JACK SPENCELY 9302 A2 MEDIA

Mise en Scene

 

This trailer has a very consistent mise en scene. It is quite similair to "Crimson

Peak" in terms of its themes as it focuses around the classic gothic, victorian

setting. This is shown right from the outset through the inclusion of a steam train,

something extremely common in that time period, as well as a large, pale,

old-fashioned style house. The house is shown very clearly at 22 seconds in and it

provides a very clear view. The entire garden area is wild and unkempt and the

gate appears to have toppled over. The house itself also appears to be overgrown

with vines and foliage. This all adds to the idea of the house being away from

civilisation for a long period of time so there would be no reason for anything to be

near it, which obviously adds to the shock and horror value later, as the audience

discover the house is home to 'The Woman in Black'. This house is also shown

several times in the early trailer through establishing shots which helps to set up the setting for most of the film. The interior of the house is bleak and has covers thrown over everything, which once again lends itself to the theory that no one else has been there for a long time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The clothing in the trailer is very dark but is traditional of the Victorian age. We see two men, one of whom is the protaganist, who both wear the same kind of outfit. They don't suggest royalty or even upper class but it is reminisent of middle class, which gives the audience an idea of where these men stand in society. There is a contrat between these two with the driver of the carriage who wears dirtier almost rag-like clothes suggesting a lower position in society.

 

The colour of everything in the trailer is dull and almost

monochrome. The charcters in the trailer all wear black, white

and various shades of grey. This creates a melancholy, almost

subdued atmosphere by using this manichean techniques. The

colours are also seen in much of the environment especially in

the house itself, which is just a pale colour and even the garden

that surrounds the house isn't very bright and vibrant, which

adds to the dull, depressing atmosphere. The interior of the

house is all various different shades of grey, white and black as

well as a few other pale colours. This really creates the tone as

the audience realises that this is the setting for much of the film and creates tension through doing so.

 

When the audience is finally given a glimpse of the woman who will be the antagonist, she is shown in all black, a grim colour associated with death, darkness and horror. This instantly causes the audience to associate her with fear. She also turns to the sound of the spinning device, creating a link between the woman and the house.  

 

Camera Shots, transitions and Angles

 

There are numerous different shot types used in the trailer. It begins suing several long range, establishing shots to show off the environments. The first of these being a still shot of a train, then a few moving and zooming out shots of the horse drawn carriage on the empty landscape, which adds to the feeling of lonlieness as the camera zooms out to show more and more showing just how much distance there is between civilisation and where Kipps, the main character, is going.

 

The house itself is also privilaged almost as much as the main character, with the shots of its exterior lasting far longer than any other shots of the other environments, causing it to be associated as the primary environment. The shots of it from the outside are slow moving just slightly preventing the shots from being stock still and adding motion to the shot. It is a common trait for this to be done for houses, especially large ones in films. The interior of the house also has some slow moving shots to show the entrance to the hall. This allows the audience to get a good look at the interior of the house and see just how decrepid it is inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the next few scenes we get to see Kipps exploring the house. All of the shots contain the character in either medium shots, medium close ups or close ups. This causes the audience to identify with this character as he is priveleged by the camera. Most of these shots allow us to see his face and his reaction to the house. Many of which cause him to seem uneasy and uncertain of what is actually in the house.

 

The first shot with the woman in black in it is one of my particular

favourite scenes in the trailer because of the camera. The

camera still favours Kipps, but it goes over his shoulder to show

the woman in the background. these mid shots are common in

horror films for the very reason that it allows the audience to see

around the character. This is coupled with the shot being out of

focus, which prevents the audience from getting a good look at

the woman and so therefore we cannot determine the threat,

which causes a nervous and tense reaction. Once she has 

finished turning the camera immediately cuts to a shot of the

protaganist turning around. This causes the audience unease as the woman appears to have abilities that stop her from being seen by the protaganist, which associates her with being a ghost, a common sight in horror.

 

There is a quick burst of shots after we first see the woman that shows shots of a house being burnt down. All the shots of people that show faces are medium shots so the viewer can see what their reactions are. Because of all this chaos in a brief period so soon after seeing the woman she is quickly associated with the feeling of terror and fear.

 

The scenes towards the end of the trailer begin to feature much more tension as they begin jump cutting between the shots. many of them have Kipp's sudden reactions to various things. There are numerous shots of some things that are classic to the horror genre such as a close up of a twisting door handle and a rocking chair moving on it's own. These, all intercut with Kipp's reactions cause the viewers to begin feeling tense and fearful at the situation in which he finds himself. There are a few particularly effective scenes in this. One is of Kipp's standing in a field with a thick layer of fog surrounding him. The fact of this being a medium close up allows the audience to see over Kipp's shoulders and means we can see behind him to what may or may not be behind him. The trailer has already taught the audience to be watchful and so this shot causes fear all by itself without any need for a scare. Another interesting shot is a shot of a room with a door with a translucent window that has someone placing their hand on it. The hand is then gone without any actual movement from the hand. The range of this shot makes it feel as though the audience are watching the events unfold from a distance, placing them in the films actions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the terms of transitions the film trailer tends to use the traditional dip to black and cuts. The cuts are used generally to show chronological progression through the film while the dips to black will be used to show either a longer period of time, a title card or be used to allow a brief time to recover from a jumpscare. There are also some fast cuts used to show some of the more chaotic moments in the trailer especially towards the end despite the fact that they don't actually follow chronologically.

 

Sound and Editing

 

The music in this trailer actually doesn't begin with any real tension. It isn't exactly upbeat but it doesn't suggest that it is a horror film. However this adds to the slow build of the film as it paces itself, building to a moment when it can begin to use a more sombre form of non-diegetic sound. It chooses to do this when the door to the house is opened, so the audience can be struck extremely effectively with the knowledge that this is where the film will be primarily set. The music drops out entirely so that the audience can focus entirely on the bleak, drab setting of the house which almost looks unlivable. The lack of music prevents any kind of mistake for this film being any other kind of film. The door opening provides the classic horror movie creaking sound that is stereotypical in films that contain ghosts.

 

The music begins again as extremely powerful background sound that builds tension very effectively as Kipps, begins exploring the house. It only stops to draw focus to the thing that Kipps interacts with. When the face is shown in the spinning contraption sound provides a very powerful burst of high pitched sound and a loud thump to create a very effective jumpscare. This helps mark the end of act one in the trailer. This technique is used several times throughout the course of the trailer.

 

The editing is fairly standard. The start has a fairly slow pace with the editing being fairly slow, but most of the shots being of a standard length. This actually causes a misleading tone, leading the audience to believe that the film will not focus on horror. The editing truly changes with the entry to the house. as the shots become slower and the establishing shot of the house's interior lasts for a few seconds more than normal to allow the audience to get a good view of the house. The music is used to deepen all the effects. The transistions between shots are often either quick to build tension or connect two scenes. There are often screen dips to black, which slows down the action and is used to connect the seperate trailer acts. The colouration of these is coincidental with the colour scheme of the film and keeps up the gothic element and drab themes. There are a few title cards which are all coloured black and have a fog that appears to obscure part of it. The words are all coloured white which once again coincides with the films dark colour scheme.

 

 

Overall the trailer for the woman in black is extremely effective at presenting a dark, effective atmosphere and then using clever camera techniques to create fear, alongside jumpscares for the occasional moment of pure terror. This trailer primarily creates a feeling of unease as opposed to other feelings of horror and this links to the ideas behind the whole film.