the woman in black 2 textual analysis

1. THE WOMAN IN BLACK: ANGEL
OF DEATH
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

2. PURPOSE OF FILMTRAILERS
 A trailer is a form of advertising in which the purpose is to promote a new film to potential
audiences and aims to encourage people to buy the film or see it at the cinema.
 The genre of a film is often represented in a trailer through the elements of mise-en-scene
and cinematography techniques. For example, the editing in a horror film is likely to be
fast paced and include camera shots such as extreme close ups, yet these elements are
not likely to be found in a film from the romantic genre.
 Similarly, the choice of actors in a trailer can also represent the target audience of a film
giving them something to relate to.
 The actors themselves can emphasise the genre if they are known for a particular genre of
film. For example, actor Jim Carey is known for playing a role in comedies.
 Trailers will often have a unique selling point (USP) to help it appear different from others
of the same genre.This helps to attract audiences because a new release will appear
different from previous trailers audiences may have seen before.

3. THEWOMAN IN BLACK 2TRAILER
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4rzV0CvhyM
 The woman in black:The Angel of death (2014) is a film from the horror/thriller
genre and is directed byTom Harper and stars Helen McCrory, Jeremy Irvine and
Phoebe Fox
 The woman in black: Angel of death follows on from the first film but is set during
the second world war and focuses on a group of evacuees who are haunted by the
woman in black whilst they are residing in Eel Marsh house.
 This film like the first in the franchise was produced by Hammer films

4. NARRATIVE
 This trailer introduces us to the setting of the film by showing us a series of establishing shots of the
group of evacuees travelling on trains or of Eel Marsh house where the main .
 Like the trailer for the first film this trailer also features a voiceover from the person who is
responsible for the group of evacuees tells us what is happening within the scenes, this helps
audiences to establish that she will be playing the role of the protagonist within this film.
 Another voiceover is featured towards the end of the trailer which a poem read by one of the
children who faces the woman in black.The narrator recites a poem in which ‘she’ is constantly
repeated, this adds to the sense of unease as it is ambiguous who the voice over is talking about.

5. NARRATIVE (CONT.)
 Within this film we see that the group of evacuees and those responsible for
looking after all become a victim of the woman in black however the main focus
within the trailer is on the female character and how she is a victim, therefore this
film trailer would be conforming to typical conventions of horror. However genre
conventions are subverted by having a female antagonist as compared to the
expected male villain within a horror film
 Todorov’s narrative structure can be applied to the trailer as the opening scenes
show what would be a sense of normal at the time. However later on at the house
when the Woman in Black is first sighted, disruption occurs as the trailer soon
becomes fast paced and the change in the weather adds to the negative
atmosphere.The disruption increases as the trailer progresses and the audience
does not see the new equilibrium as this will make them curious to know what
happens.

6. CINEMATOGRAPHY (CLOSE UPS
 theWoman in Black: Angel of death trailer also uses several close up shots of toys
 The eyes of these toys each fit the rule of thirds grid which makes an audience eyes go straight to
this point when they first see them.This allows an audience to gain a more personal connection but
also makes them feel uncomfortable.
 By using a close ups to display these toys creates a sense of unease for a consumer as there is
nothing else for them to look at as they are the only thing in focus.
 The choice of using toys creates a feeling of innocence and purity as they are often associated with
childhood however the appearance of the toys is quite unexpected as they are displayed in a sinister
way and are damaged, therefore subverting what an audience expects and as a result creates a
sinister atmosphere.

7. CINEMATOGRAPHY (HIGH ANGLE SHOTS)
 The trailer uses high angle shots to portray vulnerability
 This is shown through an establishing shot as this highlights how much destruction has
been caused by the war, giving the audience some context for when the film is set
 Similarly, when they enter the house, she is shown to be vulnerable looks small through
the use of a high angle shot as she looks out of the window and sees a ghostly figure in the
distance which will cause the audience to feel uncomfortable
 Later on in the trailer a high shot is used in order to show vulnerability in a scene when the
protagonist is struggling to save a young child from drowning and a high angle shot is
used to show how she is fighting to swim to save herself and the young boy who is
unconscious and how she is vulnerable in this situation.

