R19 - Textual Analysis Of Sequence - The Conjuring

CAMERA SHOTS, ANGLES, MOVEMENT AND COMPOSITION

As the film titles begin, we immediately see a picture of the Perron Family (with Ron Livingstone playing the father in the film). However, here we see a real image of the Perron Family, who the story is based around as the film is supposedly based on the true events that occurred in their house.Throughout the film, the camera remains frozen to a fixed point. This creates dramatic tension and connotes the eerie nature of the film itself. We see an establishing shot of the house at the beginning of the movie which enables the audience to have an insight of what the house looks likes. Also, the darkness seems to have taken over the whole building, with just a single white porch light glowing outside. This gives the setting an effect as it creates a sinister and mysterious atmosphere. Not only the house makes the location look haunted but also the trees as they seem to frame the house with their branches. For instance, the slow zoom into the house ensures the audience that this is the centre of all events within the movie.

During the movie, the camera flicks inside of the house and the woman is standing at the side of her bed folding clothes and after she checks on her daughters, the camera reveals to us that the picture frames have been torn down, by what seems to be an invisible force. Clearly, this shows us that something is working against the family, and the peeling of the wallpaper we can see shows us how old this building really is.

A mid close up of the woman is shown as she holds the candle, and after 3 seconds, a pair of hands clap very loudly over her left shoulder. 

As she goes into the cellar, we see a very harsh cantered, low angled shot, showing the woman turn on the light at the top of the stairs. Cantered angles are used to let the audience know that something is not normal about the events to follow, and this is shown in the movie when the woman is locked in and the light bulb blows, plunging her into darkness. When she strikes the match, we see a mid shot of her kneeling on the floor – a low angle, as if we as viewers are looking up the stairs at her. After, an over the shoulder shot follows, as we see her view of the dark stair case, the light from the match casts a glow around her, which could have connotations that she is the only thing that is good and innocent in this cellar.

LIGHTENING 

In the middle of the movie, the woman goes downstairs to try and find the intruder, and when the door is opened, she peers inside into the darkness. Darkness is a common feature in almost all horror films, and here is gives us a very uneasy feeling as viewers feel that there is something there in the dark. She then turns on the light and peers down and the white light of the cellar gives the room a monochrome look. This has connotations of the past, a different decade or even a different century, which may give the audience a clue that whatever is causing the strange happenings could be supernatural, from the past to haunt the family.

The woman is locked in there, and the screen goes dark again. This indicates that the audience doesn't know what is happening to the woman in the dark, which again, makes them feel slightly frightened for the character as the darkness is hiding something which is not friendly. She then strikes a match, and unusually it does not cast a warm glow as matches usually do. This light is whiter and harsher, highlighting the woman’s expression of fear to the audience. From the darkness behind her, we see a familiar pair of pale hands reach out and clap next to the woman’s face. This is done quite quickly, which again might make the audience jump with fright, due to it being so unexpected.

EDITING

The use of mid shots and soft lighting in the movie allows the audience to follow the characters through their normal business, whether it was first entering their new home or playing games. 

A tracking shot is also used to follow the woman as she goes on the hunt to fins her daughters in the game, but by the beginning of the second act, we see everything change slightly. After the doors of the wardrobe open, the screen fades to black before a hand held, tracking mid close up shot of the woman is filmed from in front of her. This suggests that the audience cannot see what she is walking towards and this shown with shaky camera movements which gives an unnerving feeling to the audience.

MISE EN SCENE

The mise-en-scene in the movie helps create a feel of the seventies which the director wanted to have this film set during this time. The use of costume enhances this idea because the costume matches the era. For example, the men and women wearing suits and gowns.

Throughout the movie, there are many disturbing images such as Annabelle the Doll, the tree from the theatrical poster/DVD cover and other images that connote that eerie feel that the film producers were aiming to create and gives it a creepy edge.

