The Ring

Synopsis

It sounds like just another urban legend, a videotape filled with nightmare images leads to a phone call foretelling the viewer's death in exactly seven days. Newspaper reporter Rachel Keller is sceptical of the story; until four teenagers all die mysteriously exactly one week after watching the tape. Allowing her investigating curiosity to get the better of her, Rachel tracks down the video and watches it. Now she has just seven days to unravel the mystery. The production company who produced this film was DreamWorks and directed by Gore Verbinski. The cast includes: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson and Brian Cox.

                                Production Company: DreamWorks

“DreamWorks is an American film production label of Amblin Partners. It was formerly distributing its own and third-party films by itself. It has produced or distributed more than ten films with box-office grosses of more than $100 million each. As of October 2016, DreamWorks' films are marketed and distributed by Universal Pictures. In 2008, DreamWorks announced its intention to end its partnership with Paramount and signed a $1.5 billion deal to produce films with India's Reliance ADA Group. Reliance provided $325M of equity to fund recreating DreamWorks SKG into DreamWorks Studios, an independent entity. Clark Hallren, former Managing Director of the Entertainment Industries group of J. P. Morgan Securities, and Alan J. Levine of J. P. Morgan Entertainment Advisors, led the Reliance team in restructuring the company. The following year, DreamWorks entered into a distribution agreement with Walt Disney Studios, wherein Disney would distribute DreamWorks films through Touchstone Pictures; the deal continued until 2016. After the formation of Amblin Partners in 2015, the studio entered into a distribution agreement with Universal Pictures. 

DreamWorks' animation arm was spun off in 2004 into DreamWorks Animation SKG (DWA), which currently owns the DreamWorks trademarks, and as of August 2016 is a subsidiary of NBC Universal. Spielberg's company continues to use the DreamWorks trademarks under license from DWA.” 

n.d from Wikipedia retrieved on the 20/11/16 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DreamWorks 

Films of note

The Ring (2002), directed by Gore Verbinski. Budget: $48 million. Gross: $249.3 million.

The Ring 2 (2005), directed by Hideo Nakata. Budget: $50 million. Gross: $161.5 million.

The Red Eye (2005), directed by Wes Craven. Budget: $26 million. Gross: $95.6 million.

Disturbia (2007) directed by D. J. Caruso. Budget: $20 million. Gross: $117.8 million.

The Uninvited (2009), directed by The Guard brothers. Gross: $41,624,046 million.

Distributors: DreamWorks 

“DreamWorks used to distribute its own films, with Universal handling video distribution rights. When Viacom bought DreamWorks in 2006, this meant most DreamWorks films were to be distributed by Paramount Pictures. This partnership ended in 2008.

DreamWorks entered into a long-term, 30-picture distribution deal with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in 2009, by which the films would be released through the Touchstone Pictures banner. Originally, the deal included access to slots in Disney's pay television agreement with Starz, but the DreamWorks films ended up going to Showtime instead. However, this deal did not include distribution rights in India, which are handled by Reliance. Also not included were sequels to live-action films released before the Paramount merger, or those released by Paramount themselves–Paramount retains the rights to these franchises, and many sequels that were made by Paramount included, Little Fockers, which was released by Paramount internationally in December 2010 (Universal owns domestic rights), Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Road Trip: Beer Pong and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. From 2011 to 2016, Disney distributed fourteen of DreamWorks' original 30-picture agreement, with Disney retaining the distribution rights for these DreamWorks films in perpetuity. As a result, Disney acquired "DreamWorks II Distribution Co. LLC" from DreamWorks and Reliance in December 2015.

In August 2012, DreamWorks formed a deal with a company called Mister Smith Entertainment which will sell the distribution of DreamWorks films in EMEA, while Universal Pictures will continue to distribute in North and South America, Kazakhstan, Australia, Russia, Southeast Asia and Eastern Asia. Reliance will still distribute for India. Mister Smith made a four-year deal with Entertainment One for distribution in the UK and the Benelux countries. Other deals were made with Constantin Film for Germany and Austria, Nordisk Film for Scandinavia, and Italia Film for the Middle East. At the start of 2013, DreamWorks announced distribution deals with Acme (the Baltic regions), United King (Israel), Metropolitan Filmexport (France), Leone Film Group (Italy), Shochiku/Pony Canyon (Japan), Monolith (Poland), Blitz (Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia), SinemArt and Rapi Films (Indonesia), Fida Film (Turkey), NOS Audiovisuais (Portugal), Odeon (Greece) and TriPictures/DeAPlaneta (Spain).” 

n.d from Wikipedia retrieved on the 20/11/16 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DreamWorks

Time line

0.00- 0.30- The first sound the audience hears is the sound of heavy rain. This sound is carried from the beginning of the opening to when the picture fades into an establishing shot of a house, a sound bridge is used to carry the sound of the rain from the opening credits and the establishing shot to the first scene. The low-key lighting is dark which suggests it is set in the evening, and the diegetic sound of the rain already sets the mood of the film. The camera zooms into the house as the character begins to speak

