ORPHAN Textual Analysis

7/30/2019 ORPHAN Textual Analysis

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ORPHANTextual analysis of opening sequence

By Meli Arif



The Film starts with basic institutional information, in this case „Warner brothers‟ and „Dark

castle‟. The main colour used here is black, which connotes mystery and death and this

shows that it might appear later on in the film because the colour has been shown straight

away in the institutional information. The non diegetic soundtrack is very eerie and slow, thus

suggesting the stereotypical horror film because the soundtrack in horror films usually are

quite slow and eerie to build suspense and tension. The eerie soundtrack coincides with the

„Dark castle entertainments‟ logo suggesting that the genre again is horror. The iconographic

logos have been edited using the negative photography effect to create an ominous effect.The UV light ( blue and pink) effect appears after the simple typography has been shown and

is accompanied by a non-diegetic sound of the UV light flickering and this creates tension and

eeriness because it conveys that something is not right because of the negative effect. Also

using the colour black and the suspenseful soundtrack creates an enigma code for the

audience; this is because they want to know what the significance of the UV paint is and this

will be revealed later on in the narrative. The suspenseful soundtrack is creating an enigma

code because the audience are being kept in suspense from the low and deep soundtrack,

thus creating the sense that time is dragging on. The audience is informed, which is part of

the uses and gratifications theory, that the genre may be horror because of the colour blackused and the slow, eerie soundtrack, as this is very conventional in horror films.

The typography of the title „Orphan‟ is very simplistic and bold. The font is also in capitals,

which has a strong impact on the audience. The letters are the colour white and the

background is black. Levi- Strauss‟s, Binary oppositions are used within the title name, the

use of black and white can represent good vs. bad because white usually connotes good and

black, bad. The fact that they are used together can inform the audience that conflict between

characters may arise because of the contrasting colours. When the title has lasted a few

seconds, the soundtrack starts building up the tempo of the deep notes and the sound of electricity is more emphasised on because it is louder creating the sense for the audience

what something is not right. The soundtrack then slowly fades out and this relieves the

audience of tension because the sound what once made their heart race has faded away,

leaving momentary silence for the audience to absorb the atmosphere the title sequence has

created. This effectively sets the mood for the entire film as now the audience will know the

narrative will be very eerie and suspenseful and this was all represented through the technical

code of soundtrack. The audience may have an idea of the genre already without seeing any

characters and settings because the eerie and suspenseful tone of the soundtrack has

established it.

0.00-0.38



The scene is introduced with a blinding white light that lasts approximately three seconds and

has no soundtrack or any type of sound to accompany it. This creates enigma code for the

audience because they cannot see what is happening from the blinding white light, therefore do

not know where the scene set, thus creating confusion and suspicion in wondering what they

will see next. As there is no sound also, the audience will not have any information on where

the scene is set as soundtracks establishes the mood and atmosphere of the location. As the

audience are kept in suspicion and confusion, this engrosses them into the scene because their

curiosity will not let them take their eyes off the screen because they want to know what theywill see, which makes them escape from their world into the film world.

After the light slowly fades the audience are revealed two characters, one male and one female

in the form of a long shot. The lens is blurred so the audience are still left in suspicion because

they cannot see clearly what they look like and when the characters approach the camera, it

focuses onto the female in the form of a close up. The use of the close up of the female clearly

establishes to the audience that she is the main protagonist because the camera is focused on

her, and she is in the centre third of „The rule of thirds‟. The focus is entirely on her, rather than

the male character who‟s face is half cut off by the camera therefore showing the audience thatthe narrative of the story will be focused on this character because she is dominating the

screen, thus signifying her importance. From the close up, the audience are informed (again the

uses and gratifications theory) that she is a lovely and happy person from her facial

expressions. The close up shows that the protagonist is excited from her constant smiling and

represents her as being sweet. From the diegetic sound of her deep breathing the audience are

given the impression that she is pregnant because she is breathing in the way you would when

you are pregnant.

A simple cut is used to join the last shot to the next long shot, giving a sense of continuity and

flow, which doesn't disrupt the audiences eye. From the long shot, the scene has now been

established as a hospital. This is from the white light giving the hospital that “clean and pure”

look to it as well as doctors walking around wearing white coats. The scene is further

established as a hospital from the non- diegetic intercom stating that they need a doctor for a

patient. The dialogue (diegetic sound), confirms that the male is the protagonist's husband and

can be seen as the helper from propps 8 stock characters because he is helping the protagonist

feel comfortable and aiding her. From the body language of the protagonist it is clear she is in

pain because she is hunched over and clutching her belly. This adds a sense of realism to the

audience because pain during contractions is normal, thus creating verisimilitude. The audiencestraight away relates with this character and automatically feel sympathy because they are in

pain, which creates an emotional bond between the audience and the character.

