HG-Opening Sequence 'Shot-by-Shot' Analysis- Woman in Black

Shot Number	Shot Length	Name of Shot	Mise-en-scene	Sound
1	9 seconds	Medium Close-up	In the shot is an extremely old-fashioned (Victorian era) type of glass cup and saucer set and an anonymous character is serving up tea for two. This connotes that the characters soon to be in the scene are sitting down to have a cup of tea which seemingly a very normal/regular occurrence which constructs verisimilitude.	The sound for this brief opening shot is extremely effective. A long drone is used to create an eerie effect on the audience. Towards the latter stage of the shot, a gradual crescendo is enhanced to build tension.
2	3 seconds	Medium Close-up	In this shot, the audience can see a doll with very thick black eyes. The doll is very conventional of horror as it is associated with death and possession, it also plays on the vulnerability of young girls.   In the shot the audience can see a very small hand appearing to be offering the doll a cup of tea. A very iconic technique used in horror film is giving a doll or a non-human like character human characteristics as it evokes the mood and constructs realism.	In this short shot, there is another layer of sound over the top of the long drone from the first shot. This particular sound is a brief ‘clicky’ noise which sounds like a wind-up childs toy. This is effective as an old-fashioned wind up box is also very conventional due to the unnerving sound it evokes. As well as this, the drones initially used in the first clip are far shorter yet the key for each drone is slightly different creating a peculiar feel.
3	3 seconds	Medium Close-up	This shot is extremely similar to the second shot as it again features a small childlike hand and a spooky doll. Unlike the last doll, the doll in this 3rd shot, looks to be made of china and therefore more delicate and fragile.	In this shot, the sound is exactly the same as the previous. Yet in this clip, the ‘click’ noise which I mentioned in the box above is enhanced to make the audience feel uneasy.
4	5 seconds	Medium Long Shot	The characters in this clip are finally unveiled. As depicted from the opening shots, the characters are 3 young girls. In this shot, there is evidence of character blocking as the audience can see 3 young girls whom are each playing with very eerie looking dolls and grooming them. The 3 girls are each wearing very old-fashioned Victorian time dresses connoting that this is not set in a modern era.	In this particular shot, the crescendo of the drone is enhanced as all the layers are starting to come together connoting that something is soon to happen. There is also another short sound introduced into the clip which sounds as if it has been played on the xylophone, a short 1-2 second mysterious sound.
5	2 seconds	Medium Close-up	This shot shows one of the young girls grooming one of the dolls and brushing its hair as if it is a real-life character, this adds to the sense of uneasiness the audience can feel.	In this shot the ‘clicky’ noise is enhanced and the   volume has increased creating suspense.
6	2 seconds	Close-up	This shot features a brief close-up of the dolls body and one of the young girls firmly pressing its stomach.	Same sound as shot 5.
7	4 seconds	Midshot/Two shot	This features two of the young girls whom both wear extremely happy expressions on their faces. The shot has a rather slow-motion type feel to it.	The shot features the same sound as the last two shots, yet, it is apparent that the sound volume is increasing.
8	3 seconds	Medium close-up	This is a shot of the other girl reacting to the two girls previous. She is also very joyful as evidently she is playing with her friends.	No sound change from shot 7.
9	2 seconds	Mid-shot	This shot shows the girl from shot 8 placing the cup onto the saucer in front of one of the dolls.	The sound fades out in this shot and comes to a brief silence before shot 10.
10	7 seconds	Extreme Long-shot	This shot shows the whole entire room that the girls are playing in. It also connotes possession as at the same time all 3 girls look up towards and focus on the top right hand corner of the room.	The sound in this shot changes, instead of the ‘clicky’ noise, a different prolonged drone is introduced. This particular sound sounds as if it has been played by a trumpet/trombone. Therefore, there is evidence of an orchestral score.
11	5 seconds	Mid-shot	In this shot, the audience can see the 3 girls all looking towards the other end of the room towards the window.	Same as shot 10.
12	3 seconds	Longshot->Mid-shot/ A zoom	In this shot, it features a zoom towards the window, it also seems like the shot is from one of the girls’ perspectives as they all look towards the window prior to this shot.	The orchestral score is enhanced/increased in volume in this shot.
13	2 seconds	Mid-shot/Tilt up	This shot shows the 3 girls about to stand up and look towards the window.	No sound change from shot 12.
14	1 second	Close-up/Tilt up	Close-up of two of the girls getting up and looking at the window.	Long drone re-introduced.
15	1 second	Close-up	Close-up of one of the girls’ old-fashioned black heeled boots.	Long drone prolonged.
16	1 second	Close-up	Close-up of the girls dress
17	1 second	Close-up/Worms-eye View	Close-up worms-eye view of the girl dropping the cup onto the floor.	Long drone continued with the diegetic sound of the cup smashing on the floor.
18	6 seconds	Montage of close-up worms-eye view shots	This part of the scene is a montage of shots of the girls stepping on the cup and saucers.	Diegetic sound of each of the cups smashing.
19	6 seconds	Medium Longshot->Close-up/Zoom in	This shot features all 3 girls visibly in a line of 3 walking step-by-step towards the camera with eyes fixed on the window.	The several layers of sound throughout the clip are all re-introduced including the drones to create a panicky effect.
20	4 seconds	Medium Longshot	This shot is taken from behind the girls as they walk towards the window, ironically, there are 3 sets of handle and window panels.	Same sound as shot 19.
21	4 seconds	Extreme Close-up	ECU of the girl’s (furthest to the left) hand twisting the handle.	Creaky noise on top of the layers of sound as the girl opens the window.
22	13 seconds	Long-shot	This shot is rather similar to shot 20, as it is again taken from behind the girls, yet, this time the girls are seen jumping out of the window as if something/someone is telling them to, towards the end of this shot is starts to zoom out and away from the window	There is extra-diegetic sound that features at the end of this particular scene (as we can hear a voice but cannot see who it is coming from). The voice screams “Ah! My Babies!” connoting that it is the mother of the children discovering that they have fallen from the window.
23	3 seconds	Close-up	This shot features a doll staring, the audience can see the extremely blue eyes and the pale face, used to create a spooky effect on the audience. The blue eyes have obtrusively been enhanced in post-production.	In this shot, the end of the dialogue from it is supposed is the mother is heard.
24	5 seconds	Longshot	This shot shows the whole entire room that the girls were playing in and also a dark figure with a black clothing and wedding veil in the top right hand corner.	No sound.

