RA: Technical analysis

A technical analysis is a shot by shot dissection of a film opening, which investigates the types of shot used, the duration of each take, and the mise-en-scene.


The Ring (Verbinski, 2002)



Shot: Establishing shot, slow panDuration: 4 secondsMise-en scene: A woman shown in rule of thirds. The setting is a stereotypical suburban house
Shot: CU of the woman's faceDuration: 7 seconds.Mise-en-scene: The close-up shows her fearful NV language.
Shot: POV shot revealing the living roomDuration: 9 secondsMise-en-scene: The television is on, showing a fuzzy, blank screen.
Shot: Mid-shot, the protagonist walks towards cameraDuration: 6 secondsMise-en-scene: Again showing the fearful expression on her face.
Shot: Shot-reverse-shot; CU of remote, mid-shot of protagonist, to televisionDuration: 6 seconds.Mise-en-scene: Television goes blank.
Shot: Mid-shot becomes long shot as the protagonist walks toward the kitchen. Then zooms in to CU of her face.Duration: 23 seconds.Mise-en-scene: The television turns back on, shown via the reflection on a window. CU shows her reaction.
Shot: CU of her face, wipe pan to kitchen windowsDuration: 8 secondsMise-en-scene: The lighting is dim, creating an ominous and scary atmosphere.
Shot: POV opening of the fridge doorDuration: 3 secondsMise-en-scene: The opening of the fridge is motivation for her investigating of the kitchen
Shot: CUDuration: 14 secondsMise-en-scene: Close-up shows the inside of the fridge door. The protagonist frantically shuts the door- coming into shot- and breathes fearfully. She then reacts to a noise. Focus switches to the corridor behind her.
Shot: Establishing shot of the new location, protagonist walks into shotDuration: 18 secondsMise-en-scene: Dialogue as she looks around verbally expresses her panic. She runs up the stairs.
Shot: A low angle shot long shot of the protagonist at the top of the stairsDuration: 21 secondsMise-en-scene: There is blood on the floor outside of a lit room. The protagonist walks towards the camera (in the room), stepping in the blood
Shot: CU of protagonists face as she opens doorDuration: 6 secondsMise-en-scene: She slowly moves forward
Shot: CU of handle as she opens the doorDuration: 1 secondMise-en-scene: The handle is shown to be dripping with a liquid
Shot: Fast zoom to her face as she walks through the doorDuration: 5 secondsMise-en-scene: The television is showing a strange image. The woman's NV language changes, as if possessed by the image. She has now become the antagonist, as the audience have gone from being positioned with her to being positioned against her. A fast montage of strange images is shown, before fading to a blank television screen once again.

Soundtrack

• There is no music underlying the action. Silence is used to create tension, as well as complimenting the narrative of the protagonist being alone in the house. 
• Diagetic sound is used in the form of her dialogue, and other natural sounds, such as the creaking of her footsteps as she climbs the stairs. These sounds have been emphasised to heighten the suspense, for example, the sound of the window opening on it's own.
• Atmosphere and dramatic tension are creating through the recurring sound of the white-noise from the blank television.
• Enigma is created in the form of the sound in the last few seconds of the clip, as a montage of strange images with a very fast cutting rate is shown. The sound has multiple dimensions; a low scraping sound, combined with a high pitched ringing, and the white-noise of a blank television once again. This is emphasised through the contrast with the silence throughout the rest of the opening, as this is the first piece of non-diagetic sound in the opening.

What have you learnt from this technical analysis? 

• The mise-en-scene within this extract is very effective, particularly the use of lighting. The lighting is dim and dark, which not only creates a believable night time, but compliments the eerie atmosphere that the opening is aiming to create. One aspect of the lighting that I felt was really effective was the use of shadows, notably in the shot of the protagonist climbing the stairs, and the lighting from under the door towards the end of the sequence, connoting a supernatural element.
• The iconography of a fuzzy television screen is very effective in hooking the audience, as it is an image which is present in day-to-day life, therefore creating that feeling of empathy and verisimilitude, where the audience can imagine this situation happening to themselves. The fact that this is a repeating image throughout the opening means that tension is heightened each time we see it, and having the image of the screen shown so early on in the opening, when later it will be the cause of the possession of the protagonist, is an effective and clever use of foreshadowing.