The Woman in black opening scene

The Woman in black opening scene 

The opening scene to 'The woman in black' starts off with creepy music playing quietly in the background while tea is being poured from a teapot which creates a tense feeling for the audience as they're not sure what is going to happen next. Afterwards a close up is shown of three old dolls which shows a closer look of what they look like. A medium shot is shown of the three girls having a tea party. The room that the little girls are in is dull looking and has no colour to it which makes the audience think about where they are and why. After the girls have finished playing with their dolls they look up making the audience think something or someone is standing there. About five seconds later all three girls turn their heads towards the window and slowly stand up. When the girls have stood up they drop their tea cups and one of the girls breaks the teapot with her foot and another steps on one of the dolls making its head fall off this keeps the audiences attention as the sweet little girls have turned into evil little girls which is one of the conventions in a horror film. Eventually the girls have got to the window and climb a step that leads to the edge. All at once the girls open one window each and jump out. When the girls have disappeared you hear a loud pitched scream which you think is the mother of the three children which says "my babies". The camera then begins to zoom out and in the corner of the room the woman in black is standing there which makes the audience think that she is the cause of the girls jumping out of the window. Throughout the whole opening of the film the creepy music is playing (non-diegetic) which is keeping the audience watching and sets the film of to a creepy start. Mise-en-scene is used in the opening as the setting is in the bedroom of someones house, the teapot and teacups and the dolls are used as props. During the opening you don't find out much about the characters as there is no speech but the audience knows that the woman in black is one of the main characters. We don't find out anything about the story but the audience can imagine what the story may be based on. The representation of the opening scene conforms to the stereotypes as the setting is creepy, children seem sweet but soon turn evil and there is a demonic presence in the film.