The Conjuring-
Synopsis
“In 1970, paranormal investigators and demonologists Lorrain and Ed Warren are summoned to the home of Carolyn and Roger Perron. The Perrons and their five daughters have recently moved into a secluded farmhouse, where a supernatural presence has made itself known. Though the manifestations are relatively benign at first, events soon escalate in horrifying fashion, especially after the Warrens discover the house's macabre history.
The Conjuring is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and produced by New Line Cinema and The Safran Company. The film is the first instalment in The Conjuring film series. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting. Their reports inspired The Amityville Horror. The Warrens come to the assistance of the Perron family (Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor), who are experiencing increasingly disturbing events in their farmhouse in Rhode Island in 1971.” n.d Wikipedia retrieved 20th Nov
Producers: New Line Cinema and The Safran Company
New Line Film Productions Inc., often simply referred to as New Line Cinema, is an American-French film studio founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as a film distribution company, later becoming an independent film studio.
New Line produced or co-produced three more films in 1981 and 1983: Alone in the Dark, a horror film about escapees from a lunatic asylum; Xtro, a science fiction fantasy; and Polyester, directed by John Waters. Polyester was one of the first films to introduce a novelty cinema experience, Odorama, where members of the audience were provided with a set of "scratch and sniff" cards, to be scratched and sniffed during appropriate times during the film, which provided an additional sensory connection to the viewed image.
A Nightmare on Elm Street was produced and released by New Line in 1984. The franchise was New Line's first commercially successful series after a devastating financial slump, leading the company to be nicknamed "The House that Freddy Built". The film had a production cost of $1.8M and grossed over $25.5M at the US box office. It was the first film to feature actor Johnny Depp. A year later, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge was released. It grossed $3.3M in the first three days and over $30M at the domestic box office. Nightmare 3 was released in 1987. In its first weekend it grossed more than any previously released independent film and went on to make almost $45M at the US box office.
n.d Wikipedia retrieved on 20th Nov
Films of note:
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), directed by Tobe Hooper. Budget: $300,000. Gross: $30.8million.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), directed by Wes Craven. Budget: $1.8million. Gross: $25.5million.
Final Destination 2 (2003), directed by David R. Ellis. Budget: $26million. Gross: $90,426,405.
Friday the 13th (2009), directed by Marcus Nispel. Budget: $19million. Gross: $91.4million.
The Conjuring (2013), directed by James Wan. Budget: $20million. Gross: $318million.
Annabelle (2014), directed by John R. Leonetti. Budget: $6.5million. Gross: $256.9million.
The Conjuring 2 (2016), directed by James Wan. Budget: $40million. Gross: $320.3million.
Distributors: Warner Brothers
"WARNER BROS. PICTURES DOMESTIC DISTRIBUTION is responsible for setting the release schedule and all exhibition operations to more than 39,000 screens in North America. Through its non-theatrical sales operation, it distributes to non-theatrical markets including airlines, cruise ships, the Armed Forces, the Veterans Administration, colleges, hospitals and other smaller markets.
WARNER BROS. PICTURES INTERNATIONAL is a leader in the marketing and distribution of feature films to markets outside of North America, operating offices in more than 30 countries and releasing films in over 120 international territories, either directly to theatres or in conjunction with partner companies and co-ventures. The international division has developed and led a number of initiatives and strategies to take full advantage of the tremendous growth, change and opportunity in the global entertainment marketplace. Anchored by its extensive network of regional offices, Warner Bros. Pictures was an early adopter of day-and-date “event” releases (seeing huge success with key franchises, including The Matrix starting in 1999, Harry Potter launching in 2001 and The Dark Knight in 2005) and strategic rollouts structured around consumer behaviours in each key territory, as well as regionally nuanced campaigns. Additionally, as part of Warner Bros.’ initiative to support and nurture local-language film production worldwide, the Studio is deeply involved in production, acquisition and distribution of local-language films for their countries of origin, releasing over 400 such films to date in a number of countries, including the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, Mexico and India." Warner Bros. Pictures n.d. in Warner Bros. Retrieved 20th November 2016 from http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/divisions/warner-bros-pictures
Timeline
0.00-0.10- The opening begins with a black screen while some of the characters talk, cuts to an extreme close up of the doll, (on her eye)
0.10-20- Camera slowly zoo ms out to show the face of a doll
0.20-0.30- Camera continues to zoom out revealing more of the doll. Cut to a mid shot of three people, talking as credits appear in yellow font
0.32-0.40- Cut to a side Mid close up of the three people with a shallow depth of field background bringing the focus on the people speaking, Cuts back to a mid shot of the three people
0.40-1.02- Camera zooms out until we see slight figures of the investigators, while the blonde haired girl is speaking
1.02- 1.09- Cuts to a quick mid close-up of the blonde girl speaking, cuts to a mid shot of the doll while having a sound bridge of the girl continuing to speak. The camera then zooms closer to the doll, cut to a quick close up of the girl with brown hair, 'things got worse'
1.09-1.16- Cuts to a flashback, a mid shot of a door closed, the shot is dark with the use of low-key lighting to set the unsettling tone of the flashback. the door is opened by the brown haired girl followed by the blonde girl laughing but immediately turn their attention to the floor. The camera tilts down and up as the girl in the door way picks up a note. Cut to a POV shot of the girls focus on the note 'miss me?' in red writing.
