Codal Analysis

Codal Anaysis

For the Codal Analysis, I will be analysing three films openings from my chosen genre – Horror, and looking at the different codes and conventions:• Visual Codes• Audio Codes• Technical Codes• Narrative Codes• Enigma Codes

Dead Silence

Visual Codes• At the beginning of this film opening there is a series of

short clips, all of which relate to the idea of a ventriloquist dummy. There is a few shots showing a women looking through a book and we zoom in on an image of a women holding up a dummy. There is then a further sequence of shots showing the creation of a ventriloquist dummy. These shots are all very quick and short and the transitions are not very long so the clip appears very jumpy and sketchy. The short, quick clips are used to create tension. The lighting in the opening is also very dark to create tension and suggest that something is unusual about the doll.

Audio Codes• The music used in this film opening is very quick however it is also

very eerie, this is used to create tension. The music sounds like it is maybe coming from a music box similar to a child’s jewelry box. This may be used because we could relate a ventriloquist dummy with entertaining children and with this eerie music in the style of a music box we could associate the two with each other. As the pace of the clips speed up, the music speeds up to match the pace and also becomes more dramatic because of the bass within the song increasing. Towards the end of the into the clip the music changes slightly the include a sound in the style of choir singers. The pace also speeds up a lot towards the end and whilst the last shot is placing it stops and the music box sounds begins playing again however very slowly to show that something is out of the ordinary.

Technical Codes• The majority of the shots within this clip are close-ups, for example

close-ups of the drawing in the book of the doll and also close-ups whilst they are making the doll. These are used to emphasise the point that something is unusual. Sometimes a close-up is used however the shot then transitions very quickly to an extreme close-up of the same object.

• There is one shot used towards the end of the clip which I think is very effective because in the image there is a drawing of something in the background and in the foreground we can see that it is the ventriloquist doll however it is blurred but the doll then comes into focus and the drawings in the background are then blurred. This is effective because it is showing the link between the two objects.

Narrative Codes

• In this film opening, the narrative of this film is the creation of the doll. This is done by initially showing a few images of a women holding the doll and then we begin to see the process of the doll being made. We are showed the initial drawings of the doll, then we see the process of the doll being made and finally at the end of the clip we see the final finished doll.

Enigma Codes

• The enigma code within this clip is that we do not know the relevance of the doll however we can assume that there is something unusual or out of the ordinary about the doll as it would not be included in the opening of this film.

The Conjuring

Visual Codes• Towards the beginning of this film opening there is a close

up the side of a dolls face, the shot is moving and then we see a two girls sitting on a sofa talking. The initial shot of the doll is very unusual and creates suspense however once we switch to see the girls it is not quite as unusual or creepy. We then see two girls walk through a door and they pick up a note saying ‘miss me?’, this creates tension because we don’t know why this is happening. There is then shots of the doll to link it to what’s happening. We then see one of the girls throw the doll in the rubbish and theevents after that then show the doll making its way back into the house.

Audio Codes

• At the beginning of the clip we can hear dialogue of some girls talking, they are talking very slowly and sounds rather sad. There is dialogue from four characters within the clip. When the clip shows the doll being back into the house there is very typical, intense horror music.

Technical Codes

• There are a variety of shots used within this clip. The close-up shot used at the beginning of the clip is used to show that the doll has some relevance and also that this is maybe something negative. There is then a two shot of the girls whilst they are speaking. There is also a series of quick paced close-ups shots involving the doll and events involving the doll.

Narrative Codes

• The narrative of this clip is that these girls are explaining events that happened involving the doll. We then see some clips of what has happened which the girls have described and this enhances their point.

Enigma Codes

• The enigma code within this is that we initally don’t understand the relevance of the doll however the girls then explain the relevance and we then want to know more of how the doll is doing these things to the girls.