Shot 1:
In the shot is an extremely old-fashioned (Victorian era) type of glass cup and saucer set and an anonymous character is serving up tea for two. This connotes that the characters soon to be in the scene are sitting down to have a cup of tea which seemingly a very normal/regular occurrence which constructs verisimilitude.



Shot 2: 
The characters in this clip are finally unveiled. As depicted from the opening shots, the characters are 3 young girls. In this shot, there is evidence of character blocking as the audience can see 3 young girls whom are each playing with very eerie looking dolls and grooming them. The 3 girls are each wearing very old-fashioned Victorian time dresses connoting that this is not set in a modern era.



Shot 3:
This shot shows the whole entire room that the girls are playing in. It also connotes possession as at the same time all 3 girls look up towards and focus on the top right hand corner of the room.

Shot 4: 
In this shot, the audience can see the 3 girls all looking towards the other end of the room towards the window.

Shot 5: 
This shot is taken from behind the girls as they walk towards the window, ironically, there are 3 sets of handle and window panels.

Shot 6: This shot shows the whole entire room that the girls were playing in and also a dark figure with a black clothing and wedding veil in the top right hand corner. The audience cannot see this figure from the front and her identity is unknown. Yet, due to the title name 'The Woman in Black'..the audience can infer that this is the antagonist in the film.