1.16-1.30- Cut to an eye line match, a mid shot of the two girls in the hall way bringing their attention to something in their hall way. Cut to an over the shoulder shot, a long shot showing the doll sat in the hallway. Cut to a mid shot of the two girls in the hall way, the camera tracks the girls as they move closer to the doll. Cut to a POV shot of the girls moving closer to the doll, while there was a voice over from one of the girls, a high angle shot of the doll showing her to be powerless in that moment. Cut to a long shot of the two girls looking down on the doll.
1.30-1.40- Cut to a mid close up of the doll, camera tilts down to slightly focus on the doll's hand. Cut to a sharp close up of the doll's hand holding part of a broken crayon, which emphasises the suspicion and uncertainty of the doll and its power. Cuts to a mid close up of the blonde girl turning around to peer through the half closed door with the opposite side of the door and the wall covered with red writing, implying the doll managed to draw on the wall and the note. The blonde girl moves closer to the room and looks concerned, the camera tilts upwards slightly as she moves into a light which highlights the worry she is displays
1.40- 1.50- Cut to a mid shot of the blonde girl pushing the door open, showing part of the room, as she opens door there is an eerie sound effect to build tension,. Cut to a slight low angle shot of the girl, camera slightly tilts upwards and zooms out emphasising her panic. Cut to a mid shot showing the room, camera pans to the side to show the destroyed room. The pace of the scene increases with shorter/faster shots showing the increase of tension in the scene. Cut to a mid shot, camera pans down to show a lamp flicking while an sound effect, high pitch fuse highlighting the destruction and damage. Cuts to a mid close up, camera pans to the side showing a picture of one of the girls with the glass slightly cracked. Cut to a close up of a picture, showing the two girls in the picture crossed out with the picture slightly smashed, to emphasise the tension as the shots are becoming closer and more focused on to show the increase of damage on each picture, with a bang sound effect. Cut to two pictures both glass cracked and one with a rip across the photo. The shots increase with speed with each photo, highlighting the intensity of the scene.
1.50-2.20- Cut to a mid close up of the two girls. Cut to a pan upwards to show 'miss me?' in the red crayon hand writing. Cut to a mid shot of the blonde woman grabbing the attention of her friend. Cut to mid close up the two girls looking up. Cut to a mid close up of 'miss me?'. Cut to mid close up of the two girls pulling their attention away from the wall but to something below, while the camera zooms out slightly, an eye-line match is used. Cut to a mid shot of the crayon rolling towards them, camera zooms into a close up of the crayon. Cut to a long shot of one of the girls grabbing the doll, and the camera tracks them as they walk out of their apartment. Cut to a high angle shot of the girl, camera zooms in as she opens a bin a throws the doll in the bin and opens the letter to then throw the note in as well, she closes the bin and the screen turns black.
Costume and Make up
The girl on the left, is wearing a patterned colour brown/yellow long sleeved top, a mid- length black skirt, this shows that it was set at an earlier period, her long sleeved top and dull coloured clothing supports the era of the 70's, the colours of her top also blend in with the background suggesting that these characters are unimportant. In contrast to Annabelle the doll which is focused on much longer and the colours of the doll differs from the background and implies that the film revolves around the doll. However, the fact that she is wearing a red head band draws attention to her and highlights that she is the main focus of this scene, this also has connotations of blood and death and may suggest that she is the main victim.
Mise en Scene
We see a typical hall way into apartment, this small space connotes a trapped, isolated atmosphere. We can see that this is an apartment, the use of low- key lighting emphasises the darkness and death the doll symbolises. The fact that the doll is shown in the light suggests that she is the focus of attention. The colour dark green supports the idea of the movie being set in the 70's.
The use of low-key lighting emphasises shadows and has connotations of death, mystery as well as creating an unsettling for the audience. The fact that the room is destroyed with red crayon scribbled all over the walls. This suggests that because the doll has moved and is holding a crayon suggests that it was the doll who destroyed their apartment. The only light in the shot is from the diegetic light from the flickering lamp which only gives out a small amount of light making the shot unsettling. The fact that the mirror is tilted and reflects the red crayon on the ceiling suggests that the situation is no longer normal or safe.
Effective shots
At the start of the opening, the screen fades
into an unsettling, creepy close up of a doll which may signify that the doll
is a dominant figure of this horror film. The camera slowly zooms out, which builds tension and curiosity for the almost unnatural, uncomfortable close up of the doll.
This is a close up of the doll holding the red
crayon which has connotations of blood and death, signifies the danger and power she has. Also this suggests to the audience
that the doll, an in animate object has destroyed their apartment as well as
written on the walls creating an effective shot as it presents an unsettling atmosphere,
making the characters fear the doll. the sharp transition from the tilt downwards, implies a sense of urgency and panic, and creates an anxious tone.
The smashed picture of the two girl, shows
that the doll has now taken control and no longer needs them. This emphasises
that the two girls are powerless and that the doll no longer has respect
despite its in animate form which creates a mysterious effect. The shorter shots with every picture frame, increases the pace of the opening, and the building of tension. The crash sound effects also contribute with every shot, to create an unsettling feeling of the upcoming scene.
The close up of the paper with the red writing
“miss me?” adds suspense and leaves the audience guessing, not only creating
an enigma code but also leaves the audience wondering what will happen next. The POV high angle shot, may suggest the doll is powerless at this stage and they still have some control. This may also suggest that the doll is alive, the red stands out and has some associations with death. 
The fact that it is also written on the wall shows the
audience that the situation is no longer normal. This is a low- angel shot and
the writing on the ceiling might represent the doll showing the two girls as
powerless and that the doll is now in control.
The repetition of the doll in the opening suggests to the audience that the doll is the central dominance of the film. The zoom in, also becomes creepy as we become closer and closer to the doll, making the doll look unnatural and dangerous in a way.
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