Textaul Analysis 2

'The Woman In Black' follows a lawyer named Arthur Kipps, played by Daniel Radcliffe, who visits a remote village after his wife's death. He soon realises that the villagers aren't telling him something, as they fear the house that his late client stays in. This house is found to be haunted by a woman, who uses her wrath and need to kill to find what she once lost. This exciting horror was directed by James Watkins and released in the USA on the 3rd February 2012. 'The Woman In Black' is a physiological horror, meaning you never really get to see the antagonist - it's all in the mind. I have decided to look at 'The Woman In Black' as part of my research to creating my own horror/thriller promotional trailer. I hope that by the end of this research I will have a much clearer understanding of what key conventions of a horror film trailer are, what mise-en-scene is effective, and what exactly made this film/ trailer so successful.

One of the first things the audience see, is what looks like a nursery. This is done to set the scene and the overall atmosphere of the film they are trying to promote. One of the first things I noticed was the lighting. Low key lighting is used in order to make a room that is usually seen as innocent and pure, into something dark and cruel. Nurseries are usually visioned as a place for children to play and grow, and the fact that the producers have put an eerie spin on it makes what they are truing to portray, very effective, The use of lighting is an important part of mise-en-scene as it means the audience can use their imagination even further, making what reality thinks to be impossible, into something very possible.  As well as the ghostly low key lighting, back lighting is used as you see it come out of the window in the background. This is used as it means the lighting can project gently onto the rest of the room. Being that their is very little light, it helps to support the low-key atmosphere, creating shadows and shaded furniture. The light shining from outside of the setting of the house also connotes the idea that in the outside world everything is happy and lively. However, the house itself has haunting imprisonment of the woman in black. A candle also gives off little light to give a glow to the room. Candles are usually used, from the idea of medieval times, as it creates the idea of history and vulnerability to the flame.

Another shot, being a close up of a doll, allows the audience to see more detail into the contents of the scene. Porcelain dolls are often used in horror films as they are seen as unusual and scary, as the thought of what these dolls do in the night crosses everyones mind. An innocent doll is given a frightening twist. Examples of films that use this would be 'The Conjuring,' 'Blood Dolls' and 'Dead of Night.' They all use a prop like this to represent the idea of the non-living becoming some-what dangerous to them. 

The messy hair of the doll connotes the idea of disturbance, as most dolls have neat and well brushed hair as they are meant to be played with and cared for by their buyers. The audience see that this doll isn't looked after, and actually looks quite old. The mud and dirt on the doll's face connotes ageing and abandonment. It supports the imagery of this innocent doll being feared rather than loved. Usually a doll in a horror film suggests the idea of an innocent object being possessed by supernatural and inhuman beings, which is all part of scaring the audience.

We see an extreme long shot of a horse and carriage moving from one side of the frame to the other. The set is really important, as it means the audience are able to use their imagination to it's limits. The setting tells the audience context and background to what is happening. In the foreground of the frame their is a large wooden cross stuck in the ground. A lot of films use a cross as it's said to anger demons and bad spirits. Being that the narrative is about a small town haunted by a woman in black, the cross suggests the idea that the towns people are fending off any unwanted visitors - however later on we see that their attempt to do this doesn't quite work how they wanted it to. The background is extremely empty due to the connotation of loneliness and abandonment and mist is used to suggest the idea of the unknown. Due to this part of the trailer, the audience see that this is not set in modern day because of the way in which characters are seen travelling. We get the idea that it is set in the late 18th or 19th century because of how they travel - both giving us a sense of time and place. Another shot shows a huge house. It's anodyne and not looked after which connotes the idea that nobody ever goes to this building, which the audience soon find out, is because of it being haunted. It's stereotypical for horror films to use huge manors like this due to it's rustic and old look to it. Haunted houses are usually due to someone dying a long time ago and wanting revenge for something - this house gives the perfect insight to where the woman in black walks.

We also see our protagonist, Arthur Kipps, in sight of a message on a wall. The message is written in red which is connoted to be blood due to it's dripping messy font. Blood being a conventional element in horror films, this works really well to disturb the audience. On the wall it says 'you could have saved him.' Here, we get the idea that our protagonist is the victim as a result of doing something horrible in his past. The audience get the idea that this is from our antagonist, as it is almost seen as a threat to our main character. The last shot of the trailer shows the antagonist themselves. It shows them very slightly and doesn't reveal too much to the audience, meaning none of the mystery is lost.

The producers don't make this too obvious because they want to scare the audience quickly right at the end of the trailer. This means that this is one of the things they remember about the film because it's at the end, and the audience are able to see what they are going to be in for if they watch the film. The idea of the protagonist having no idea that what the town fears the most is right behind him, sends a chill up the audience's spines. This monster is white faced with big dark eyes which makes them hidden and ghostly.
Now to talk about sound used, and why it was used. Below is the trailer for you to watch before I begin.




TRAILER




At the beginning of the trailer we hear diegetic sound of the wind. This sets the scene to be eerie and bone chilling. The sound of wind is usually used in horror films as it sets the atmosphere to be empty and tension building. The audience then hear the sound of music being played as it focuses on toys and dolls in the room. The sounds used are high pitch and sound like a music box, however it's slowed down to make an innocent tune into something scary and unusual. As the audience watch whats happening, the music gradually gets louder to build suspense. The audience then hear a girl's voice. Being a young girl, it makes the purity of a child stop as she talks about something extremely dark and frightening. She says:

'During afternoon tea, theres a shift in the air. A bone trembling chill, that tells you she's there. There are those who believe the town is cursed, but the house in the marsh is by first the worst. What she wants is unknown, but she always comes back. The spectre of darkness - the woman in black.'

This rhyming prologue works really well to give an insight of what is to happen and what the woman in black is all about. As she says this we see visually what is happening on  screen.

Produced by Faith Starie