0.30-0.58- cut to a two shot/mid shot to show two character's talking. This shot is a long shot showing the character’s position in the room. The lighting on the shot is low-key making the scene very dark, casting shadows. The two young girls are positioned in front of the TV although we can’t see the TV we know that’s what their looking at because the girl is pointing a TV remote towards the camera and you can hear diegetic sound of the TV playing. The camera zooms in to the characters faces as the characters are having a conversation. The first girl Katie (left) is wearing a white shirt whilst Becca (right) is wearing a white shirt almost covered by a black cardigan. Becca passes the remote to Katie and she turns the TV off.

0.58-3.00 Cut to a mid close up of the TV being turned off. Cut to a mid close up of the character's talking. Becca who is sat on the floor begins to tell Katie about the tape whilst she moves onto the bed. This suggests that she’s moved into a position of power. Shot reverse shot is used during the dialogue. The camera zooms in from an over the shoulder shot whilst the girl elaborates on the story. The picture switches to a close-up of Katie to show the look of shock on her face. Suspense is built in the scene because the film uses close ups and quick cuts which show the emotions of the characters. After a conversation using shot reverse shot Katie pretends to die. In the background a quiet eerie sound begins to build. A long shot is used to show what’s happening in the scene.

3.00- 3.40 Becca pushes the Katie on the floor and a high angle shot is used to establish the new position in the scene.The phone rings Katie looks left. An eye line match is used so the viewer sees what she’s looking at. A non-diegetic sound is used as the camera zooms into the clock which shows 10 o’clock, which creates suspense as we hear the clock ticking, suggesting she may be running out of time foreshadowing her death. Close up of both the girls using shot reverse shot, shows Katie’s fear and the moment of Becca’s realisation.

3.40-4.53- The camera cuts to a mid close up of the bottom of the stairs and shows them walking down the stairs. The scene changes again and we get a long shot, with the telephone in the forefront taking up most of the shot. The depth of focus shifts from the phone to the girl. After picking up the phone a tracking shot is used to film Katie as she walks from one room to another. The film creates tension as the phone call turns out to be a false alarm.

4.53-5.27- Establishing shot shows new location. The shot zooms in on Katie and tracks her as she moves. We here the diegetic sound of the TV, and see the reflection of the TV screen in the window. katie stops while holding her glass. cut to an extreme close up of Katie’s face as she turns her head in slow motion.The camera moves slowly into the room focusing on the TV. The TV is the main prop in the shot. The editor used an eye line match, as Katie’s looking down there is a cut so the audience can see she’s spotted the remote on the couch. A long shot shows Katie pick up the remote. The camera angle is slightly tilted up toward Katie suggesting she’s in power because she has the remote. An eye line match is used again as she points the remote towards the camera and then a quick cut is used which shows the TV screen. We are led to believe she is looking at the TV.

5.27-6.40-As she walks away the TV turns back on we know this because we hear the sound and see the reflection in the window. The camera zooms in on the character to show her state of panic. She walks back into the room and we see a close up of her looking at the screen. After she’s unplugged the TV the camera slowly encircles her, this might have been created by mounting the camera on a “dolly”, the effect of this motion is that it suggests she is not alone and lends to the idea that someone is watching her.The character is now left alone in the dark. We hear an eerie diegetic sound as the character looks to the opposite side of the room, this time the camera moves swiftly from where the character is sat to what they’re looking at. This makes the shot look “hand held” and makes it look/feel more realistic.

After the camera pan across the cupboards the camera cuts to the character walking off the shot. Cut to a mid shot of Katie standing in a doorway. She appears to be looking at something, an eye line match is used as there is a cut to the fridge door which is swinging open.The editing pace seems to be getting faster as the shot comes back to Katie who runs towards the camera. Cut to the shot of the kitchen, Katie runs towards the fridge. Cut to a close up of Katie’s face, Katie’s deep heavy breathing is the only diegetic sound we can hear in this shot. This is used to make the audience feel nervous and uncomfortable. We hear the eerie sound again which appears to be a sound motif which highlights when the “supernatural presence” is there. It also could illustrate that Katie’s panic.

The Close up with the shallow depth of field brings the attention to Katie, the wide depth of field is recovered and shows the hall way to be filled with darkness and shadows, making the scene rise with tension. Cut to a high angle shot of Amber peering by the wall.

Costume and Makeup

Katie, who is on the left is wearing a white shirt and a quilt which suggests that she student in 

school, a typical victim of a horror story. Her blonde hair, suggests that she is typically popular yet naive which supports traditional stereotypes. Katie’s white shirt also emphasises he innocence and naivety, however this could also potentially hide the reality of her real personality, as a stereotypical rich girl, she is presented as a typical victim traditionally the “sinner” would be killed first. Her open white shirt has connotations and suggestions that she has a careless, over confident attitude towards others. Supported by the fact that Becca is handing her the controller which also reflects her controlling nature and highlights her popularity, this might reflect her fate in the end.

