Link to opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQLxrTokX -w

In 1971, family man Roger Perron and his wife Carolyn move to an old farmhouse in Rhode Island with their daughters Andrea, Nancy, Christine, Cindy and April. The family finds a hidden basement which the entrance is locked with planks. Soon they are haunted by noises and ghosts and Carolyn meets the famous paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren. They visit the house and Lorraine and Ed feel that the house is possessed by a fiend. Their further investigation shows that a witch has sacrificed her seven-day baby to Satan and has possessed other mothers that lived in the real estate to kill their children. Lorraine and Ed bring his friends Drew and Brad to help them to collect evidences to convince the Church that it is necessary an exorcism to save The Perron family from evil.

Basic Plot

This opening begins immediately with tense music (strings/violins trilling around a minor chord) which grabs the viewer’s attention and starts the tension rising. This music is played at a loud tempo and as it is a very harsh sound, it introduces the viewer to the idea that this film is a horror.

In addition to the music, are horror style versions of the classic ‘Warner Brother’ logo and ‘New Line Cinema’ logo. This adds to the proof that the genre of this film is a horror.

0:00 – 0:17

The music has faded at the end of the last section, leaving nothing but silence and a black screen. After a few seconds we can hear voices but the owner of the voices aren’t visible (due to the black screen). This creates a rising tension for the viewer as their fear of the unknown is played with.

The voice then goes on to say ‘when you hear it, you’re going to think we’re insane.’ This acknowledgement of self dis-belief runs in most horror films and is very stereotypical. The fact that the director decided to use this line in the very beginning of the opening, strongly suggests that the events in the film will affect the characters greatly.

A male voice follows close behind the female, reassuring her and encouraging her to tell her story. The tone in which he says it, communicates to me that he is very knowledgeable in this particular field of work.

0:18 – 0:24

The shot lasts for an entire 20 seconds and shows a slow zoom out. At first, the right side of the doll’s face is visible, (This appears after a slide ‘click’) but as the shot progresses, the view moves further right whilst still zooming out, causing the doll to remain unseen. This has been done because it makes the viewer question as to what the nature of this doll is.

The woman is talking in the background, describing events which we know are based around this doll. This acknowledgment is helped by the stereotypical moving limbs and places as well as being joined by the accusation that it could be family member or friend playing a prank on them. These are all plot lines which we associate strongly with possession. The audience will now know (if they didn’t before) that this will be a horror about a possession of some sorts.

0:25 – 0:45

This is a dialogue scene where we see the woman for the first time. There is also an additional person who joins in now that we can visually distinguish between the two females. They are both young and seem respectable which notions to the audience how normal they are. It may also portray them as vulnerable due to their youth and gender.

The lighting is very dark, creating shadows in the background and on the characters which creates a sense of mystery. The boy on the far right doesn’t talk at all which indicates how much this ordeal has affected them as a group. We never see the people who they are talking to in this section although we do hear them, causing these 3 young people to be the immediate focus. The reason for this may be to again, create suspense and mystery for the unknown. This section has only a mid shot, a close up shot and a zoom in based around the victims which keeps the investigators appearance as a secret.

0:46 – 1:20

Within this very short section, the viewer is able to see the entire doll for the first time in a slight zoom in shot. It is unclear as to whether this is a memory or whether the doll is in the same room as them. The doll is wearing very dull clothes with an old style doll face which immediately communicates the age that this doll must be. She is the focus in this shot due to how light she is compared to the darker seat around her and the very dark background.

This shot switches to a close up of the 2 of the victims from a side on point of view. This makes their faces even darker which foreshadows the coming event/story being even darker. There is also the faint sound of a violin coming down a minor scale, getting gradually louder until by the time she says ‘things got worse’, this sound is easily heard and seems to be timed exactly with her dialogue. This is for suspense.

1:21 – 1:25

This section goes into a flashback in order to break up the story being told. There is no fancy blurs or zooms to show that is a flashback but the dialogue ‘things got worse’ followed by their laughing shows immediately that this is what it is. The first thing we see is darkness then light when the women walk in. Straight after this though is silence as they are almost absorbed by the darkness, showing their mood change.

The note ‘Miss Me?’ that they pick up is written in red crayon by what looks like a child. This tells the viewer that the possessed doll has very child like tendencies as well as being sinister. A very faint sound starts to create a tense atmosphere as the shot switches to a long, handheld shot of the doll before going back to silence. When it goes back to the women, they start to move forward with the camera following from the front at a steady angle. When it goes back to the doll though, the shot becomes shaky which shows confusion that the characters are feeling as well as unease for the viewer.

1:26 – 1:45

Present time dialogue is now heard over the flashback, explaining exactly what happened as the memory is played. The close up shot of the doll is shaking (suggesting a handheld shot) and in full light, making the doll the focus against the black background. This shot also reflects how shaken the women are and how unnerving the events had become. It could also symbolise the power within the doll, making even the strongest of things, shake with fear.

