The genres of ‘The Ring ’ is horror and in my essay I will analyse & annotate the first two minutes of the opening sequence and explain how the media features help relate to the genre of the film.
The audience is first exposed to a blackout and whilst this 2 second blackout is on, some heavy sounds of rain is played which immediately tells the audience that it is raining. After this blackout, an editing shot is used to fade in to an establishing shot of a big house. In this establishing shot, other features of the mis en scene are included such as the dead trees and also the pathetic fallacy of the weather. This highlights a feature of the genre which is horror as the dead trees indicate a sense of lifeless imagery, and the pathetic fallacy creates a feeling of panic toward the audience. The camera then slowly zooms in to the house, and also the audience hears the voiceover of a girl. We can't see her face but we are introduced to her voice first, thus foreshadowing the danger this girl may be in later in the film.
The editing is used to cut from the house to a mid shot of the two girls in a bedroom watching TV. At this shot we can still hear the heavy rain from outside, which creates a sense of thrill as it keeps the audience on grip of what might happen next. In this shot, other props such as the bed, the lamp, and their shoes are visible to the audience to show that the setting is in a bedroom. One girl who is on the bed is wearing a white shirt which connotes that she is innocent and also that shes a high school girl as it may be her uniform too, also her hair is blonde suggesting that the director specifically got a blonde girl playing the role of a victim, following the stereotypes. However, the other girl sitting beside her on the floor is wearing a black cardigan with jet black hair indicating that she's an edgy, goth kind of girl. The camera then starts to slowly zoom into their faces whilst the girl on the bed is speaking but the zoom stops when the other girl speaks. This shot looks like a perspective shot where someone is moving forward to the blonde girls face but stops when the other girl starts to respond illustrating that someone may be after the blonde girl. When the camera holds a steady shot of both of the girls faces in the frame, an eye line match is used to show what they are looking at, which is the television. This is followed by a long shot of the girl sitting on the floor getting up on the bed. This long shot is the first different camera shot used apart from the previous shots of their faces, which indicates a sense of thrill as it alerts the audience to prepare themselves for something scary to happen. As the girl in black gets up, she begins to tell the tale of a mystery video and phone call, the camera gradually begins to zoom into her face in a very slow pace. This highlights a sense of panic and tension which the audience is experiencing as the girl talks in a sinister tone. Her costume and hair color which is black also is significant to her role in this opening as it portrays her as an eerie character.
The genre of "The Ring" is horror and in my essay I have stated many ways in which the media features help relate to the genre of the film. The various camera shots such as the the close up of the face and the zooming in specially creates suspense and fear throughout the audience.
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