Analysing the Opening Scene of the Gothic Horror "Sleepy Hollow"

Above is the opening scene for the Gothic Horror Film "Sleepy Hollow". The Opening scene that I have analysed ends at the point 3.46 of the clip.

The OPENING CREDITS for Sleepy Hollow come on the screen within misty smoke or fog. The fog has connotations of mystery, the unknown and maybe being afraid because when there is fog it is very hard for anyone to see anything in the far away distance, therefore not seeing and not knowing what is in the fog portrays the horror. This connotation tells the audience that something mysterious within the movie will happen.

The SOUND is now heard and the non-diegetic background music that can be heard in the opening credits follows through all the way to the end of the opening scene. At the beginning whilst the opening credits are playing, you can hear a woman singing long notes in a high pitch; no words are sung. This is setting the atmosphere for the film as the background music sounds mysterious and makes the audience feel like something is about to happen, as the woman singing seems like she is the voice of the dead. At the point of the opening scene where the audience see Peter Van Garrett, the non-diegetic sound of the background music has become more fast tempo and loud which adds tension to the action. The background music tells the audience that something is about to happen; something sinister, a murder.Then we hear a loud, emphasised diegetic sound of a horse neighing and a sharp sword being drawn. The audience hears this sound as it has been edited to be louder than the background music and even louder than the thunder storm that is taking place. This puts an emphasis on what is about to happen and adds a dramatic spin and fear for the audience as they expect a murder to happen.

 

As the Opening Credits begin to end, EDITING AND CAMERA WORK become apparant. The background music of the woman singing ends and a fade in cut is used to show what appears to be dropping red blood. The audience automatically assume that the thick, red liquid is blood because the audience knows that Sleepy Hollow is a horror film, therefore expect to see blood and murder because it is a typical convention that a horror film will always follow. However later on in the opening clip, the audience realises that their initial thought was wrong and realise that what seemed to be blood was actually the red wax melted ready to seal the will of Peter Van Garrett. After the assumption of the red wax being blood, we see dissolving cuts of two affectionate hands, someone signing their will and a witness of the will. Afterwards, we see cuts of someone sealing the letter with the wax, what the audience initially thought was blood. This whole sequence shows the slow and long process of the will but it has been cleverly shot as the audience don't get to see the actual people involved in this storyline, which leaves the audience in a sense of mystery.

Next to focus on is the LIGHTING.The darkness added to the lighting effects in this scene are not only edited to set the atmosphere of the scene but also because of the weather. The weather outside is thunder, lightening and fog. The director of Sleepy Hollow, Tim Burton, has used the convention of pathetic fallacy in this scene. Because the weather is dull and dark, it connotes that the atmosphere and the feel of the action that is happening or going to happen will be sinister.

Near the end of the opening scene, Peter Van Garrett jumps off the carriage he is travelling on to save himself and finds himself running through the over grown grass. The MISE ON SCENE chosen here as the over grown grass is the typical horror setting that any horror film would take place. The over grown grass gives off the atmosphere that this is a place that has been abandoned for a very long time. The over grown grass also puts tension on the audience as they can not see where Peter Van Garrette is running, which means that whatever murder that happens within this over grown grass, no one will know as it is hidden. The audience then feels that the criminal will get away with his sinister crime of the murder of Peter Van Garrette.

This is a very good opening to a horror film as it keeps the audience on edge and in suspense all the way through it. The bits that I liked the most from it and have inspired me about my opening horror clip is the blood red wax dropping at the very beginning because the audience automatically believe it to be blood and gruesome when it is not, which plays with the audience's mind. Also, I like the ending of the opening scene just before Peter Van Garrette's head is sliced off because seconds before he is murdered, the atmosphere seems a little bit calmer. The background music becomes slower and quieter, and we see the relief in Peter Van Garrette's face. This makes the audience also feel a bit relieved for Peter Van Garrette and when the audience least expect it his head is cleaned off. I like the unexpected-ness of the kill and I may use this sudden scare to add a horror effect to my opening horror clip.