0.38-1.20



The high angle/ birds eye view used when she is being pushed in a wheelchair down the corridor

represents her as being weak and vulnerable because the camera is looking down and making

her look small. The pace of the sequence seems to be going very slowly, maybe representing

the slow and painful process the protagonist is going though. The high angle further emphasises

the cleanliness of the hospital as there seems to be no drop of dirt anywhere on the floor, and

this gives the audience the feeling that it is a dream because it seems very heavenly. The eerie,

slow soundtrack makes an appearance again when she is being pushed down the corridor and is

very quiet over the protagonists whimpers. This is done to give the audience anticipation

because the tense music suggests that something tragic will happen and the audience wait for it,

thus producing yet another enigma code. She exclaims that this will be her third child, which

gives the audience a hint at the other characters that they may see (children), as the narrative is

focused on her, it may show her family life.

A close up is then smoothly transferred to show the emotion of the protagonist. The emotion of

the character is very powerful and emotional because she is moaning and in a lot of pain. From

the diegetic sound of the wails, the audience feel the characters pain because the character is so

close to the camera, making the wailing loud, which makes the audience very uncomfortable and

sympathetic. While still in the close up, a confused and puzzled expression comes up on her face and the audience are anticipating why she is bewildered. Her hand comes up to her face

revealing her bloody hand then a jump cut is used to a close up of dripping blood from behind

the underneath of the wheelchair. The soundtrack starts building up in tempo, raising the tension

of the audience and they now are so escaped into this world they cannot take their eyes off of

the screen and sit in tension. The diegetic sound of the pouring blood is very disturbing to listen

to and the audience are feeling very uncomfortable by what is happening on screen. When the

blood is dripping, non diegetic violins are playing to emphasis the amount of blood being lost and

this makes the audience fully aware. The high angle/ birds eye view of the scene completely

juxtaposes with the previous birds eye/high angle because the clean, pure looking floor is now

drenched with blood. This is where the genre is represented as horror because blood is a

motif/symbol of the horror genre, so the director using it very heavily wanted to connote the

brutality of the genre. The chairs on the side of the shot show that she is no where near the end

of the corridor because the audience were shown the start of the chairs. This represents to the

audience she is undergoing such pain because of all the blood lost and the fact that it happened

in a couple of seconds shocks the audience. The heavy use of the colour red connotes the genre

of horror because red usually connotes danger and blood, which is the exact case here. The

audience also feel even more disturbed because the darkness of the red on the once spotlessfloor, can represent that the narrative later on in the film will involve much more blood and gory

images because it was shown in the opening sequence.

1.20-2.04



The next scene focus's heavily on mise-en-scene in terms of location, costume, props and

sound. A sharp white light has dominated the previous scene, suggesting that this is a new

location. The shot seems to be a POV shot looking at the light that has just turned on and this

informs the audience that the mother is now lying down on a bed because she is looking up at

the examination light. The fact that there are also subtle shakes during this shot involves the

audience because they see what the character sees and are automatically put into their

situation. This allows the audience to relate and bond with the character as they can see the

situation in their eyes. The shot then cuts to a close up of the protagonist/hero and isrepresented as being quite scared and anxious from her worried facial expressions, along with

the non diegetic whimpering sounds. This as well as the character, makes the audience feel

tense because they want to know what will happen to her. As it is a close up, the audience

cannot see what is around her, heightening tension because they don‟t know what will happen.

The enigma code here is used very effectively as the bright light focused on her, makes the

audience anxious as to what will occur.

A high angle and a long shot is then presented to the audience, revealing a wide range of

information. The use of the high angle represents the protagonist as being very weak andvulnerable because she is very low and seems very small. The use of the doctors placed

around her standing, shows off their position of superiority because they are looking down at

the protagonist and represents her as being helpless. The technical code of lighting is used

very well as she is in the centre third and the light is focused on her, making the audience see

her first. As all the lighting is focused on her, in the centre of thirds, this draws the audiences

eye to her thus creating tension because the long shot informs the audience that around the

hospital bed is darkness, maybe connoting that it is an isolated place. The long shot informs the

audience that there is a tray of scissors and other sharp objects which suggests that something

very gory will occur because conventionally those type of objects are used for torture. The useof these objects suggests to the audience that something horrific and painful may occur.