When the blond woman walks into the room next to her, her face is lit up from below, creating a scary view which is exemplified by the high pitch sound in the background. A handheld shot is used again to show the room but this shot differentiates from before as it is also a point of view shot. The shakiness represents her trembling in fear as she sees the strange markings on the wall which is written in red (either blood or a symbol of blood). The flashing light which is seen for a couple of seconds is again, stereotypical of a horror scene due to the nature of possessions and ghosts affecting everything around them.

1:46 – 2:02

This section begins immediately with clashing piano keys which correspond with images of damaged pictures on screen. This sound may provide a slight scare for the viewer due to the harshness of it compared to the quiet ambience before. The harsh shrieking of the violins in the background rises as the character emotions become more erratic and scared. The following shots switch between the blond woman and writing on the wall in quick succession using shots which purposely aren’t clear. This creates more confusion and tells the viewer how panicked she is by what she is seeing.

The music drops to a quieter tempo as the rolling of a ball is heard. This change may either foreshadow a change in emotions or may be a promise of a jump scare. With the zoom in though and the sound of deep breaths in the background, the viewer comes to acknowledge that this is a change in emotions as they become even more frightened. The gradual tempo change states this as well.

2:03 – 2:24

This section shows the desperate actions of putting the possessed doll in the bin in an attempt to rid themselves of it. Music is now returned as ambience with the brass family. The harshness represents desperation this time. The flat is still dark so when the setting changes to outside, the light covers the doll and the surroundings completely. Nevertheless, the woman who snapped, still can’t be seen properly as this shot is a bird’s eye view shot. This keeps the focus on the doll and may also represent the thought that they can never get away from it.

During this, the music is gradually rising to a crescendo but after she closes the bin with a clang, it stops. Fading quickly to silence. This shows the belief that the problem was over but the black screen that follows states differently as there is a time skip to later that night.

2:25 – 2:38

This section begins with the brunette woman crying in bed as a knocking echoes around their flat. The light here is blue and blue represents the cold, sadness or depression which is the effect that this doll is having on their lives. The darkness which follows and the echoing hits on door are stark against the silence of the night. The long shot which shows both women coming out of their rooms, is mostly taken up by the blackness which is the hallway.

When the woman steps out and picks up the note, the use of the handheld camera is used again. This is for confusion again and In order to portray the character emotions. The tense held note of the music is interrupted by the knocking, louder now. This is a jump scare for the viewer and sets them on edge. This braces them for when the blonde woman opens the door. During this shot, she looks towards the brunette woman and back multiple times. This shot is half in light and half in dark so when the blonde woman stretches to open the door, she seems consumed by the dark which allows the viewer to foreshadow the turn on events which is inevitable.

2:39 – 3:42

The shot of the doll begins with a close up but zooms out very slowly which represents how slowly this doll has consumed the lives of the people who lived with it. The setting then switches back to the present with a very brief graphic match as it switches to a close up of the brunette woman in the place of the doll. We then see the man who has been talking for the first time.

It is a side shot but the light allows for his face to be seen although he seems bleached out by the window behind him. The camera then moves around him slightly before there is the introduction of his partner. A woman who seems very respectable due to her tidy clothes and make up. The camera seems to be constantly moving in this section which suggests that these people don’t like too much attention or focus on them. It could also suggest how they like to keep themselves to themselves unless it is to help others (as is shown in this entire opening). We now know that the doll is in the same room as them due to the same shot of it in the chair being shown with the addition of a brief view of his hand as well. This shot is a slight low angle shot which represents how the doll is dominant in the situation that has been explained. Focus and blur is used in the next view of them in order to keep the focus on whoever is talking whilst making them as equally important as the other.

3:43 – 4:21

This is the final section of this opening scene and starts with a close up of the brunette’s face. She doesn’t do anything which may show how powerless she is in regards to what the man is describing. The lighting within this section is generally brighter, which helps brighten the atmosphere in this opening. It also reflects on the victims feelings of hope as they hear that they are not crazy but that there was actually something dreadfully wrong.

When the investigators break the news about the demons true intentions (wanting to possess the victims) there is a quick sound of ambience music. This increases in volume then dips again, marking this moment effectively to the viewer. A close up of the doll’s face ends the opening sequence as the opening title music begins. This tells the viewer that what they are about to see is strongly related to this beginning account and starts the viewer guessing as to what will happen (if they don’t know already).

4:22 – 4:46

This opening sequence uses lighting, camera shots, sound/music and character reactions/expressions in order to communicate the genre, the basic storyline, the foreshadowing of events and simply allows the viewer to make their judgement on the film.

The opening sequence of a film is the first impression and determines whether the viewer will be intrigued or not. The basis of a good opening is one which creates good expectations from the viewer and one which takes into account the editing applied, the cinematography, the mise-en-scene, sound and perhaps even any titles or credits.

It is the first thing that a viewer sees, so in regards to ‘The Conjuring’, the viewer would be able to tell that the storyline follows a possession of some sort, that this was a horror due to the dark colour scheme and that this film will contain plenty of jump scares. If this appeals to the viewer then they will watch on happily but if it isn’t then at least they can prepare themselves for what is to come.

Recap