This film also starts of with the production companies which also suggests it's a high budget film.
The opening is of old pictures from the past of people looking very serious and there are cuts in between this of what looks like operating equipment, and we also see something dripping this creates enigma as we don't what it is but we assume it may be something from the past. From this we know that the film is horror as things from the past almost connote evil.
A bit in to the opening we realise the pictures are of people at a funeral and they are next to the body. Jump cuts have been used to do a close up of the dead body, this jumps the audience so straight away it unsettles the audience. We also see in between the images someone doing an operation which involves blood, however we don't fully see it which add mysteriousness.
Also by intercutting the images and the operation utensils is implies that they are somehow linked.
The music is a piano playing which makes it seem odd as it doesn't sound that sad but it does sound creepy and also sounds like diegetic sound making the audience believe it is happening now. However we also start to hear someone screaming as if they are in pain, this adds confusion to the audience as we have clues leading up to what may actually happen.
They have used techniques such as flickering to show the pictures which indicates horror genre, this may also suggest ghosts and add to the title 'haunting'.
The music fades out and we hear a dripping sound and see extreme close ups of the blood but we still don't know what it is from (we can only guess).
The screen goes black and the title fades out and in again straight away. Then a sentence saying "Based on a true story" appears and stays for a few seconds, this is done to make the audience more scared but intrigued to watch the film.
This opening sequence is effective as it leaves the audience guessing and we assume that are questions will be answered later on in the film.
By using no dialogue it makes the film seem more creepy.
Literally as soon as the opening of the film starts, which goes straight into the film rather than starting with credits, we know that it is a horror film. This is due to the mis en scen and the music. The music that is playing at the beginning is very dark and eerie. Because the music sounds like a lullaby but slowed down it adds to the conventions of it being a horror. What adds to that is what we are first shown which are old children tea sets, and the emphasise being added to the clinking of the cups.
By just being shown the hands of (what we assume are) children's hands and the heads of old dolls, we can guess as an audience that something bad is going to happen and it will be a key bit for the film.
At 0.17 the camera zooms out so that we can see the three little girls playing. When the camera does this it enables us to see the mis en scene properly. The lighting is very low and makes the room look one colour. We are also able to see more of toys, in the room we see broken arms and legs of dolls, by doing this it adds suspense to the audience as we are unsure of what is about to happen.
The camera then does close up shots of the girls playing with the dolls. This has purposely been done, as the dolls from the olden days are seen as more creepy looking compared to the dolls now a days.
We see the girls smiling and laughing, which contrasts to the dark mis en scene. However, we don't hear the diegetic sound of the girls laughing as there is non-diegetic music still being played.
The music really helps set the tone for the film as it is very slow and you can tell that something bad is about to happen.
The music starts to become louder at 0:38, this is when the girls stop what they are doing and all turn around at the same time. When they turn around its as if they are looking at something right next to the audiences eye, but we are unable to see it this creates a lot of suspense for the people watching as we are so close to it.
A jump cut is used to go closer to the girls, but when it cuts to them at the same time they turn their head to something else. By them turning around at the same time it suggests to the audience that they are being manipulated by something, but we don't know what.
The same music is still being played but we can hear more bells. I think this really adds to the opening sequence as its the same level throughout which means you don't know when something jumpy is about to happen, this is a technique used to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
We are shown the girls standing up (again simultaneously). We are shown certain bits of them when they are doing this. For example we see a close up of a hand dropping a cup. Jump cuts are used to travel down the body to the hand and then when the cup smashes, a cut is used to go to the feet. Close ups are used to show them standing on things and the objects smashing. I think this has been done to show that there is something controlling them and that they are destroying things they were just playing with caringly.
The girls walk toward the camera, which looks like they are walking towards the audience. By not making eye contact it draws the audience in more because you want to know what they are looking at.
There is an extreme close up of one of the girls opening the window, and again there is an echo when the window is opened. The girls jump out almost naturally which shocks the audience, what also makes us more tense is the music as it finally changes- it becomes more louder like a bang is about to happen but then all of a sudden stops.
