Arthur...

Hi guys!

So I hope that you thoroughly enjoyed my last blog post all about Casino Royale. To continue the running theme of analysing the media techniques used within a film in order to create a genre were moving on to horror! The horror movie that I have chosen to use is The Woman In Black.

The 2012 movie The Woman In Black is based on the 1983 horror novella by Susan Hill. The director James Watkins is no stranger to horror films having directed and wrote movies like Eden Lake and My Little Eye. The movie follows a gentleman called Arthur whom recently lost his wife while she gave birth to his son. Arthur is a lawyer and following the death of his wife he because distanced himself from society and stopped going to work. In order to save his job Arthur is sent to Eel Marsh House in order to sort the files of deceased Alice Drablow. Little does Arthur know, this house and this town holds a sinister secret that he does not want to find out. The woman in black.

Well, now that I have thoroughly terrified you all, let’s dive straight in. first we are going to talk about sound and how Watkins uses different types of sound to make the film conform to the horror genre. The first use of sound used within the film is at the beginning when there is a medium shot of the little girls playing. Soft and eerie music plays. This effects the audience as it makes them feel uncomfortable. Also, it conforms to the horror genre as it scares the audience by making them feel as though there is something bad about to happen.

Following this the soft eerie music becomes cheerier and like a child’s song. This technique can be seen where there is a medium shot of the children playing together, having a tea party. The colour of the girl’s dresses are white and cream which has connotations of purity and innocence. The dresses also have a floral undershirt which has connotations of sweetness and innocence and little girls. This links to Todorrovs theory which says that there is a basic structure which begins with an equilibrium, the girls having a tea party with childlike music as they have their tea party as shown in the medium shot described above. Following this the soundtrack deepens in pitch and becomes a bass note as there is a long shot of the children looking at the camera. They stop smiling at this point and look very serious. This is the agent of disruption. Next there is a long shot of the children as they jump out of their windows, killing themselves which is fully lit so that the audience focus on the children at the window and question what they are doing. Linking this to Barthes enigma theory. This is the period of chaos. Then there is a woman screaming which can be seen as the repair. Finally, there is a zoom shot of the window where the camera zooms out to show the woman in black caused the children to commit suicide. The woman in black is wearing a black dress which has connotations of danger, horror and villainous which conforms to Propps character typologies. Then there is a fade to the opening credits. This is the new equilibrium.

Another form of sound used within The Woman in Black is the synchronous sound of the child opening the window. This technique can be seen in the close up shot of the little girl opening the window. I know that the sound is synchronous because the sound of the window opening accompanies the image of the window being opened. The window is made from wood and metal which is a stereotypically old window. This links to Barthes enigma code because it makes the audience question what the little girl is doing and ask themselves why she is opening the window. This impacts the audience as it makes them want to continue watching in order to find out.

The use of dialogue within the film also helps to create the horror genre. This can be seen when there is a medium shot of Arthur looking in the mirror, a ghostly figure appears behind him and whispers “Arthur”. The ghostly figure is wearing a white nightgown and this has connotations of purity and angels. This links to Barthes enigma code as it makes the audience question who the woman is and why she is trying to reach out to Arthur. There is then a straight cut which signifies Arthur turning around only to find out that she is no longer there. Alongside the long shot of Arthur standing looking for the ghostly figure there is a soundtrack of slow violin music which shows that Arthur is sad about seeing and losing the ghost. This impacts the audience as they want to know who the ghostly figure is and they keep watching to find out.

A match cut is used in The Woman in Black in order to show that the children are having a tea party. This technique can be seen in the close up of each childs activity, a girl holding a tea cup and another holding a doll. This links to Barthes enigma code because the eerie music accompanied by the images of the children playing makes the audience question whats going to happen to the little girls. This impacts the audience as it makes them want to carry on watching to find out what happens to them.

There is a fade through the mist of the opening credits. This can be seen in the close up of the bride. The bride is wearing white which symbolises purity and innocence. This links to Barthes enigma code as it make the audience question who the bride is and what her importance is. This impacts the audience as it intrigues them and makes them continue to watch the film to find the answers to their questions.

There is the use of a tea cup as a prop which can be seen the close-up of the little girl holding the tea cup and then dropping in slowly. The girl is wearing white which symbolises purity and innocence. This links to Levi Strauss’ binary theory because the Narrative tension within the film is based on conflict between the little girl and the Woman in Black. This impacts the audience as it makes the feel sorry for the little girls and be afraid of the Woman in Black.

Another use of props can be seen in the close-up of the little girl standing on her doll and breaking it. The doll is a ceramic doll which shows that this part of the film is in the past. This also shows that this part of the film is a flashback which has been placed into the film in order to show some of the things that the Woman in Black has done before and to make the viewers become scared of her. This links to Barthes enigma code as it makes the audience question why the little girls are breaking their toys and what has happened to them. This impacts the audience as it makes them feel scared for the little girls and continue watching to find out what has happened to them.

In the setting of The Woman in Black it is raining which can be seen in the long shot of Arthur standing at the train station waiting for his train, key lighting is used here so that you can only see Arthur and the station and no other surroundings. Arthur is wearing black clothing which accompanied by the rain has connotations of sadness. This links to Barthes enigma code as the audience question why Arthur is sad and where he is going. This impacts the audience as it makes them want to continue to watch to find out where Arthur is going and why he is so sad.

That’s it for now then guys, hope you enjoyed it.

Let me know in the comments down below what you thought. Speak soon!

Holly x