CONVENTIONS OF FILM OPENINGS

Film openings have different conventions to attract different audiences. Films use of music, mise en scene cuts to allow us to see the conventions within the film an to allow the audience to make an assumption of what the film is going to be about. For instance the ring is more of horror but its easy to catch the drift of the film from the start. This is because it shows two young school girls home alone with a storm in the night, we then see them scared due to stories they have been telling giving away the genre of the movie.

                                        

The video clip above is three minutes of the horror 'The Ring'. The basic storyline of the film is a focus on a mysterious cursed videotape that contains a random series of distrubing images, once you watch the tape the viewer receives a phone call in which a girls voice reveals the fact they will die in seven days.

Mise en scene of opening

> THE FIRST IMAGE WE SEE IN  THE OPENING IS THE IMAGE OF A BIG HOUSE AT NIGHT AND THE LIGHTS ON LET US KNOW SOMEONE INDOORS.

>WE THEN SEE THE GIRLS IN THE BEDROOM AND WE GET THE IDEA OF A SLEEPOVER AND THE FACT THEY ARE YOUNG AS THEY ARE DRESSED IN UNIFORMS THIS ADDS AN ELEMENT OF THRILL TWO CHILDREN HOME ALONE AT NIGHT.

>WHEN  THE GIRL IS DOWNSTAIRS ALONE THE LIGHTING IS VERY DIM AND THE OTHER GIRL LEAVES HER DOWNSTAIRS ALONE, THE FACT THE HOUSE IS SO BIG AND THEY ARE THE ONLY TWO INDOORS AS WE FIND OUT WHEN THE GIRLS ARE ON THE PHONE ADDS TO THE FEAR FACTOR.

The Sound

> THE VERY FIRST SOUND WE HEAR AS THE CAMERA IS DOING A CLOSE UP TO THE HOUSE IS THE SLOW QUIET DRIZZLE OF RAIN ON A QUIET ROAD , THIS ADDS TENSION DUE TO THE SILENCE

>THE DRIZZLING RAIN CONTIUES UNTILL THE PHONE RING AND THEN WE DONT HEAR ANYMORE SOUND UNTIL THE TELEVISON STARTS TURNING ON ALONE AND THAT IS ALL WE CAN HEAR.

> THE LAST SOUNDS WE HEAR IS HER RUNNING UPSTAIRS AND THEN THE SOUND THAT IS CONNECTED WITH THE LITTLE GIRL JUST BEFORE THE SHOT OF HER DEATH.

The camera angles

This is a mid shot

This is a long shot with dark lighting to 

set the scene scary 

A closeup of the girl with a blurred backgroud

A closeup of the young boy at a slightly low angle 

Low angle shot of the house in the dark 

High angle shot of the girl on the floor to show her in a weak angle

Long shot of the television to show its importance in the film 

Closeup of the girl and the television however the television is very big in the 

shot to show her power in the situation is very little