Individual Film Research

Joey Carabini, Tom Glasgow and Charlie Smith

Orphan Black uses a black

background with a red substance spilling over the screen, this may be symbolising blood.

The credits appear in simplistic white font in the centre of the screen. The white font stands out on the black background and their framing emphasises their importance.

The main character is visually introduced but nothing is explained. This creates many narrative enigmas, e.g. who is the girl? What is her significance?

This OTS is symbolic as there is no introduction to the setting and nothing revealed about the characters or themes.

Orphan Black (2013)

The Last of Us has a dark background. An

unknown white substance begins to gradually spread across the screen, mirroring the way in which a virus spreads during the film.

The only audio is a diegetic TV/radio broadcast from the film in which a man announces a that the world is in a state of emergency as an unidentified virus is spreading. This is a familiar theme in many zombie horror films.

The credits are displayed off-centre in an inferior manner on the opposite side of the screen to the white substance. This is possibly symbolic of the way in which the characters are desperately attempting to avoid the virus.

Stark contrasts of black and white create alarmingly defiant imagery, connoting unpleasant bleakness.

This OTS is symbolic as it is not clear what is going on and there is no introduction to setting or characters.

The Last of Us (2013)

The Simpsons have used a

familiar OTS but have adapted it for the horror genre to unsettle the regular viewers.

This OTS is done in a very hyperbolic manner, with the conventions of the horror genre exaggerated for comedic effect in order to convey that it is intended to be a comedy horror.

This OTS is non-linear as it switches between characters constantly and follows no apparent time line. However, all characters are introduced, as is the setting.

The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror

Characters are introduced in the form

of old family photographs but without any explanations. This creates many narrative enigmas which add to the fear due to the unknown.

The house is a very typical setting for a horror movie; an old house in a remote area, especially in the darkness.

However, the fact that there is no explanation of it once again creates a narrative enigma.

The audio involves nothing but one monotone, eerie track.

This is once again a symbolic OTS designed to create suspense through narrative enigmas and eerie music.

The Conjuring (2013)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo carries

the motif of black ink throughout the OTS. The ink spills and spreads over every image that appears on screen.

This suggests that the ink is highly significant. However, the reason for this is not revealed, creating a narrative enigma.

Then ink moves across the screen fast and the images are constantly moving. The backing track is in keeping with this as it has a fast tempo and aggressive beat.

The occurrence of fire creates an alarming juxtaposition to the dark background and black ink.

This is another symbolic OTS as it only hints at themes and does not reveal any setting or characters.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Machete uses white, bold geometric

font positioned in the centre. The makes title stand out from its background.

The red and black background is very appropriate as black symbolises negativity and red signalises danger.

The characters are introduced simultaneously with the credits of the actors’ names. This helps attract an audience to a film with famous cast members.

This OTS is also symbolic as there is not detail about the themes, characters or setting. This is designed to entice the audience to discover more.

Machete(2010)

The vast majority of horror films use symbolic

OTS’s. There are multiple reasons for this, the most common being to entice the audience without revealing too. This element of mystery increases the sense of suspense and tension.

Why symbolic?