Also the fact the way Katie is positioned on the bed, at a higher level than Becca supports traditional stereotypes and suggests that she is more popular than Rachael and may suggest that she is controlling of Rachael because she is giving the remote to Katie, and draws the audience's attention to her emphasising that she is the centre of attention highlighting her popularity and implies that she is the victim.

On the other hand, Becca is wearing a black blazer, which may suggest that she is less popular and the way that she has her shirt tucked in and her "brown" hair stereotypically reinforces the fact that she is the best friend rather than the centre of attention. The way that Becca is positioned on the floor suggests that Katie is more important than her. Katie is wearing red nail polish, red has connotations of danger and reflect her real personality, which emphasises the fact that she is the victim, it could also represent her popularity. She is wearing a ring which could highlight that she is rich and popular. Whereas Becca is wearing none, signifying that she is not the victim. Katie seems to be wearing a subtle amount of make-up or none, and shows the audience that she is perhaps innocent and Becca is also wearing no make-up. This shot is shot reverse shot, when Becca takes a seat next to Katie onto the bed. This suggests that he has moved into a position of power, and she begins to become the centre of attention as she begins to tell the scary story to Katie, making her more tense and nervous as she goes on with the story. This shot is very significant because what seems like a story, becomes real through the film. This scene connotes a tense atmosphere when we begin to see Katie's emotion 

Mise en Scene

This shot is an establishing shot and uses low-key lighting to set the mood of the film, and gives the house a dark terrifying effect on the audience implying that this is a horror film. This setting of an old mysterious house connotes an unsettling, mysterious effect, setting the tone of this horror movie. This shot captures a strange tree in front of the house, creating a dark atmosphere at the start of the film.

The house is shown as big, generating a frightful look about the house. The cold blues and green colours presents a haunted appearance of the house, reflecting the mysterious aspects of the upcoming scene. The blues and green colours also could represent the cold weather outside to also connect to the theme of the movie and the brown vines and abandoned look of the house creates a mysterious effect. The diegetic sound of the rain also adds tension. 


Inside the house, there is a wide open space in the hall way, there are wooden floors and a stair case, creating a stereotypical environment for a killer to target his victim. This is a high angle shot presenting Katie as a victim in her large house without much protection.

The low key lighting emphasises the shadows
and darkness supports the fact that she feels surrounded as she cant escape from the "ring", the tape that is focused on throughout the film. The shadows create a feeling of an unsafe environment as she was being followed creating an unsettling atmosphere for the audience. This signifies the danger she feels she's in. The cold colours connote a feeling of darkness and death which may foreshadow her death.  

This is also an effective shot showing how powerful the this torture from the tape as well as the killer throughout the film, "Samara". This high angle shot presents Katie as weak and unprotected with just a wall separating her and the killer, "Samara". The fact that she is hiding behind the wall shows how frightened she is even in her own house, highlighting how bewildering the situation is for the audience creating an enigma code.

Effective Shots

This slow pov, pan shot builds up anticipation and tension as the Tv turns on and draws the audience in leaving an enigma code. Showing the audience that something is not completely normal.

the shadows through the TV increases tensions, as the camera quickly pans             round leaving the audience on   edge to see who it is.


                                                                      



This close up on Katie's face brings the audience closer to Katie, and we see the torment she is going through. the low key lighting reinforces that dark, unsettling atmosphere, that someone is watching her, shown by the shadows. This emphasises the suspicion and tensions within the audience. 

Motifs/Recurring images

The use of mid shots, lets the audience see the multiple, repetitive use of reflection, in the water and the TV, highlights that the water and TV are significant to the film, and may suggest that someone is in the reflection adding tension to the scene. This has connotations of mystery and confusion, for the audience. 

The reoccurring image of the TV, makes the TV significance and suggests that the film resolves around this tape, the ring. When the TV repetitively turns on, this has connotations of mystery and danger making the audience nervous. 

Credits/ Typography

  

AS soon as the audience sees the moon, they know that it is a Dream Works movie. Before the moon turns into a D, for a slit second the moon transforms into a rings. This is a way of connecting to this specific movie, the ring. 

As DreamWorks appears on the screen, the audience is drawn to the black and white flickering lines on the screen. Which appear on your screen when watching a tape. This is significant because the whole film revolves around a tape, and this suggests that this was to emphasises how vital the tape is to the movie as well as creating a sinister effect. 

Music/Sound

We hear diegetic sound, when the television suddenly turns on, making a crackling noise, loud creating alarming tension and confusion for the audience. When Katie thinks it’s only Becca fooling around with the TV. This diegetic sound supports the horror genre, making

the audience jump.