Task 1 Task 2 Task 3

Maria Purpose/conventions MES

Jodie Camsam Sound Barthes Theory

Amy Editing Narrative Barthes Theory

Film Details

Genre Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Year 2011

Director Drew Goddard

Main actors Chris Hemsworth

Kristen Connolly

Anna Hutchison

Fran Kraz

Jesse Williams

The teenagers

are getting

ready to go

on some sort

of vacation.

Conventions

1 There is usually a smart/sensible girl.

2 A group of teenagers go to a

retreat/holiday or some sort or place for

them to get away.

3 The teenagers are usually getting up to no

good.

4 There is usually a dumb/self centred slutty

blonde

5 There is usually a really cocky/arrogant man

that believes they know what they are

doing.

6 A new person to the group that has not

known everyone for very long.

Purpos

e

1. To thrill people by making the audience

wonder who the two characters in lab are

and what they are doing.

2. To keep people anticipated to want to

watch more by leaving enigmas.

3. Another purpose could be to introduce the

audience to the

enigmas/characters/themes or genre.

4. The last purpose could be to make the

company money because the more people

that like the opening sequence would lead

to more publicity, hence the reason the

audience would want to watch it in

cinemas which would make the company

more money.

Props

Costume • The costume the characters wear is casual and ordinary.

• In the picture on the left the character is wearing a hoodie and jeans.

• This could suggest that

the character is just a laid back ordinary guy.

• The character is holding a rugby ball.

• Which contributes to characters gender

that most men just like to play with balls.

• The character is just doing what any normal teenager would do.

Setting• The location is in the characters

bedroom.• This adds to the representation of horror

because the opening sequence usually starts off in a home.

• The character is at home and not out on the street which adds to her representation of being sensible.

• By the character being at home this could make it more realistic for the

audience.

Character • The characters look young which

contributes to the representation of

the genre horror.

• The characters add to the

representation of there personality

as there is usually blonde

dumb/slutty character.

• The girl on the right hand comes

across as ordinary teenager that

seems smart & sensible.

• The enigmas in the opening

sequence make you wonder why

the its just two girls & one guy.

The Lighting• The lighting is a mixture between high

key/artificial lighting & natural lighting.• The lighting is white• The colour white connotes innocence,

venerability & purity.• This creates a relaxed and calm tone.• Which relaxes the atmosphere &

audience

• This contributes to the genre because in most horror films they have a natural white light which is usually at the start of movies as things are going fine.

Todorovs

Todorovs theory (there

are 5 stages)

How it links to my opening

sequence

The first stage is the equilibrium.

When the audience see the two characters in the lab everything seems

fine/normal.

The second stage would be the disequilibrium

The women in the lab seems worried as she follows the two men around but they don’t seem to care that much

The third stage would be

recognition of disequilibriumWhen the group of

teenagers are going on vacation and one of the girls want to bring book but her does not allow her.

The attempt to repair the disequilibrium

One of the friends tries to convince the other the vacation will fun and should

be a time to have fun.

The new equilibrium The teenagers decide to pack up there stuff and go.

Camera shots

To clearly see graphic images, creates apprehension

Establishes scene to the audience

To show the setting in which they work

Camera angles

The low angle presents the

lady as being in control

The high angle instantly

portrays this man as vulnerable

and helpless, (which he is, as

later on in the film he gets

killed)

Pan

Zoom

Tilt

Pans across to

display the

area/location

Immediately

Introduces main

character

Creates

anticipation as

the audience

want to discover

where the

camera is going

Sound

Music is playing, that the characters cannot hear, only the audience can hear this there fore it is non - diegetic

Non – diegetic

Music starts of slow then starts to get faster and louder, which matches the vicious images this is volume control

Volume control

Mode of addressThe dialogue of characters seems informal, as there is use of swearing ( suggesting there young adults most likely of lower class)

Sound perspective

The characters voices are faint to demonstrate to the audience that they are further away.

SoundDiegetic sound

The sound of the car screeching, is diegetic as the audience and character can both hear it.

Non-Diegetic

The red title makes a loud crash sound as it appears on the screen, which is non diegetic.

Foley

Foley is used to create the sound of the skateboard rolling on the ground, which is a naturalistic sound effect.

Narrative theoryBarthes – semantic code

Red underwear is very sexy and seductive, Here red has connotations of being sensual

Red is the colour of blood which connotes danger and gore

The red clouds give a feel of aggression and fury

At the start there is bright red blood which is thick

and could symbolise that it is pure and new. The

pace of it is slow which contracts the different

pace of the teenagers as they move around fast. It

slides down the screen portraying that it is going

into something. The blood also has holes in it which

could suggest gun/bullet shots.

It looks like its

about to come

off the screen.This is an example

of the bullet hole.

The build up of the blood shows a gradual insight

into what we should expect and this creates

tension. It looks quite old fashioned with the Greek

drawing, this emphasises something symbolic and

cultural, as well as giving a view what we should

expect from the film.

This is an example

of one of the Greek

drawings.

Just before it cross cuts over to the other scene it

pans further down over the blood, and the lower

you go the more fire you see, this symbolises hell.

The special effects are used on the early beginning

part for the blood and fire, this is because it has to

look dramatic and realistic.

Its brighter orange

portraying fire and

hazard.

The rapid transitions into the typical day at

“work” contradicts the theme of death but

is argued that it creates more tension and

suspense as its not expected. It has an

surprised reaction from the audience as it

pops up at the most random time.

This pops up right after

the scene before.

The sudden shock of “Cabin in the Woods”

frightens the audience as the characters are

having a quiet conversation then it pops up so it

alarms you, this connotes that another shock could

creep up at any time. Also it is really in your face

like you can’t get rid of it.

The red font throughout emphasises danger and

death, also the fact the title is bold is more

hazardous.

When it goes on to the scene of the teenagers the

names of the people who helped produce the film

constantly appear and fade in an unexpected

random way, this could suggest that blood, and

death etc are going to be constantly haunting

them. This is emphasised by the red splats on the

names.

This is an example of

the blood splats on

the font.

The structure of the opening sequence starts with

blood and Egyptian drawings. Its non linear

because it doesn’t start from the beginning until

after the blood part. It has quick transitions when it

changes from one scene to the next. The cross

cutting is unexpected as it happens so quick and is

quite jumpy.

Enigma-This opening creates enigma right at the start when it

has Egyptian paintings in the blood. In addition when it goes

on to the two men at work it makes us as an audience wonder why they are they and who/what they work for.

Action- The codes of behaviour are as if they don’t

care, when he is talking to the lady and he drives off without

finishing the sentence.

Semantic-the characters of the teenagers are normal and

typical as they are getting ready to go on a trip. The location

where they are leaving from seems like a normal city.

Symbolic- the symbolic code could be where the teenagers

are living at the start, there are trees which could symbolise

the forest. The male in the couple is clever whereas the

female seems like a bimbo.

Cultural- the cultural meanings could be the Egyptian

drawings at the start as they seem old fashioned and have a

specific meaning.