The use of the extreme close up of the doctor putting on his gloves is very tense for the

audience because it reinforces their thoughts on a surgical procedure. As the audience only

hears the diegetic sound of the gloves elastics, they are feeling uneasiness as the sound

conveys that the procedure will start because the doctor is getting ready to start. His costume is

very stressful to the audience because it has stained blood on it. Blood, as said before

represents the horror genre because it is an iconographic conventional image. As there is

stained blood, it makes the audience stressed because this scene may contain blood in it andgives the impression that there may be pain in the scene.

2.04-2.12



The low angle used to show the doctor represents him as powerful and intimidating.

This fits very well in the situation because he seem s to have all the power and can do

what he wants to the protagonist, which does make the audience panic for the

protagonist. The doctor also has a very serious and almost daunting facial expression

on his face, making him seem all the more dangerous because he is not reassuring the

protagonist. The fact that he is wearing a face mask (costume) may hint that he is a

temporary villain as you cannot see any of his features, just his eyes, which gives him

that „criminal‟ look. From the diegetic sound of dialogue, the audience have now learntthat her baby is dead, automatically creating sympathy for the characters because it is

a very sad situation. This creates verisimilitude and makes the audience identify with

the character because miscarriages do happen in real life, therefore creating that

sense of realism In this scene. It them smoothly cuts to a close up of the protagonist

crying from the news and this makes the audience identify with the character that she

is a sensitive and yet protective person. The fact that the character is moving her head

around conveys her uncomfortableness with the position she is in and that the current

situation is making her very upset. The shot quickly reverts to the long shot/high angle

that was shown before and it uses the same non- diegetic sound it used before of avery deep note and the light blurs. The use of these two technical codes together,

creates tension for the audience as the deep notes suggests something is going to

happen and the reason they have done the same thing again is to suggest that it is

almost time for the event because they shorten the time span in between the notes and

blurry light. She insists of being put to sleep but the doctor refuses and the procedure

begins… (2.30 Minutes)

A close up is used yet again when she is crying in unbearable pain (diegetic sound) to

make the audience informed of the pain she is going though and this shot emphasisesthe pain she is going though because of the long lasting shot. There is non diegetic

sound of the tugging and „squishing‟ of the flesh, which is done for strong impact on the

audience because they imagine what it looks like, and this is seen as having more of

an effect on the audience than showing them the gory flesh because your brain comes

up with the images and not knowing makes you more tense and afraid. The genre is

represented as horror once again from the use of the long shot of the equipment that

was just used on the protagonist and the fact that it is covered in blood, reinforces my

point because the audience pictures what was going on. Despite her constant

questions on what they are doing, the doctor still carries on, seemingly oblivious to her crying in pain.

2.12-2.57



A close up of a device is shown and is accompanied with the dialogue “you may feel

some tugging”, making the audience very curious to what the device is for. This is then

answered when she is suddenly screaming with agonising pain in the form of a long

shot, but a very awkward one because she is seen from behind the machine that is

causing her this pain. The audience are given the full sound effects of the suction

device and it is quite disturbing to them because they can hear all the flesh coming out,

again this makes them picture what it looks like. The lighting is always focused on her,

to make the audience not look away from the main focus, which is the protagonist inagony. The audience throughout this scene are feeling very uncomfortable and

emotions are built because it is such a sad topic that they are dealing with.

The use of the deep notes at times is a very daunting effect as it makes the audience

more involved into what is happening and gives the setting a more creepy atmosphere,

thus heightening tension of the audience. All the shots that were used were edited in

rapid succession, making the audience more shocked every time, as a new horrific

image came on screen.

After all the pain and screaming, the nurse then presents the mother with her deadbaby in the form of a long shot but the baby is closer to the camera, making the

background slightly out of focus. The dead baby is obviously the focus in this shot

because it‟s the first thing the audience sees and the fact that the baby is covered in

blood, represents the gore that the film may present later on in the narrative. The

nurses face is a very creepy smile because you would not smile in this type of situation

showing the eeriness the narrative has to offer. The nurse is acting like it is a happy

moment and there should be a “celebration” from the way she is holding out the baby

like it is some type of prize. Due to the fact that the baby is creating diegetic sound in

the form of crying, is very scary for the audience. The narrative theory, binary

oppositions can be applied here because of the life vs. death. The baby covered in

blood can be a symbol for her nightmares and as the baby is covered in blood, it

emphasises the mournful death. As the baby is shown the soundtrack builds in tempo

and makes the audiences heart quicken because they are seeing a very disturbing

image here and the atmospherical soundtrack creates the uneasiness. Another close

up is then produced to show the diegetic sound of her screaming and really affects the

audience because the screaming is so loud, it goes on to the next scene which is

complete silence.

