Analysis on the opening sequence of 'The Ring' (2002)

The film belongs to the horror film genre. The audiences generic expectations of the film are meet instantly in the begging of the film, as we see a creepy looking house, its dark, raining and the tradition of trees with no leaves on is present to give it a really scary feel. The text does conform to the characteristics of the genre as there are two teenage girls alone in a house and they are messing around telling each other scary stories and naturally in horror films, these stories unfold in the film.

Mise-en-scene conveys meaning in the opening sequence by using the typical characters, locations, props and themes to give the audience an understanding for the story. The two girls are also in school uniform showing their youth and venerability. There is a shot in the opening sequence when the phone rings and the camera zooms in on the clock, focusing on the time that the clock is showing, emphasizing the significance of the situation. There is also another zooming in shot where one of the characters faces is focused on to show the afraid expression on her face showing the terror in her eyes. There are many shots throughout the opening sequence where camera shot, size angle and movement is important as they all create tension and suspense. We learn through non-verbal language and dialogue that the characters used for the opening are looking for a thrill, and they are young, and easy targets for the audience to put themselves in the same position as the target audience are of a similar age. The director also uses blurring of the background so you focus on the character in the shot, and there is also a part when an image is reflected very quickly in a blank TV screen making the character jump, adding to the tension of the film.

There is no narration in the opening sequence; there is only set dialogue from the two characters. Once we get further into the opening sequence there is a lot of tension and suspense, this is shown in the deep breathing of the character and the expression on her face. Tension is created and maintained by a lot of jumpy things happening in a short space of time. There are effects used, like water seeping out of the bedroom and the flash of images witch create suspense and tension throughout, and keep the audience looking out for the next fright. There is also a part where the character is walking up the stairs and the camera slowly pans backwards towards the room with the water seeping out from under the door, she also takes a long time to open the door adding to the question of what’s going to be behind it.

The social groups represented in the opening sequence are young teenage girls, as they are the only two characters we see in the opening of the film, this is shown in the fact that they are home alone and exposed. The ideological discourse evident in the film is that certain people may view the film differently because of their certain beliefs, and as there are unnatural things involved may mean it is viewed differently because of those beliefs. Semiotics as a framework shows how representation is constructed as we look at the situation that the two characters are in, and the signs and symbols used in the opening sequence which gives us and idea of what the characters are like and by the way they act, and also a incite into the rest of the film.

The target audience for the film is mostly aimed at younger people who want to get scared, and have a thrill from watching. The possible audience readings for the film are that, even though its made up, this could be real and because its set in a house with normal props and characters, it makes it all the more realistic for the audience. As a teenager myself, and the characters I can see are also teenagers, I can put myself in there perspective and think ‘what would I do’, even though its fictional. I think many people at a similar age to myself would enjoy watching the film, as it can be fun to get scared and have that thrilling feeling which is there from the opening. The ideololgy present in the film is that there is obviously evil of some sort present within the film , and us as humans are scared of this. This makes the film have a scary and unknown feeling and makes the audience have views that the story involves supernatural things, and things that are not farmiliar to everyday life.

There is no star in the opening of the film, but normally it would be important to use a star as in brings in the audience to watch the film. The film is and industrial film, and has been produced by DreamWorks pictures. DreamWorks is a major Hollywood studio who produce and distribute many different films. There were many ways in which the film was marketed, TV advertising, before film adverts in the cinema, billboards and magazine advertising, are all used to boost ratings and bring the audience in. In the opening I would say that it is hard to see a particular institutional context as you only see two teenage girls, however you could say that the teenage girls are the social group involved just by looking at the opening sequence. It is a also good to have teenagers in the film , and to have them as your target audience, as they are a loyal audience who have the time and the money to go and buy the DVDs and watch the film at the cinema.