1000 word analysis on 2 sequences from 'the shining'

1000 word analysis on 2 sequences from 'the shining'


 


The first sequence I chose to analyse is the opening sequence, since at this point we are unaware of any happenings beyond this sequence it’s interesting to see how films such as the shinning set itself up with common conventions native to the horror genre and also establish the means of a narrative.


 The opening sequence shows the families car travelling down twisting mountain roads, focus on the car is limited and the screen space is taken up by the various and vast mountain locations, these extreme longshot establish for us viewers the setting for the film. Before we are even introduced to the characters we can already forecast a somewhat small understanding of the story premises, and that is that the vast mountain ranges are indeed very lonely, it looks so cold and isolated. Isolation is a common reoccurring convention in the horror genre, its purpose in the film is to promote a sense of helplessness that we as an audience fear in our own everyday lives, and in this case a snowy cold lonely mountain range poses a number of possibilities that can only end badly.


 Right off the bat the non-diegetic sound accommodating the opening sequence is sinister, a collaboration of slow tempo trumpets and twanging noises are foreboding, and there is no diegetic sound in this sequence, only the intimidating orchestral score. This as a results suggests that the theme of the film is a horror, the score as a whole releases this eerie feel, and ironically in the absence of diegetic sound the whole experience is daunting, it is as though we are not actually part of the sequence, just a spectator. As an example to reinforce my point when watching this particular sequence without picture, just sound we are left with nothing but a sense of unease. There’s no diegetic sound such as the engine of a car or the calls of birds to tell us we are following a car outside, this in turn provides another common convention of film: a sense of un-control in a situation. Control is a massive part of feeling safe in our own lives, I know I personally like to do things myself as being out of control makes me feel insignificant; such as in this sequence there is a definite sense of distance which is maintained because of the sound.   

 

 The second scene I am choosing to analyse is the scene following Wendy’s accusation to Jack after Danny was found with bruises on his neck, in this scene Jack parades down the corridor towards the ‘golden room’, in which he engages in a conversation with a bartender named Lloyd, who of which is presumed as dead, or a figment of his imagination.

There’s an interesting transition in this scene, of which we start off by seeing a long shot of jack throwing himself down the corridor, at this point he shows emotions we would expect a normal person to show having just been accused of injuring their own child. He then turns to ‘the golden room’ and as soon as he enters through the door his body language changes completely, from angry gestures to a casual waltz through the room. In addition, the lighting in the corridor before was high key, and low key in the golden room. Through this use of mise-en-scene combined with the lighting, this suggests the split personality we suspect in Jack. In my eyes the difference in lighting and mise-en-scene is representative of each side of jack; in the dimly lit golden room as he sits at the bar for a drink (bearing in mind he quit alcohol after injuring Danny once before because of the way he acted under the influence of alcohol) we see the darker and more sinister side to jack, a side we can tie to the delusional slasher persona we expect to see in jack, based on the actions this side of him has already shown. The other side is the high key corridor side, the more down to earth human side to jack, we may only see this side of jack rarely, but in this we can see the distance from Jacks natural personality, thus we witness an increasing distance in himself and a slow decent into madness.

On the topic of mise-en-scene, the way Jack acts seems over enthusiastic, he seems happy and jolly, but there’s something sinister about the way he does it. The character he is talking to is the bartender, Lloyd; it is unclear who this character is and from whence he came, I would say that Lloyd is possibly a figment of Jacks imagination based on his waxy unreal aesthetic and brief responses to Jacks words. There’s also the use of the alcohol in this segment, he talks about how he injured Danny in an accident provoked by alcohol, and he’s given it up ever since, now that he’s is indulging in alcohol it could forecast later unfortunate happenings that include Danny.  In addition to the performance element to the mise-en-scene, the clothing element of it could also suggest something about the darker side of Jack. Lloyd appears in a red suit: red suit jacket, and as a matter of fact Jack is also wearing a red jacket. The reoccurrence of the colour red is convention of horror films, red can be perceived as an indication of danger, blood or a threat, which is extremely convenient given my theory about the 2 sides to Jack as a character at this moment in time. Jack is in fact acting oddly sinister, the tone of the conversation is sinister, and he talks of how he injured his own child as though he’s talking to close friends. As a result I as a member of the audience start to engage in the mind frame of Jack, there’s a lot of Jacks perspective throughout the film despite not seeing it directly through his eyes; prior events and this one all contribute to the development of a natural resentment and state of fear towards jack which further progresses the horror elements of the film.

