1. Analysis of existing horror films Tina Hartnell

2. In this master shot three little girls can be seen playing with there toys, children are commonly used in horror films as there innocence can be turned into evil creating scary characters. At this point there is scary music playing which sounds as if it is leading up to something thats about to happen. The music also sound quite lullaby like which fits with the children on the screen. The clothing worn by the children suggest that the film is set in the past as these are not clothes commonly worn by children these days. 3. In this close up the children all seem to be happy and playing as normal children do. This would entice the audience as it is clear from the music that this film is a horror film so they would wonder what is going to happen to the children. 4. The children all look up at the same time and are looking at something that cannot be seen by the audience creating an enigma code because this would make the audience want to see the what is making the children look up. This also creates a fear of the unknown for the audience which is a common convention in horror films. The dcor helps the audience to understand that the film is not present day due to the old fashioned rugs and curtains. 5. The children are seen playing with dolls which emphasizes the childrens innocence so that when this changes there will be a bigger contrast in their behavior. Dolls are often used in horror films, there lifeless figures with quite lifelike features create a fear in a lot of people. The close up shots of the dolls faces show in detail there human features and also shows the children acting as if the dolls are real. The dolls can also be seen to represent the children in the clip as the children are playing with them and making them do things. This then foreshadows what is about to happen to the children as they then seem to be controlled by this unknown presence. 6. The children then look at the window in unison as the shot changes to a close up of the window and the camera continues to move in towards it. This is suggesting to the audience what is about to happen as the camera just keeps zooming in on the window. 7. The children all begin to walk toward the window shown in a series of close ups showing the actions as they get up. There is then a close up of one of the girls feet as she steps on the doll and it smashes. This is foreshadows what is about to happen with the children as the doll smashes under the power of the girl the children are about to die under the power of the unknown presence. 8. The children then reach the window, shown in both medium shots of there backs and closer shots of their faces. The closer shots of there faces allow the audience to see that there is no fear or unease in the childrens faces which you would obviously expect in the situation which further adds to the fear of the unknown. The use of the children in this horror film is because they are expected to be sweet and innocent yet in films such as this this stereotyope is questioned by them being the sign of evil or bad giving them a whole new contrasting side. 9. This film opening is put together with a lot of shorts, close up shots of different actions. This shot shows a book in a very close up shot at an angle that is in line with the look. This shot doesnt give anything away about the film and therefore gives the audience a reason to carry on watching as this is an enigma code. 10. This again is a close up shot, but still doesnt give any information about the film allow does start to give the audience the idea of the type of film due to the fact a razor blade is most likely to be in a horror or action film do to its gorey possibilities. The hands shown in this shot also allow the audience to get an idea of the character as the hands seem worn and not delicate. 11. The film uses white flickering titles both for the acting credits and for the title of the film. These are typical of a horror type film and the genre of this film is a psychological thriller. As these are quite simple and plain it once again prevents giving away any information about the film and the flickering adds to the eerie affect the rest of the opening has. The 'v' is substituted for a '7' as the word is 'seven' so this makes the title more interesting than just having the straight forward word, it could also be to give more of a hint about the content of the film. 12. Some of the titles as the opening go on are shown over the shots, this allows them to continue crediting the actors whilst also showing the content of the film. In this show the camera shot is very close again and literally only allows you to see the pen writing in the book but not any of what is being written therefore continuing the enigma code and mystery. 13. This shot shows a photograph so gives the audience a little more information about the film although it still very descrete. The close up shots just straight cut to the next one but still maintains continuity as it seems clear that each clip follows the next. 14. All of the clips in this film opening maintain the audiences attention due to the enigma code, lack of description and enigma code. The dark lighting and titling allows the audience to know the genre of the film and would keep the interest as the audience therefore know if the film genre is the one that they would choose. 15. The film starts of with an establishing shot of a house at night, the shot shows a scary looking tree and generally looks like the stereotypical location of a horror film. The film opening is set at night as this is generally a time when people are most likley to be on edge due to darkness being a fear of many and meaning that sight would be reduced etc. Therefore this is already creating tension and it is the very first shot. 16. The next few shots are medium shots. They introduce the audience to the two teenage characters in this scene. They are seen messing about, scaring each other and just generally acting like teenagers. This scene just sets the equilibrium so that when things that are not ordinary start to happen the audience will know the difference. The characters clothing is just ordinary school clothes also adding to the normal everyday situation being seen on screen. 17. When the phone rings the girls are seen walking down to answer it in a series of different shots that maintain continuity. The shot is shown in a close up and is in focus where as the background is blurred to ensure that the audiences focus is on the phone and to show the importance of it at this point. As the phone is the thing that is scared of at this point the fear of the unknown is introduced as the girls are unsure of who is calling and therefore are anxious to answer it. There is a long shot that is maintained while the girls approach the phone and their slow, anxious walk up to it would make the audience on edge and keep them watching so that they can find out who is calling. Even at the end of the opening the fear of the unknown is maintained because knowone knows what happens to either of the girls there is just a series of events which are typical of a horror movie such as the pool of water, noises, one girl being left alone by the other one and finally technology turning itself on and off.