The Conjuring (2013)
Genre: Horror
Sub-Genre: Supernatural
Director: James Wan (Saw, Insidious)
Plot: Set in Rhode Island, America in 1971, a family move into a desolate farmhouse. Shortly after moving in, strange things begin to happen, the clocks stop at 3.07 am every morning, the family begin to feel a presence and start witnessing clapping, giggling and unsettling noises around the house that suggests something else is inhabiting their home. The supernatural experiences become more frequent and worsen, the family are being latched onto and tormented, the mother is locked in the abandoned cellar and the daughters are attacked by the spirits. Eventually the family seek help from paranormal investigators who carry out several observations and experiments that uncover the supernatural beings inhabiting the house, such as an accused witch who tried to sacrifice her children to the devil, who also killed herself in 1863 at 3.07 am. The house has also had numerous murders and suicides, meaning many spirits and demons are present. The tormenting becomes too much and it is eventually decided that the paranormal investigators must carry out an exorcism.
Trailer Analysis
Mise-en-scene:
- typical 70's costume, basic and dull outfits for family (suggests weak and poor), suits for investigators (suggests power, strength, money)
- dark lighting, dull colours and unknown shadows represent no life, evil and the idea of being watched (something else is present) spotlight at the start to focus attention on main subject of scene, keeps audience focused and expecting something to happen
- props used such as the recording equipment, piano, paranormal black & white photographs, music box are iconic and usually recognized in the horror genre as stereotypically 'creepy' and old.
-setting of an old farmhouse, decrepit and washed-out looking, isolated location with a lake and large odd shaped tree, also a dark, dusty cellar are stereotypically used to create a desolate and abandoned atmosphere
- props such as the noose, smashed windows/pictures, cloak, moving chairs and household items connote death and deliberate damage, also suggests to audience that the supernatural presence has power and is unpredictable and unwelcoming
- the old wardrobe, clock and music box are the main props used to represent the supernatural/paranormal events
- also the clip of the clock followed by the close up of the family photos acts as a juxtaposition, the clock represents evil, and the family pictures represent good and happiness, creating a contrast and the whole of this film is about evil against good, this clip shown in the trailer subtly explains this to the audience
- make-up is kept to a minimal and dull to show the supernatural experiences are taking a toll on the family and draining them of life (make-up makes them look pale and ill), make-up is also used well to show bruises on the skin of the family which suggest evil and that the spirit has 'latched' onto them
- the iconic 'scary face' which is shown twice during the trailer and at the end, has been stereotypically used in many well known horror films such as Insidious, The Grudge, The Ring, etc
Camera Shots:
- Mid shot opens film trailer then progresses to a long shot filmed with a hand held camera, this gives a realistic look which is appropriate as The Conjuring is based on a true story, therefore the camera techniques need to reflect the genre and appeal to the audience as being as realistic as possible to create some form of personal and gut response.
- The camera movement is very jerky and quick, it follows the paranormal investigators at the opening of the trailer to show that they are the main protagonists, the hand held camera only moves away from the characters when something unexpected happens, causing the camera to rapidly spin round and focus on the source of the noise, event or sighting. This also creates an even more realistic atmosphere, and reflects what the audience would do if they were faced in this situation.
- Use of a long shot followed by a close up in the trailer, show the audience what is happening in a larger scale, for example, the paranormal experts getting one of many requests from someone to solve their problem, this is then followed by a close up to show the emotions and fear on the woman's face, this allows the audience to understand that this problem will be the worst and most serious case the paranormal experts will have to solve, therefore introducing them to the main story line of the film.
- Establishing shots set the scene of the film and allow the audience to build an idea of the surrounding areas and layout of the film, this particular establishing shot is very dark and gloomy, with fog and use of pathetic fallacy in terms of the weather, it is also stereotypically at night, therefore setting the audience up for the following events.
- Several sequences of close ups lead to a slightly high angle shot of the action to show how things have built up and the actions of the paranormal/demonic spirit are starting to get worse, the shot is high angle as to show the audience the whole view of the event and to make them feel as though they are passive and just spectating from slightly above.
- From then on the camera actions pan, tilt, and move in a rapidly hand-held manner to show the sequence of events and how quickly things are happening, this builds up suspense and panic in the audience, not giving them time to think about what is happening.
