Analysis of Sleepy Hollow

Analysing Sleepy Hollow
Sleepy Hollow : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-KB_Djszro

Genre: Gothic horror

Theme: death, supernatural, mental illness, and villain

What I will be doing?
I will be analysing the opening of a horror film called “Sleepy Hollow” to do this I will be focusing on narrative, camera angles and shot, mise en scene ( costume, light, setting, and make up).
(2 minutes of the opening)

Camera shot / Angles
At the beginning the camera follows one of the characters in a carriage. They have used extreme long shots and long medium shot to show the surroundings and the atmosphere and this allows audience to be drawn into the narrative. The way camera is used is to make the audience feel that they are a part of the film and also to make them familiar with the location and the opening plot.

Connotation and denotation
The character who is in the carriage has a book in his hand and close ups shots used to show what is inside the book. By looking at the book audience will be able to identify that the film has got something to do with science because the close up shots shows all scientific diagrams and instructions which is in the book. This means the denotation is the book but the meaning of the book or the connotation of the book is to show or give some background clues about the story in the film or what the rest of the film is going to be about. The book also shows the position of the character in the film because the book tells the audience who this character is in the film.

The book has been written by hand and also the pictures has be drawn by hand so this suggest that the film is about Elizabethan period or has been set at that time because at that time they didn’t have computer or printers to write books.

Sound
The music suggests fear, horror and death. It is an exaggerated music and the reason that they have used this type of music is to make audience feel terrified and also to make them aware that something horrific and shocking will happen any second.

Light
At the opening they haven’t used any light; in fact the director of the film gives everything a dark lifeless feel by using grey and black colour to make the film more horrific and creepy and also to make the audience feel fear, terror and shock toward the film.

Costume and make up
The costume that the character is wearing tells us about the period of time that the film is based on (has been set). The character is dressed up smartly and this shows that he is a professional man for his own period. But the character is wearing a white make up and this is a sign of horror because we usually see zombies and vampires wearing white make up so this suggest death and illness.

Ideas for the film (location) visit to Casterfield

I went to Casterfield with my school-mates and my subject teacher to take some pictures of the place and to get some ideas about where would be the best place to locate the film. I have got some ideas about the location where I will be setting the film. I have decided to locate the film in a place like Casterfield because it is a suitable place for horror films and a good location for the senario / idea that I have for this project. By visiting this place I have learnt that the location is one of the most important part of the film because the location gives an idea to the audience about the genre of the film and what the film is going to be about. The location must be suitable for the film. the location should help them to know what the film is going to be about. Overall I have decided to locate the film in a suitable place to make the film (opening scene) more realistic.