The ending is very effective as the camera zooms out from the window, the music has also stopped so it is completely silent but then we hear a women scream. When she screams "My babies", the audience put together what we have just seen to understand what has just happened. It ends very well, as a jump cut is used to do close up of one of dolls. This links to the beginning of the sequence when we first saw the dolls, however this time it was more effective as the doll was full screen and had big eyes. It then ended on a jump cut to a long shot of the room, enabling us to see the whole room. This implies to us that this is important to the film.
The use of jump cuts used in the opening sequence helped established that the film is a horror film, as it was fast and sudden. The music also helped establish this.
We know straight away that the film is a high budget film as we see a production company that is recognisable. This instantly would engage the audience.
After the production companies the music begins quietly and then all of a sudden becomes louder, this indicates to us that this film is a thriller.
The credits are shown before the film begins. The font of the credits suggest that the film is for a mature audience. It also suggests that the rest of the film will startle you a lot.
We know what genre it is because in the opening when the names are shown the music is quite but then all of a sudden glass smashes as an object has been thrown. The objects all connote danger and death. The objects include a knife covered in blood, objects on fire and broken objects. From this is suggests that the film included a lot of blood and gore.
The way the credits have been done are so that there is a couple of seconds of screen time for the names of the actors/actresses etc and then they have the loud music and smashing of glass. This also emphasises how the film may be, e.g there is a build up and then something big happens.
As the music has a fast beat we know that this film is a thriller as it suggests that the film is fast paced and there is something constantly happening. We also know it's a thriller because of the colours which are mainly red and black, as these are the conventions mainly used throughout horror and thriller films
There have been a lot of jump cuts used to cut between different objects being destroyed. This again indicates that the film is fast paced and that there is a lot of things happening at once.
The shot of the candle being blown out without any music on in the background connotes that the film will be very mysterious.
We are shown what looks like a postcard which is old this may suggest that we are going into a certain point in time to make us understand the film. At the beginning the film is in black and white, we are shown at shot of the setting which does not look very appealing. There is diegetic sound of the roads. There is a close up shot of feet of someone getting out of the car; this creates suspense as we are not shown who the person is yet. This implies that this may be a main character to the film.
When the man enters the building the camera is shot through a broken window this is done so the audience is able to see where they are and the atmosphere of it, also so that we see the man entering.
There is a soundbridge used as we cannot see the person speaking only hear him. The man who is speaking has light shining on him shows that the main focus is on him. The man has an echo to his voice which suggests that there aren’t many people in this place. They are in a big empty place, where there are birds flying around, and it looks very dusty-there is a lot of bright light coming through the windows and ceilings which connotes that there isn’t much life in there.
The actors are wearing black clothes that make them look like they are at a funeral this enhances the idea that where they are has no life. The costumes they are wearing are not clothes for poor people this implies that they are wealthy and may have a purpose or connection to this building.
There are ghost sounds in the background which also relates to the theme of death. The people have dark lighting on them which could suggest something bad happened to them (loss).
When shown the chandelier the music played almost sounds like angels singing, this highlights importance of the object. When it is first unveiled the music all of a sudden becomes very loud, almost makes the audience shocked and want to know more about it.
The camera goes around the room to show the facial expressions of the actors which enhances the idea that the chandelier is significant. When the chandelier is brought up we see everything come to life, everything turns into colour and we see a contrast from before.
There are bright colours used such as reds and gold’s which connotes that where they are is quite wealthy, this also links to the people at the beginning as they looked wealthy which suggests that something bad happened to them.
There is also up beat music and we see people dancing around. There is a shot of the outside again; this is done to show the difference between now and before.
Everyone in the shot is in costumes and is full of joy. The props we see are very dramatic and over the top, looks a bit like a circus. We can clearly see the difference between what it looked like at the beginning with low key lighting with all the shadows to now with high key lighting emphasising the excitement and busyness of the film.
