The Woman in Black- Opening Sequence

PROPS One of the main props seen in this scene is the ceramic dolls. The appearance of the dolls itself is daunting and slightly disturbing, giving audience a hint of the films horror/thriller genre. The ceramic dolls in a way could be representing the three young girls in this scene whom are playing with them, representing their youth and innocence but also because of the fact that they are ceramic means they are extremely delicate and vulnerable; there is a clear link made between the dolls and the three girls through their appearance i.e. the clothes and the hair. What interestingly happens next is one of the girls steps on one of the heads of the ceramic dolls making it shatter, moments before she jumps out of to the window to her death. It is as if the shattering of the dolls foretells the girl’s fates.

Sound Sound plays a major part in this opening. The scene opens up with the sound of quiet and slow soundtrack of what seems like a a musical box, whilst the girls are playing. However, right from the start it sounds eerie, hinting that something unpleasant will occur in a matter of moment. The music builds up as the girls look at the unknown figure, going louder and picking up speed, suddenly showing the significance of the figure managing to change the mood form the peaceful play to menacing. There are no sound effects or dialogue exchange at the begging, again pointing out that clearly something is odd about all of this. For the second part of the sequence the sound effects of the toys breaking comes in. After the girls jump out of the window there is a few seconds of silence before a sound of a scream is heard. This sort of snaps the viewer back into reality and makes them aware of what just happened without needing to show. It then goes back to silence showing us slight indication of the figure the girls last saw.

COSTUMES Straight away the audience is made aware of the time era the movie is set in due to the old fashioned style of clothes. The dresses that the girls are wearing are very girly and doll like (just like the dolls in the room) to purposely make the audience aware that they are very young but also innocent. The shot after the girls see someone the audience is showed a jet black shoes contrasting to the rest of the outfit, making them seem out of place, suggesting to the audience that something is not right here, adding certain mystery.

CHARACTERS At first the girls’ body language and facial expressions seems fairly relaxed as they together with their dolls, symbolising normality. However, in the instance they see someone (not revealed to the audience), their previously happy expressions change to simply blank expression, showing that what the girls had seen has affected them. Their movement towards the window becomes motionless, (as they open the window the movement is almost like synchronized) as if they are not in control of their own movement, as they walk towards it they do not even bother avoiding stepping on their precious dolls, again showing something is abnormal in this scene.

SETTING/LOCATION The whole of the opening scene is set in what seems like an old playroom in the attic. The room looks pretty average, but despite the rooms function, the room looks untidy and gloomy, cluttered with old objects. This links to the thriller genre convention of making the ordinary, unordinary. The colour of the room seems washed out, and the lighting in the scene is dull and vintage.