Nine-Frame Analysis

This is a Nine-Frame Analysis of the Opening Sequence of The Women in Black. The Women in Black is one of the two films that inspired the story-line of my Film Opening.

SHOT 1: This shot  represents their childhood and what they did in their childhood, which further portrays their innocence. Later on in the Film Opening they step on these toys and crush them, therefore in the process destroying their childhood before their death.

SHOT 2:  This shot also portrays that they are only young children playing, so therefore the audience may sympathise with them and be anxious for the children as because it is a horror, they know something bad is going to happen to them because of the normality that is being shown, which is another convention of Horror film.

SHOT 3: This is the first shot that shows all three children. They look young, so this increases their vulnerability and innocence. It also makes the audience feels sorry for them as they seem oblivious to what is going to happen to them. 

SHOT 4: This shot again shows the innocence of children in horror films. This portrays that they do not deserve to be killed and make the audience sympathise with them. This idea will be shown in my own Film Opening to emphasise the fact that children in horror films are usually shown to be innocent and care-free.

SHOT 5: Here the two girls smiling faces portrays that they have no idea of what horrors are going to happen to them. It also shows that there is happiness even when their young lives are about to become no more due to a ghost seeking revenge.

SHOT 6: This shot also portrays happiness and the normality of the children's lives. This normality is playing which all children do. However, the sight of the ghost will destroy this happy scene and force it to become dark and miserable.

SHOT 7: This shot shows the three girls looking up to the camera which represents the ghost (which the audience does not know what they are looking at). As they do this, the mood and atmosphere of the film opening changes from happy to tense and mysterious, which is also shown through the more serious expressions on the girls faces.

SHOT 8: Here it portrays the three girls going towards the window, on whatever they have seen orders, to open it to jump. This sets the scene of the movies dark and murderous tone due to the loss of innocence.This also makes the audience more tense and horrified of the suicide that the children have no idea is happening to them.

SHOT 9: This shot is the last shot of the sequence and portrays an over-the-shoulder shot of the woman in black looking at the three windows the girls have jumped out of. This shows that she has not completed her revenge and also makes the audience more scared of what she is going to do next and how horrific the death is of her next victim.