From the beginning, we see the large family spill in through the front door, all dressed in what look like clothes from the 70s; the colour of these clothes, which seems to be a variety of yellows, browns and oranges are all warm (and typical popular colours of the decade), which have connotations of warmth, and happiness. This would suggest that this family are happy.

The house looks slightly worn and there are several dust covers around and the warm brown colours of the wood keep the house looking like a nice place to live. We see the woman wander into the bedroom with the blindfold on in which the blindfold is a bright red colour. Red has connotations of danger, and even blood, which could signify that something is very dangerous about that pair of hands that she is walking towards. This gives the movie a thrill towards the audience.

The room has several posters on the wall, with pinks and blues, and the rug is in similar shades, indicating that this is a child’s room. It looks like a nice spacious room, but behind the woman, we see an object which contrasts with all other objects there – a huge, dark wardrobe. The wood it is made of is almost black, and its large size creates a menacing feeling. This is made clear as soon as the doors slowly open. Inside, there are just clothes, again, in nice, bright colours, yet as soon as the woman says “Clap”, we see long, pale arms reach out from behind them. They look terribly pale and this is a clear indication that they are not normal and that there is something wrong with the scene. 

SOUND

The sound in this movie is effective in creating the right mood and atmosphere for an advertisement within the horror genre. At the start, we first hear the door opening and the shouting of the whole family as they come through the door, as the children shout things over each other such as “I get my own room!” and “I call dibs on the room!”. This creates a family feel to this part, as the sound is just simply the typical noises of a family moving into a new home. Straight after this, a song kicks in with the visual ident – the song ‘Time of the Season’ by The Zombies. This song is from the album ‘Odessey and Oracle’ which was released in 1968. Due to the fact that this film is set in 1971, this sets the scene well for the turning of the decade, and we get the feel of the era just by hearing this song. Also the fact that it is by a band called ‘The Zombies’ would be appropriate for a horror film, but would only be relevant for those in the audience who actually know this.

The use of sound effect helps to emphasise the dramatic tension. For example, the sound effect of crows squawking aids the emphasis. In the middle of the movie, we hear jagged interference sounds and then are presented with the face of Annabelle the Doll. This can connote the doll itself will be significant to the story and to me puts me on the edge of my seat, feeling uncomfortable.

In The Conjuring, there is a scene where we hear a child counting, which links to the visual on screen where they are playing a game, and when the woman finishes counting to ten, we hear her shout, “First clap!” which is returned by the sound of a clap. This lets us know how the game is played and shows us the innocence of this family. The woman plays the game and enters a room, but as she turns her back, a wardrobe at the back of the room opens. It opens with a loud creak, and the music suddenly stops – a sinister silence follows. This silence creates a very uneasy feel to the trailer, and would indicate to the audience that something is not quite right. The woman hears this creak, and says “Clap!” again, which is returned by an unusually slow clap, creating an uneasy edge. As she walks forward to try and find the source of the clap (the aim of the game) she says playfully “I’m gonna get you now... I can hear you breathing”. We can hear this breathing, however, it is not coming from the child as she thinks it is. As an audience, the tension is built as we anticipate the woman finding a supernatural creature instead of her daughter.

After, the woman goes downstairs to investigate further and straight after she shouts “Who is that?” we hear the unmistakable noise of a door slowly opening, and a clapping noise. This is a non diagetic sound as we cannot see who is making the clapping noise. Suspense is created here as she goes through the cellar door, and turns on the light switch where she attempts to threaten whatever is down there by saying “Whoever’s down there I’m gonna lock you in now!” however, as she turns to exit, the door slams shut in her face, and the light bulb blows with a fizzing noise. This gives a fright to the audience, who may not have been expecting this loud noise.

Later on, we hear the woman scramble about, banging on the door and crying for help. This may create sympathy for this character among the audience, as we realise how helpless she is here. We hear a match being struck and there is silence again apart from the heavy breathing of the woman, which is a clear indication of her fear. We hear a clap once more and the woman screams, which is a typical sound effect for a horror convention.