The genre of the title sequence
is horror. I can tell this because of the editing techniques that are used and
main character ‘Carrie’ portrayal. Her costume and makeup also are different to
the rest of the characters in the sequence. This all is included in
Mise-en-scène. The age rating is 15 because there are not many unpleasant
images or sequences that are shown, however being a horror film there will be
some present but not to a large extent. The title sequence masks the true
motives behind the plot of the film, but through what is shown about the main
character you can get an understanding of it. The main character is portrayed
as a shy girl cast out by her peers. She is an isolated school girl who is quiet and not very
lively. She keeps to herself and does not get involved with activities. Through
this it makes the viewer want to learn more about Carrie to figure out why she
is isolated and what will happen to her next.
The title of the film ‘Carrie’
is first shown at 0.10 seconds. This is a large size and on a black screen. It
is in a blood red colour which starts to rise in blobs of blood. It stays on
screen for 0.9 seconds because it is the main title and used to make the viewer
start to feel a bit scared and aware that there is more to the film than there first
appears because of a lot of blood and gore. Then at 0.21 seconds the main actor
‘Chloë Grace Moretz’ is shown. At 0.28 seconds the second actor/actress is
shown and this continues to 0.33, 0.38, 0.42, 0.47 and 0.53 time slots. Then at
0.59 the person who does the casting is shown, visual effects supervisor at
1.02, costume designer at 1.07, music supervisor at 1.10, music creator at
1.14, editors at 1.17, production designer at 1.22, director of photography at
1.25, executive producer at 1.29, producer at 1.36, the fact it is based on a
novel at 1.40, screen players at 1.44 and director at 1.55. All the text that
appears on screen is small enough not to attract too much attention from the
action that is being shown and is also in the blood red colour like the title.
The editing technique used is fade in and fade out. All this appears on screen
because they are the most important people that were involved with the film.
The editing is slow to build up the atmosphere’s tension.
At the start of the film a
sound mix of diegetic and non-diegetic sound is used. The diegetic sound is a
baby crying. The non-diegetic sound is a smooth violin in the background. The
diegetic sound then soon changes into a louder and creepier sound and finishes
with a low drum hit. Then a creepy piano/violin piece begins which is used as a
sound bridge to connect the next scene, along with diegetic background noise of
people talking and laughing. This starts at 0.18 seconds and the background
noise stops at 0.44 seconds whereas the non-diegetic sound stays through the
whole sequence. Two seconds later the teacher’s voice is heard telling two
pupils to hurry up which is diegetic. At 0.58 a whistle is blown and the
teachers tell the female students to put their caps on and get into the water
before hearing a splash which is also diegetic. Then she tells two more
students to hurry up before we hear the movement of people in the water. At
1.25 the voices of all the students are heard cheering and having a good time,
while instructions are given. Finally the sound of a ball movement is heard and
the splash of it landing before Carrie is called. The use of sound makes the
feeling of fear and isolation present and adds to the understanding and
emotions of the main character. This is effective in helping the viewer
understand the genre and character while keeping them curious and interested, despite
not much of the plot being shown.
The first setting that is shown
on screen is in a bedroom with a woman sitting on it with a new born baby in
her arms with blood on the sheets and over her body. The colours in this
section are dark making it appear scary and unnatural. The only light in the
scene is from a lamp in the corner which is very dim and is classified as low
key lighting. This hints at the dark aspect of the film. It then moves onto a
black screen which has the title in the centre. This is shown in blood red
adding to the darkness of the film.
