Deconstruction of the film opening in Sinister - Natasha McGill

Deconstruction of the film opening in Sinister

In the opening scene of Sinister, it starts off with 4 young children shown being hung. By showing this at the start of the movie it could foreshadow what is going to happen in the rest of the movie. It is important when showing the opening scene is to make sure that not to much has been given away, this way it wouldn't ruin the film but by showing a main part or key part of the film can put the viewers on edge and build up more suspense and tension throughout the film. The start of the film could be the ending scene. This is where the end of the film starts at the beginning and as the film progresses it starts and builds up till that moment happens again.

This is also the start of the opening scene, as seen from the image above they are on the ground and we can see they are children which conforms to conventions of a horror movie. They are clearly being lifted up which is shown by the tree and the fact they are struggling with bags over their head to cover their identity makes it seem suspicious and could get the viewer thinking who done this. This would then lead to the movie where the supernatural being possesses them till they reach the end. In this movie the opening scene doesn't show much or give to much away and is rather short which is good for a film opening because then it puts you on edge for the rest of the film but hasn't given away to much.

Actors - Practical Task - Natasha McGill

Actors - Practical Task

As a group we discussed if anyone has a younger sister, cousins, family friends or younger friends in general at which we could use for our actor. Charlie did have a cousin who was 7 but because we are going to be filming in the woods near and in a army bunker we didn't think this would be practical for a number of reasons. Some of which include the fact she maybe scared, she might not be able to do the days we want or attend the whole filming session. Georgia said she had a cousin who was 13 and even though this is a little older she has a rather young looking face.

So for our film opening scene, we are going to use Georgia's cousin. This is because in most supernatural horror movies they have a young child as being the victim of the possession or the one experiencing the supernatural being. We decided to use a girl as our victim because from previous research into horror movies, the child who was being possessed always tend to be a girl, so her cousin would fit into this category.  The image below shows a photo of her cousin Zoe and on the day she will be wearing different clothes, clothes that are suitable and would make it creepier, and she wouldn't be wearing any makeup to make her look even younger.

Zoe is 13 and even though she is older than most girls that would be an actor, this photo shows that she is rather young looking so it conforms and it will be suitable to use her. In most supernatural horror films the girls usually have brown hair and with Zoe having brown hair this would conforms to usual conventions. She has a small face but he features like her eyes stand out making it easier when she is our actor to make her look possessed. Also with wearing no make up we can make her look slightly possessed by using either a bit of black powder under her eyes and her face will look rather pale. She will have her hair either down or in two low pony tails as either way will make her look young and vulnerable. Her hair will be slightly messy so it looks more like she has been possessed rather than up nice and fresh.

Lighting check/experiements - Georgia Serrecchia

Practical task of lighting:

The lighting in horror films is usually darkness, or bright and sharp lighting, for example a fire etc. However, during the day in horror films the lighting is just natural daylight but in the evening it turned to darker lighting and that's when the action occurs. Different types of lighting can portray different things and it can make different scenes seem more scary and eerie.

Low level lighting is often used to create a creepy and mysterious atmosphere, as dam is usually associated with evil. Darkness also makes people feel more vulnerable and threatened as they are unable to see as much and people fear the unseen and unknown. Also, many shadows may be used.








Below are some images that I have taken of some dark scenes which look quite eerie and spooky, which relates with a supernatural horror.

This first photo is an image of some stairs at a restaurant. The way that it is light at the top of the stairs and gets darker towards the bottom makes it seem more mysterious and spooky. The light at the top makes it seem like the darkness at the bottom and the lightness at the top are separated and the angle that the photo is taken at makes it seem like the light is so far away from the bottom.

This photo is a simple image which was taken in the dark, with just one light on. Even though the photo is quite plain and boring, it is also quite effective because you can see the outline of the light bulb and you could picture a spirit/figure being placed in the darkness. This would add some supernatural horror to the photo as it may cause tension in the scene and make the audience feel frightened.

Deconstruction - Mise-en-scene: Mehrabi Ward

Deconstruction of Mise-en-scene:

PROPS - 

This is the doll used in the film 'Annabelle'. As you can see from this image, the doll looks quite battered and old, it is a very old fashioned type of doll, which looks to be made out of wood instead of plastic. Her face looks to be quite dirty and her hair is plaited to almost make her look innocent. From the picture she looks to be wearing some sort of pink clothing to make her look very girly and to look like what any child would want to play with. As from the film we know that the doll is evil, the fact that she is meant to be played with by young children almost makes it more thrilling for the viewer as children are more helpless than adults are, so it also suggests to the viewers that a child is going to be the main victim/target.

Also the way the doll has been positioned in this shot and how her neck is slightly tilted to look towards the camera it seems like she is looking at the audience. 

This shot is from the opening scene of 'The Woman in Black'. This is another example of a doll used in horror films as a prop. This doll isn't as scary looking as the one from the film 'Annabelle', it has more of an innocent looking face. It is still the idea that dolls are meant for children and the fact that it is being used as an icon in a horror film around the children which makes it more thrilling for the viewer as their faces can be seen as scary as they have no expression.

Deconstruction of Actors - Mehrabi Ward

Deconstruction of Actors:

This is my deconstruction of actors. I decided to do my research from the film mama as it had a young girl as one of the characters and for our idea we are planning on using a young girl.

As you can see from these images this is the little girl from the film. She looks about 6-8 years old, so she is barely a teenager. 

I think that the reason children are used in horror films is because children are usually considered to be innocent and not evil, and the contrast to the audience is very effective. Because it is such a high contrast it makes the child seem more evil than just an evil adult would look to be.

Deconstruction of lighting - Georgia Serrecchia

Lighting in our film opening scene:

In our supernatural horror film opening, we will be having a range of lighting which will mostly be used to create tension and shocking effects. We will be filming our horror opening scene in the woods which will be quite dull and dark in order to portray the mysterious and supernatural theme. This will be effective because it will create suspense and it shows the audience that something eerie may be about to occur in the scene.

There will also be a very dark figure in the background, and therefore the lighting needs to be lighter at this point in order to see the figure in the background. The figure creates more of an eerie response as it makes the audience wonder what is going to happen and whether the girl is being followed or becoming possessed.

There will also be some normal daylight which portrays the idea that the characters are just normal people and it makes the scene seem more realistic.

Towards the end, there may be some sharp, bright lighting when the face pops up onto the screen on the last shot. This type of lighting will appear in a creepy way and it will be accompanied by some jagged shots in order to make the lighting more effective.