FC: Technical Analysis - The Woman in Black (Watkins 2012)

What did the opening show me?

• The camera was still for the majority of the shots and in the ones that moved it was very slow. This reflected the slow sombre pace of the footage. the slow cutting pace also shows that tension and horror can still be captured in a more slow paced sequence.
• None of the shots featured the protagonists, this created a sense of suspense and makes the audience wonder who or what makes the three children jump out of the window for no apparent reason.
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Camera	Duration	Mise-en-scene	Sound
MCU	0-11	Daniel Radcliffe trying to make the film sound good. Also he describes it as “my” new film. #diva.	“Expelliarmus”
Establishing shot Close up of a tea pot pretending to pour tea into two cups and then being set down	11-22	The lighting is dull, the cups and table are very small, they have birds on them to show it’s a child’s play set.	Eerie music from the start accompanied by the loud diegetic noise of the tea ornaments chinking together. I like tea.
ECU of a dolls face as a small hand pretends to make it drink tea	22-25	The doll looks handmade and has large dark eyes which give it a scary look. The hand is small and you can tell that it is a child’s.	A new instrument Is introduced, the high pitched qualities add to the already eerie effect the music is giving. This is non-Diegetic.
Another ECU of a different doll with the same thing happening.	25-29	The second doll is more detailed facially and is wearing a red flowered shirt.	Same as above box.
A medium shot of the three girls who are playing with the dolls.	29-33	The rooms lighting is quite low key, the lack of lights shows that it isn’t set in modern day. The three young girl’s Victorian style dresses also show this. There facial expressions look normal; it’s just a standard day in playing with the dolls.	The music is the same, however the audience are lead to believe that nothing is wrong so there is juxtaposition with the gloomy music and happy scene.
Dolls face close up.	33-35	Shallow focus, doll is Victorian styled and	Continuation of music.
Close up of another doll.	35-38	The doll is being tucked into a small toy bed.	More music.
Mid shot at eye height	38-40	Two girls pretending to pour tea. There smiles show that they are having a great time.	More music
mid shot	40-42	The third girl smiles back. Lack of verbal communication is strange because as of yet all the communication has been non-verbal	Bit more music
A mid shot from a low angle which shows the toys.	42-44	Girls bottom halves and hands can be seen playing with the toys.	Same tunes still.
A much higher angle shot which shows the whole room. Adults eye height.	44-52	The tea party comes to an abrupt halt as all the girls become fixated by something and stare at it.	Continued music but at a more intense volume.
Low angle mid shot	52-56	They all turn to look at the other side of the room. It’s a bit like synchronised dance except much slower and sitting down.
Slow zoom with mid shot	56-58	The lighting inside is dim you can only really see a grey sky out the window.	Bit of a bass drum as the window comes into shot. Interesting.
Low angle, mid shot.	58-1:00	Three girls rise in sync with each other.	Music continues.
Low angle, mid shot.	1:00-1:01	Close up of two of the girls getting up.	Music is slightly louder. Tension is building.
Close up of feet from a low angle.	1:01-1:02	The feet are dressed in old leather shoes	Same tunes still.
Close up from a low angle of cup in hand.	1:02-1:05	The cup is dropped and smashes on the floor.	Continued music.
Feet walking from a low angle.	1:05-1:11	The feet stride across the floor smashing cups and dolls. Reeking absolute havoc.	Still the same beats but with the noise of the feet treading on china.
Tracking backwards.	1:12-1:16	The three girls walk towards the window at the same time.	Music continues
Medium longshot.	1:16-1:20	They step onto the window ledge and reach for the three separate handles.	Music continues.
Close up on a girl’s hand.	1:20-1:24	The hand grasps the handle and pushes the window wide open.	Music continues.
Medium longshot	1:24-1:36	The three girls jump out of the window in unison as if they have been possessed.	The music gets to its loudest points when they jump and then a woman’s scream can be heard.
Close up on doll	1:36-1:40	The dolls plain face is shown.	The woman screaming can be heard saying “my babies” in a reasonably distressed tone.
Long shot tracking.	1:40-1:43	Empty room shown.	Quiet music returns