The next setting is of a pool
which starts off blurred and as Carrie comes closer to the camera she comes
into focus. This is used to show who Carrie is and show her pitiful facial
expression. It then moves onto a group of people who are talking and happy in
blue and red swimming costumes. Then Carrie is shown staring at them to show
that she desires to be like them. It then moves onto one of the girls being
hugged by her boyfriend, which makes her even happier than before. Afterwards,
Carrie is shown staring at them again as some other boys come towards the other
girls. Both groups completely ignore Carrie before showing the boy and girl
kissing. Finally Carrie is shown with the others going past her, with no one noticing
her at all. This represents her as a social outcast; it is also shown through
the different coloured swimsuits. She has a black one whereas the others have
blue or red. The teacher is then shown blowing a whistle and giving
instructions before Carrie finishes putting her swim cap on. Next, under water
all the other girls’ characters legs are shown hopping around in a happy
fashion before showing Carrie’s legs still and lifeless in a corner. This suggests
that she does not mingle with the others and does not participate in
activities. The group of female students playing water volleyball are then
shown, with the teacher giving out instructions, and the girls playing,
laughing and chatting to each other. It then moves onto an over the shoulder
shot showing what Carrie sees. This again represents Carrie’s isolation and social
abandonment. A shot of Carrie is then shown showing her sad and lonely facial
expression and the top half of her body being closed up in a confined space
with no confidence shown at all. It goes back to the over the shoulder shot and
shows Carrie’s head following the balls movement as the other girls hit it
around and over the net, and makes it look like she is going to make a move to
the ball. This shows Carries urge to join in but also demonstrates she is
afraid of what might happen if she does. The teacher is then shown looking
disappointed at the other girls for not following her instructions and then two
girls circling each other, talking about graduating and the prom. This hints at
the age of the students, where the main story is set and what it is leading towards.
Finally, it shows a girl hitting the ball and it travelling over to Carrie standing
in the corner looking at the ball come towards her, before it makes a splash in
the pool and all the girls staring at her. She stares back and slowly moves
towards the ball before the screen slowly blacks out. This shows how the other
students treat her and disrespect her. Her slow movement suggests that she
feels judged and that she is in deep fear of doing something wrong.
The camera shots that are used are
a medium shot, close up, two shot, tracking shot, high angle shot and over the
shoulder shot. These are used multiple times because of the effect that they
have on the viewer’s interpretation. The medium shot is used in an establishing
shot fashion. It shows what is going on in the background however it also shows
the body language of the people. The close up is used to shows the expressions
of the character so that people can understand what they are feeling better
than with words. The two shot is used to show the relationship between two
people either in a friendly fashion or a romantic way. This misleads the
audience and makes them forget what the film is really about, whilst also showing
the present normality of life in contrast to what the audience is anticipating.
The tracking shot shows the movements of others, but leads up to Carrie showing
the difference in character social status. The high angle shot is used to show
all of the characters in one shot and what they are all doing. The over the
shoulder shot shows what Carrie is seeing and to show how she is treated. The
editing is used mainly in the fading in and out of a scene. Other editing
involves the showing of the title and the blood like effect on the text, the
blurring of the setting, which represents the introduction, and the slow motion
of some scenes, to make them more dramatic and expressive of what is being
shown. Overall the sequence of events is very effective in showing the main
character and what she feels, her social status and isolation. It uses action
more than words to make the message appear more powerful and louder than words.
The music helps the horror theme shine through and adds the dark element to the
story. The text does attract the viewer’s eye a bit, too much which takes the
focus away from the film. The Mise-en-scène is used well to separate Carrie
from the rest of the characters on screen.
What I Have Learned and What
Makes an Effective Title Sequence
I have learned that the
introduction does not have to be a sequence of images, but the actual
introduction to the film showing scenes of the main character, explaining what
they are like and what has happened to them. Also I have now learned how to
make actions “speak” louder than words. The music also has to have a very large
impact on the viewer to make them feel how the director wants them to feel. The
text can draw the attention of the viewer, but it needs to do it for reasons of
focus. Finally the elements that are involved with the genre need to be
expressed in the best way possible.
Conventions of Horror
If you want to look at the conventions of horror please look
at the post Conventions of Horror.
How I Am Going to Apply What I
have learned
For my sequence I am going to
use scenes as an introduction, and avoid a montage, to make sure that facial
expressions and actions have a bigger impact than words. All aspects of
creating the introduction will be used so that I control them to influence the
viewer. Where possible I will add text that will attract the viewer’s attention
to a focus point and finally make sure all the elements that I use will be as
powerful as I can make them.
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