Analysis of film sequence – the ring (7:26)
This is my analysis of the short clip shown to us during our
AS lecture, the clip is from a film names “The Ring” directed by Gore Verbinski.
When the film begins the dream work’s well known
introduction animation is shown but this time it is darker and the music is not
the same. The animation has an old VCR style glitch which foreshadows the use
of an old cursed VCR tape used throughout the film.
Scene 0:25~ an outer shot of the house is shown, the house
is apart from others meaning it is not a very densely populated area. (This can
play into the fact that this is a horror film and there is a good chance nobody
would hear them screaming/shouting in their home)
The house is also the only thing focused in the shot and
there seems to be no other source of light around meaning this house could be more
rural and apart from other people.
The front upper window of the house is lit whereas all the
other windows in the house are not thus drawing our attention the room.
Scene 0:38~
The scene then changes to a bedroom where two girls are sat
watching a television.
The two girls are juxtaposed against each other, not only in
costume but also in apparent personality. The girl in dark clothing seems to
have a skeptical and dry sense of humor whereas the girl in the light clothing
seems truly frightened and
One of the girls is
wearing very dark clothing whereas the other is wearing very light clothing –
this could play onto the fact that later on in the scene the character wearing
the very light clothing leads on to be the lead part in the scene.
Throughout this scene the girl in the dark clothing is
always shown with a low amount of lighting whereas the girl in the light clothing
is always against the high amount of lighting, this could also be to create the
dominant character as well as to set the tone of the two characters.
At 3:18 the girls receive a phone call, gore zooms the
camera onto a clock showing exactly 10PM
At 3:50 gore uses a close up shot on the telephone whilst
showing the girls faces. The girls stop in the corridor building suspense before
the girl in dark clothing pushes past the fearful girl dressed in bright
clothing to answer the phone. When she picks up the phone she passes the phone
over slowly building more suspense, the person on the phone is her mother, and
this makes the audience feel calm again.
Gore uses a shot here where he opens the fridge, when the
fridge is closed the girl who was wearing dark clothing has disappeared, later
the fridge opens by itself and a very similar shot is reused, this could
emphasise the disappearance of the girl in dark clothing and the vulnerability
of the girl in light clothing.
At 4:50 the TV comes on with static, this not only builds
suspense but foreshadows the use of the television and video throughout the
film and how unavoidable the outcome is.
When the girl is at the bottom of the stairs a higher camera
angle is used to place her in a vulnerable position.
When she reaches the top of the stairs the camera angle is
lower and brings emphasis to the water on the floor, this water shows the
audience that the video tape is not fake and has real effects on the world
around it.
The water also shows her reflection in the floor, this could
resemble the reflection of another world in the video (this is later explained
in the film).
Conclusion;
Gore’s use of typical horror settings such as a dark
suburban house with nobody evidently within audible distance builds suspense on
its own and prepares the audience for the genre of film.
The delayed use of
props and pauses in acting with faint but eerie sound/ambience causes a lot of
tension which is played off in comedic ways; this builds a fake sense of
security to the audience keeping them unprepared for the terrors that appear
later on in the scene.
.gif)