Halloween Opening Sequence(How is Meaning Created?)


Mise-en-scene

In the opening sequence of halloween the performance of the young teenage couple show that they're happy, it all seems very lighthearted and they're celebrating a holiday like a normal teenage couple would, this makes the murder of the boys sister a lot more surprising. Before the murder the little boy is creeping around the house being as silent as he can and once his parents find him and unmask him he's still dead silent, staring blankly into nothing. The reaction of his parents also speak volumes as they don't know what to do, they're shocked and surprised showing that this was just a normal family.
The sequence is set at night which has connotations of danger and fear, you don't know whats coming or lurking in the dark and this is complimented by the way Michael creeps around the house. However the  house is giving off natural, realistic light making the house look warm and comforting, especially on a cold dark night, which contrasts with what happens inside the house. The light fills the whole house and doesn't give off any sinister shadows or silhouettes. If it was day time the murder wouldn't be as shocking or frightening because of the connotations of a cold, dark night especially on halloween.
The setting, in the opening sequence, is a very average, regular American home. The house is well organised and when Michael walks through the kitchen, the table is set out neatly with four chairs and cutlery set for four people around it, not only showing that Michael doesn't have a troubled home life but it shows he isn't deprived and his family are a normal and happy that sit together and eat meals. This again links back to the murder being all the more shocking and makes the audience ask what is actually wrong with Michael?
The costume in Halloween is obvious of its namesake especially the boy, Michael, who at the end of the scene is revealed to have been wearing a clown costume which a lot of people view to be quite evil and sadistic, at the time halloween was made and released in the 1970's John Wayne Gacy catapulted this fear of clowns into the public eye with the horrible crimes he committed on children so its quite ironic that a child aged 7 or 8 years old is wearing this costume. Furthermore linking back to the family being crushingly average the mother and father when they come back are wearing nice clothes, a suit and a dress.

Cinematography

The lighting in Halloween is, as said before, natural and realistic and the way this is done is through the room being filled most likely with a natural light being reflected on a brilliant white screen. As well as this, the lighting as Michael goes up the stairs would need to have changed when he's coming back down the stairs and this is done very well and the normal light that is given off connotes the nice, warm, happy, family home that its meant to be, which of course is the contrasted.
Camera movement throughout the scene is shot mostly on a hand held camera and you get all the bumps and wobbles of the little boy walking though the house and the director has done this on purpose because you're meant to notice the movement of Michael, it makes it more realistic instead of the camera moving perfectly smooth on tracks. This is also used so you can see him walk up and down the stairs which wouldn't have been able to do if it was a tracking shot. At the end of the scene once Michael has been unmasked, the camera zooms out which emphasises the shock factor.


Comments

  1. A Bateman19 September 2017 at 05:55

    Literacy point- Kameron, don't forget to use capital letters appropriately, for the first letter in the name of a film for example.

    A solid first piece of work, with some good references to film language but some room for development.

    WWW- a good analysis of the costume with an excellent historical contextual point about how the fears people had regarding the real serial killer was used by the director to add authenticity and relevance to the film.

    EBI- your analysis of the lighting was more analytical and less descriptive- you shouldn't just say that the lighting was natural, refer instead to the use of the type of lighting set up and consequences of that in the film.

    Show me- reply to this post and explain how the effect you have described has been achieved.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown26 September 2017 at 03:57

      The effect of light is used to emphasise the warmth and safeness a home should provide, especially for children (who ironically are involved in the murder) and the light used is fill lighting as its very natural and fills the room.

      Delete

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