Woman In Black

In class we studied the opening two minutes to the ‘Woman In Black’, this is a film is part of the horror genre and opens with a title sequence, during this you see white, gravestone type writing wrote upon a black background. Added to this there is cloudy grey mist which almost blows over it. The white writing stands out on the black background; the writing is chipped and also looks almost like flesh or skin on the screen. The names fade in and out almost as if they are disappearing. The fairground type music is used to send the audience into a false sense of security until it changes and becomes creepy as more minor notes are used. The opening overall is very simplistic yet makes the audience aware of the gene and explains about what is to come.
It then cuts into a brightly coloured street, a point-of-view shot is used as you look at the people walking around. At this point there is a non-diagetic sound of a car horn beeping which makes the audience almost jump and prepares them for what’s next. As the camera looks down the street the camera is placed behind bars, these are black and spiky symbolising death and imprisonment. Added to this it stays within the shadows and creates an air of fear for the audience. You then see a car come up the road and the camera pans towards it. There is then a close up shot on the number plate before it pans up to the man paying the driver. The emphasis of the car and driver being paid shows the wealth of the character. Added to this his suit shows that he is wealthy as he can afford expensive clothing. Just before he walks towards a house there is a mid-shot of a car passing very close to him. This connotes blood and death as it is a deep red coloured car.
This opposes the actors non-diagetic whistling as he enters his place of work. Inside the colours are kept quite dark as light attempts to shine through and there is a lot of books and equipment which represent his place of work. Added to this there is only one woman who works there and she is the secretary, this setting the time period for this film.
Overall I believe watching this film has helped me to understand in more detail how to analysis the opening to a film.