled yet its still old enough to create a sense of horror for the audience, drawing the audiences attention the the action that being shown.The semiotic sound is non-diagetic sounds(music) being played quietly in the background which symbolizes the theme of the era, with the little girls actions occurring at the same time.

The shots are also existing the same as the non-diagetic sound as they are both slow and delayed yet it still fits with the sense of mysterious depiction of the shots that are close up of the dolls. The dolls that are shown are stereotypical conventions of horror films as we normally associate them as creepy. Whereas woman in black we know is a horror film by the way in which the dolls and children are introduced, it has the three little girls wearing old fashioned clothing, long hair brushed neatly back, this suggests a sense of realism of perfection. They also all have expressions of happiness, yet it seems quite fixed and demanding, adding the horror to the film. The music then starts to get softer and more mystical creating a lot of tension, which you think that something terrifying or scary is about to happen. Also not only has the music turned to slow pace, so has the three girls actions, creating that demanding robot type human making the film more spooky and cresting more of a build up of tension through out the opening of the film.

There are bells from church that start to ring, the denotation of the bells is the literal meaning of church yet they connote something is ending or coming, this is when the actions of the girls start to change, creating tension, they all slowly turn there heads to face the camera looking down, this implies more of a personal connection with the audience as it seems as though the girls are looking directly at them. However, the camera shows a middle shot of the girls to the audience so they are able to see the surroundings and look more at the old fashioned theme, fitting with the setting of the film. Longer, wider shots start being produced to develop the tension and pressure of the action from the three girls. As the girls are stood at the window the lighting is dimmed down, using more natural lighting that is coming from the scenery outside, the shot is quite lined up and middle, When they jump out the window it creates fear for the audience. As they disappear the opening scene is over, However as they step up to the window they are synchronized with each other which also adds to the robot like features.

The audience theory that is relevant to the film is, desensitization theory which is a long-term exposure, its something that we as an audience want to see, it has a recurring message towards the media, whilst making the audience immune to it because its less likely to have an impact on the audience due to the unrealistic moments in the opening sequence.