- An over-the-shoulder shot displays the possessive hold that the house/haunting of the demons and paranormal spirits has on even the paranormal investigators. This demonstrates the power and how the audience feels again as a spectator who cannot do anything, and is simply watching and waiting for something to make them jump.
- Establishing shots of the rooms in the house show how the different events unfold and show the audience the layout of the rooms and where things could happen, their eyes will scan the room as they will not know what to expect next, this causes suspense.
- Extreme close ups show the detail and intensity of what may happen next, keeping the audience 'on edge' and waiting constantly for the next event to happen.
- The camera slowly moves around the bed of the woman and acts as a point of view shot to show the scene through the demons eyes and how it progressively watches and moves towards her to harm her. The audience will react to this as they will be afraid of the idea of being watched and slowly 'hunted'.
- This type of shot is almost a vertical dolly/tracking shot. The camera watches the protagonist fall vertically downwards, but it follows her, spinning and rotating at the same time. This portrays the speed and unpredictability of the movie trailer/film shows how quickly events happen, leaving the audience disorientated and sharing similar emotions as the protagonist shown.
- There is a frequent use of over-the-shoulder shots which usually put the audience in perspective of the demon/spirit, this also makes suggests that the characters in the film are constantly being watched and observed by an unknown force, this will create fear in the audience along the theme of 'fearing the unknown'.
Sound:
- Stereotypical dialect of the characters and an American accent to make clear to the audience about the setting of the film.
- Slight crackling sound that suggests the footage we first see at the start of the trailer is old (70's) and supposedly 'found footage'.
- A mischievous and eerie child's laugh is heard, asynchronous to the dark and frightening events occurring in the trailer, therefore creating a juxtaposition that is so contrasting, it creates fear in the audience. The laughter is presumably unheard by the characters which makes the suggestion that the demon/spirit in this film is mocking them and has power over them.
- The click of the camera is synchronous to the photographic images shown in the trailer, this sets the basis of the story line and tells the audience that the protagonists (the paranormal investigators) have seen many cases involving evil spirits and demons before.
- The backing track to the trailer is Donovan- Hurdy Gurdy Man (1968) which is relevant to the time period that The Conjuring is set in, once again it is contrasting with the horror genre as the song is considered a relatively 'upbeat' and 'happy' tune, similar to the Insidious backing track Tiny Tim- Tiptoe Through the Tulips. It appears that lighthearted songs are used in horror movie trailers to create some form of false security for the audience that is so contrasting with the conventions of the horror theme, that is has a fearful response from the audience. We will be using this idea of a contrasting backing track in our own trailer to have the same effect as it is much more subtle and creepy than a stereotypically 'scary' sound track.
- The trailer again uses the contrast of a child's music box to create a juxtaposition that is very effective, children are represented as innocent, and the idea that something relevant to a child is used in a horror movie trailer has been repeated in several other films/trailers, creating an iconic relevance to the conventions and themes of the horror genre. We will also include some form of children's object such as a music box in our own trailer to give an iconic understanding to the audience.
- There is a frequent and random use of high pitched noises, short gasps, smashing, groaning and screaming in The Conjuring trailer which conform to the expected conventions of the horror genre, we will definitely use similar noises in our own horror movie trailer to make the audience 'jump' and to keep to the theme of the genre.
- The ticking of the clock and monologue of the mother who needs the paranormal investigators house both stop simultaneously and fade to silence, this accentuates the terror felt and gives the audience no choice but to wait in anticipation for something terrifying to happen.
Editing:
- At the beginning of the trailer, the use of the 'found footage' and old video camera is accentuated by several cuts and blurring within the footage, this exaggerates to the audience that the footage is old and reinforces the time that film is set in.
- There are mainly jump cuts between scenes in the trailer to show how rapid and unpredictable the story line and plot of the events occurring in the film are. There is an increase in the amount and frequency of jump-cuts towards the end of the trailer which coheres with the increase in sound effects, this is to build up a suspense and climax of the trailer.
- A lot of the scenes depicted in the trailer fade out to black, this connotes a dark and evil mood which is represented by the colour black, this also suits the conventions of the horror genre.