2.57-3.17



The loud diegetic scream from the last shot contrasts deeply with the next scene,

which is complete silence. They were joined together by a jump cut also to frighten

the audience at the sudden change of location. So, after the scream the scene quickly

cuts to a close up of the mother as she suddenly opened her eyes. This suggests that

she has just woken up from that nightmare and this is significant because It informs

the audience, that the miscarriage has haunted her enough to the point where her sub

conscience allows it to become apparent in her dreams. The fact that she is not

distressed by this nightmare, may suggest that she has had the dream regularly, asno shock or surprise was conveyed. The dark lighting used in this scene represents

isolation and depression because the protagonist is the only one who is really affected

by what had happened because the baby was a part of her. Throughout the shots

there is no soundtrack, just diegetic sounds maybe to emphasis that this is the

present and there is no need to make this scene eerie because it‟s an emotional

scene. The next shots revolve around the protagonist in the bathroom and a pan shot

is used to show the hero going up to the mirror.

The protagonist slightly lifts up her shirt and a close up shows that there is a scar on

her stomach. This is significant as it informs (u and g theory) of the audience that thebaby will always be a part of her and they will have some type of special connection

and that scar proves it. The protagonist then slides the mirror open and takes a pill.

The loudest noise so far, is the diegetic sound of the sliding mirror and it shows that it

is in the middle of the night as it is dead silent. A jump cut is used after her taking the

pill to the back of her. This is a movement that consists of little subtle shakes as if

someone is walking up behind her and this makes the audience feel tense because it

is as if someone is going to frighten the protagonist. This is the enigma code as the

audience are now in suspense that the protagonist will get hurt maybe. However, this

is known as a fake scare because the next shot conforms (from the protagonist

closing the slide mirror) that no one is there. This fake scare entertains the audience

because they are getting thrills in a movie, which makes them enjoy it because

audiences like to be kept on the edge of their seats. This is especially the case with

psychological horrors/thrillers because that is their whole aim and this little „fake scare‟

has confirmed to the audience that the genre is psychological horror because it plays

on the imagination of the audience to create terror. After this fake scare, which has

fully engaged the audience, a long shot is used to represent the protagonist as being

weak and vulnerable because she is cradling up on the floor and covering her face.This can inform the audience that the affect of the loss of the baby is so powerful that

she is secluding herself from the rest of the world because she is mourning by herself.

3.17-4.21



The next scene starts off with a tracking in shot into a psychiatrists office, where the

main protagonist is seen. The setting outside is set in a very effective way to create

atmosphere. For example, there is use of ambient sound such as traffic and horns

of cars which add to the atmosphere because it adds a degree of realism as it

doesn‟t seem fake and still. There is also the conventional use of snow for horror

films on the ground outside the window representing the cold atmosphere. There

are also diegetic sounds of footsteps crunching on the snow as you see them walk

by, which again adds to the realism and not giving off this „still‟ impression.

Within the office, the protagonist is seen talking to the psychiatrist about the

nightmares and about adopting a child. Both talk very formally to one another

suggesting that they both are very well educated as their pace and tone of speech

is very fluid. The protagonist is shown in the shots of a long shot and close ups. The

long shot represents the protagonist as very confident because of the way she is

sitting, as she is sitting crossed legged and arms folded, suggesting impatience.

Close up is used to show the emotion on the protagonists face and this suggests

that she is not over the effects of the miscarriage and gets a bit emotional as shestarts to stutter and cannot think clearly for an answer. They are discussing

(diegetic dialogue) about maybe adopting. This suggests to the audience that later

on in the narrative they may decide to adopt a child to fill up the void of the lost child

because they want another child present in their lives. But judging from the whole of

the opening sequence and the fact that it is represented as being a psychological

horror, the audience can infer that this will not be an entirely good idea because the

narrative will be filled with blood and despair fm the genre conventions used so far.

4.21-5.00

ORPHAN Textual Analysis

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