Product research

The Woman In Black

 

The first part of the woman in black shows a close up of a teapot and teacups, with nothing being poured out of the teapot. This could suggest that it may be a child’s toy tea set. This is a prop which tells the audience a bit about the narrative. There is then a close up of a child’s hand holding the mini teacup and pretending to pour it into a dolls mouth. From this we can tell there are children even though they have not been shown yet which creates enigma code. The prop being the doll looks very old and ruined which connotes the setting could be in a rundown place maybe or they may be in a shabby room. The doll looks quite scary as it is not a doll a little girl would play with. In this close up the background is blurred so we only concentrate on the little girl’s hand, this creates suspense as we want to know what the background looks like unless something is being hidden which creates enigma code.

The next shot is another close up which shows another doll, this time being a male doll with another child’s hand holding a teacup pretending to pour it into the dolls mouth. The background is blurred again. There is then a medium long shot of three young girls about the age of 8-9 playing with their dolls and toys, it shows a side view of them sitting on the floor, the camera is also at a low angle as if it has been placed on the floor, this connotes someone could be watching them play. We can see the background, the setting is in a room which looks quite dull as there are no bright colours, and the room is also very messy with toys all over the floor and things in the background such as a pram and a high chair. This suggests it could be an old kid’s room. 

There is non-diegetic sound in this scene, the music plays at the beginning which gradually becomes louder which is played throughout the first scene. It sounds like a ballerina musical box but only spookier and mysterious. This is parallel sound because it fits in with the scene as it sounds childish yet spine chilling.

A straight cut is then used to show the next shot which is a close up of one of the girls brushing a dolls hair. This shows their actions close up which connotes they may be busy and having fun amongst themselves.  There is another close up which shows another girl putting a doll to sleep; this could suggest it’s the end of them playing with their toys. There is another straight cut to show a medium/close up of two girls, showing their facial expressions, they seem happy as they are smiling. The other girl is then shown smiling back at them which shows a shot reverse shot.

There is then a long shot of them playing on the floor and suddenly looking towards the camera which is in the corner of the room, as they unexpectedly stare at the camera, the music becomes louder and faster paced, this creates tension and anxiety. The audience want to know what is or is going to happen which creates enigma code. We can see their facial expressions to be intrigued and serious and almost stunned. The rhythm of the music changes up more and becomes more frightening as it sounds less and less like a musical box. There is then a medium/long shot of all three girls from a side view at a low angle as if the camera was placed on the floor of them all turning their heads at the same time looking towards a window. This suggests they may be under someone’s influence. There is then a tracking shot which shows a medium shot of a window with the camera moving closer to it. This shows high key lighting and lets the audience know it is day time.

Top lighting has been used throughout this clip to accentuate the features of the actors. Although there was high key lighting there was also some low key lighting when the girls were playing with their toys because we could see some shadowy effects in the background.

There is a medium shot of the girls staring at the window then slowly standing up at the same time. Their facial expressions seem very grave. A close up is shown of their legs screening they are getting up and a close up of one’s hand dropping the teacup. Binary opposition is shown because now the girls aren’t acting so angelic but they are treading over their dolls and tea set, there are close ups then shown with straight cuts in between showing the tea set breaking into pieces.

We then see a medium/long shot of all three girls walking in line to each other towards the camera. They have no emotion on their faces as if they were dead. The costumes they wear are frocks/dresses which are light pink, this is something a girly girl would wear and portrays innocence and a sweet young girl. They have bows in their hair making them seem more saintly. The woman in black who is shown later in the narrative wears all black which represents death, wickedness and malicious. This shows binary opposition.

As they walk towards the camera we can see that their faces look very pale which is because of the makeup that was used making them look dead almost. They then step on the window sill in sync to one another, the camera is behind them at this point showing them going which could connote death.  There is then a close up of one girls hand opening the window in which we see pure white light from outside which could connote death also as it could be heaven. All three of them then jump out of the window at the same time. At this point the non-diegetic sound gets louder and suddenly stops once they jump which creates a shudder moment for the audience. We then hear a sudden scream/cry of someone out of the window that witnessed the girls falling to their death which sounds very shocking, connoting they are actually dead. 

After this there is a straight cut to show a close up of a dolls face which kind of shows the doll watched them jump out of the window and is alone and will not be played with. The camera angle is at a point of view shot from the corner of the room, which is being zoomed back showing the setting fully. However the audience then sees half of the ‘woman in black’ on the right of the camera frame looking towards the window as if we were standing next to her. This gives us a part of the narrative as we know she was the one the girls were looking at and connotes she ‘possessed’ them. The woman in black is the antagonist in the film.

 

Target audience: This movie was released in 2012 which is based on a book by the famous author Susan Hill. People around the ages of 16 to 30 who are thrill seekers and enjoy enigmatic horrors would be the ideal audience for this film.