Location Recce #8

This location is shot is also one of my favourite pictures I took at my location recce session because the image gives off a feel of a murder scene. I think this because of the lamp post pictured in the middle of the location recce. The old fashioned styled lamp post reminds me of and connotes of the old, typical, mystery movies and detectives. This can link back to a horror clip because the murder could be a part of the horror storyline I come up with.

Location Recce #7

These particular set of stairs lead up and out of the canal pathway. They intrigued me when I was taking pictures of location shots at Castlefield because I automatically thought of filming a pare of feet climbing either up or down these stairs to create an atmosphere of mysteriousness and mischievousness as to who the pair of feet belong to. Because the stairs are made from stone and the railings are made out of metal, it can be related to a cold and damp scene when it rains which would be good to set the scene for a horror opening, if I was to use these steps as a part of my horror clip.

Location Recce #6

This location shot is a more closer look at the abandoned looking and closed down warehouse seen on the right hand side of Location Recce #5. This could be a very good place to shoot a chase sequence as you would be able to shoot the chase sequence from the point of view of the actual picture or it could be shot actually on the metal stairs following the action as a Tracking Camera Shot. However, I do not know if this warehouse is accessible to shoot a couple of scenes, and if it is forbidden for public use then it would be a shame because it would be a very good location for sequence in a horror clip.

Location Recce #5

This location shot is of the ramp that leads down to the actual canal. Because it was raining, it gave the wooden ramp a sense that it was ancient and abandoned even because the rain had made the wooden ramp damp and old. This ramp is similar to the stone ramp pictured in Location Recce #3, except this ramp is in open space, in open air. This location may not be as good as the stone ramp in Location Shot #3 for a horror clip because it is pictured in the light of day. However, if I really wanted to use this location, I would need to shoot this part of the clip in the dark times of the day. The feel of this shot is abandonment because of the badly kept surroundings, the moss growing on the side of the walls and the tall arched buildings on the right hand side seem to be some sort of inhabited warehouse closed down, which can always be seen and used as a part of a small horror clip.

Location Recce #4

This location shot is quite similar to Location Recce #1 beacuse it is the same pathway on the side of the canal but a bit further down the canal. However, I like this shot because as well as just being able to see the canal and the pathway beside it, you can also see the wall and fence that confines the path, the small over head bridge over the cannal and you can also see the other side of the canal which is a very tall building that looks vacated and spookily empty. I could use this shot to show a character walking down the path but this shot can also allow me to use the bridge above. I could possibly shoot a character crossing the bridge but instead of shooting the small scene from the bridge itself, i could shoot it from below and it would give the audience a full look of the spooky, abandoned setting as well as just the bridge itself.

Location Recce #3

This shot is one of my favourite location shots because it gives off a sense of being boxed in and contained which can be seen as scary for those who hate being concealed in small spaces. The single path, that could probably only fit two or three people walking in a line at a time, is deemed to be extremely narrow because of the high, tall, brick walls on either side of the path, giving, maybe even a victim, no means of escape except for the two exits at either end of the path. An idea for a small scene in my opening horror clip is to have the victim run down the path towards the camera as a Head On camera shot and have a mysterious character chasing after the victim.

Location Recce #2

This shot is taken under the bridge at the canal at Castlefield. This is a very good location shot because under the bridge it is very dark even if it does seem quite bright at the end of the tunnel. This means that I don't need to rely on the weather to have a dark and dull time of day to shoot my horror clip. However in the dark of an evening, the bridge will be near to pitch black which will give me even better setting conditions for my horror clip. Under the bridge, there are small lights placed on either side of the bridge and this would give a good effect of shadows lurking in the dark if I was to use this as a location for my horror clip. In this particular shot of under the bridge, there is a person in the small far distance and this has inspired me to maybe keep my shots of mysterious characters maybe from afar as it looks like a mischievous silhouette in the distance.

Location Recce #1

This is the first snapshot of locations I could use for my horror opening clip. This shot is of a small passage way next to a canal in Castlefield. This can be seen as scary as it seems to be used very rarely by people and could give a sense of being alone and afraid into the atmosphere. Also because this location is very rarely used by the public, it is an ideal place to shoot my horror clip as I will get very few disruptions from the public passing by. An idea of a small camera shot for my horror clip is to maybe shoot a mysterious character walking suspiciously away from the camera and have a tracking shot following behind them.