Group analysis of Haywire *new and improved*

group analysis

'Haywire'

The sequence starts with an eyeline match, showing both the characters perspectives when they look at one another. There's no speech, just glances at on another; it could be implied that the two characters have had a dispute of some kind, we experience a little tension within the car. The shot is taken at eye level as though its through the car windows, thus the shot is slightly blurry, and the lighting is low key; this could be symbolic of the distance between the two characters, their relationship is blurry, not entirely in focus and the lack of distinguishable facial features due to the low key lighting reveals how the mood of the situation may be quite dark. This sequence makes me feel sympathetic to the two characters, I'm left guessing what could have happened and how the relationship could have became distant, as a result the mood of the whole situation is dark and a little daunting, if the characters feel distant, I start to feel distant.





Transitioning to the next shot, we are shown a pieces of a broken mirror, laying on the floor. This could imply how the characters we saw in the previous shot are themselves broken. The broken mirror is the main focus of the shot, in the background there is a body being dragged but it and its surroundings are blurry, the effect this has is that its establishing conflict, such as the dead body in the background shows a physical conflict, and the broken mirror revealing metaphorically the mental conflict. This makes me feel more sympathetic towards the characters, its almost as if the characters cannot see it themselves, instead we see it through their actions and surroundings; in turn this makes the characters more relatable, we all have our own conflicts.

In the next shot, we se the same body that was dragged trough the room, lay in a bath tub with the tap water running, the non-diegetic sound of the guitar cords and the diegetic sound of the water running create a strangely soothing, it seems calm and relaxed, which juxtapose's what the sequence shows entirely: there is a dead body yet i feel relaxed. This shot could show how the female character may also feel relaxed, she can certainly take a shower and do her makeup in a relaxed fashion, which leads me to believe that the killing was almost a relief, before we saw the conflicts both characters had with one another, now the conflicts have somewhat been resolved; the atmosphere is calm and collected, and we are at a peace of mind.

The next sequence shows a low angle tilt showing the character looking in a coat on the floor, to which she finds a mobile phone, transitioning to her POV: a close up of the phones screen as she rings the last number called on the phone. Parallel editing reveals the character on the receiving end of the phone call is sat at a dinner party in a high key lighted area, he then determines who the caller is and moves onto a low key lighted area. This as a result looks rather secretive, he leaves the table to go and speak to the caller in a dark area where he cannot be seen; this makes gives a rather sinister atmosphere and in turn i fell a little intimidated.




The receivers actions in the next shot to me suggests he knows the caller and is probably fully aware of the situation she is in. The conversation reveals that the female character and the male character were in a relationship, the receiver asks "is the divorce final" *pause* " where are you?", to me this looks as though the receiver has concluded that the female character has murdered her partner; to which the female hangs up the call, and for the first time we see the female panic. Again we are introduced to yet more conflict: now the receiver knows about the murder, naturally he is opposed to it making him a threat to the female character which in turn creates physical conflict; and in hanging up the call in what seems to be a panic to me could suggest that she for a brief second contemplated whether it was a right move of a bad one, thus creating  mental conflict



Eyeline match is used as the female character leaves the building she is in to reveal an man across the street, we are unsure of the identity of the man, but its possible that even the character wonders the same. We can see the conflict of her guilty conscience as she follows the man down the street, she even tilts her hat slightly to hide her own identity from the man. Further down the street as she comes to traffic lights, she ignores the red light telling her to stop by crossing the street; this highlights the conflict that the character faces and could also forecast later happenings. If indeed she is suspicious to the man its possible the truth get revealed and she is taken to prison, in which case the red light indicates caution.