8. CINEMATOGRAPHY (LONG SHOTS)
 The trailer introduces the setting through the use of long shots.
 In the first long shot, an audience can see that the from the greyness of picture that the atmosphere is dull
and gloomy.
 This can be thought to set the tone of the film as being quite dark.This is particularly shown through the
cross, this is an example of dramatic irony as the cross being in focus highlights the theme of death to the
audience which the character is unaware of.
 Also, the surroundings appear abandoned and isolated suggesting that the character is trapped and alone.
 There is also a high amount of contrast between the two setting of the eerie house in the countryside and
the war torn capital city which shows that there is no real sense of order or calm within the narrative of
this film.

9. EDITING
 Towards the end of the trailer, the editing uses quick, fast cuts to help build tension.
 As these cuts are quick, it makes the reader question what it is that they have just seen.This
encourages an audience to go and watch the film whilst also creating a sense of fear.
 For example, multiple scenes are put together with a black out in between, this makes the
trailer continuous and flows well.
 Parallel editing is also used. Different things are happening in house at the same time.
 For example, the toys are moving in one room, and the protagonist travelling to the house.
 This shows that eventually all of these elements will meet so foreshadows that something will
happen.

10. EDITING (CONT.)
 Cross-cutting is also used in the trailer.This is where scenes are shown in a non-
chronological order to show the most exciting scenes in the trailer.
 In this trailer, the more exciting scenes are shown towards the end which this
helps to attract an audience and entice people to watch the film as the most
memorable scenes are left until last.

11. DIEGETIC SOUND
 The weather is also used as part of sound.The wind, lightening and rain are used as diegetic sounds, which
instantly creates a dark and gloomy atmosphere. If these sounds were played alone, an audience are most likely
to know that the atmosphere is quite negative. This is suitable for this style of film as the weather is a typical
convention in setting the scene in horror.
 The dialogue between the characters might also be indicative that this film comes from the horror genre as
when the adults communicate they seem very tense and like they are under threat and show that they are scared
of the woman in black and the audience should feel the same way.
 There is also the use of the sounds of explosions and air raid sirens at the beginning of the trailer due to this and
camera work audiences are able to gain some context about the film and establish that it set during the Second
World War.

12. NON-DIEGETIC SOUND
 Within this trailer we see that outside of the soundscape which the characters cannot hear that there is a
voiceover coming from a child which is used in order to tell the story of The woman in black he says she never
forgives ,she never forgets’ which would require the audience to know what this is so that they would
understand who is being spoken about in this point within the trailer.
 The pronoun ‘she’ is used in order to make the voiceover have a more sinister feel to the trailer and makes the
audience feel on edge as they will be spooked by the voice of the child saying these things that don’t carry the
connotations of innocence like that of a child does, and this will make them feel uncomfortable and at the same
time intrigued to find out more about what’s happening in the trailer .The pronoun also creates ambiguity as
without having seen the first film within this franchise the viewer would not know who ‘she’ is
 As we are not able to see the full linear narrative of the film the voiceover within the trailer bridges one part of
the story to another.

13. COLOUR & LIGHTING
 The colours used are very dark, particularly black has been used throughout and this portrays a sense of danger and is often
associated with death, with is appropriate for the films storyline.
 The colour of the character’s costumes are often quite pale which could suggest how they are becoming distant, and ghost-like
which is relevant to the ghost story.The main character however, stands out as he is dressed all in black showing how he is an
outsider.
 The lighting used is also very dark and this connotes the idea of the unknown as the audience and characters in the film are
unable to see what's could be coming.
 Similarly, the dark lighting is suitable for the horror genre as it adds to the gloomy, negative atmosphere.
 At the end of the trailer bright white lighting and costumes are used.The heavy contrast between black and white shows how
the film can be linked with the horror genre and also the title of the film as the white is connoted with Angels and the colour black
associated with death , like the title of the film:The woman in black: Angel of death

14. BARTHES’ ENIGMA CODES
 The purpose of a trailer is to create mystery surrounding the films release and this theory can be applied to the Woman in Black
trailer as mystery is created throughout.
 Firstly, who theWoman in Black is or why she is important is not revealed in the trailer therefore an enigma is instantly created as
audiences have questions about her.
 The pronoun ‘she’ is used in order to make the voiceover have a more sinister feel to the trailer and makes the audience feel on
edge as they will be spooked by the voice of the child saying these things that don’t carry the connotations of innocence like that
of a child does, and this will make them feel uncomfortable and at the same time intrigued to find out more about what’s
happening in the trailer .The pronoun also creates ambiguity as without having seen the first film within this franchise the viewer
would not know who ‘she’ is – which relates to Barthes action code of creating tension.
 The semantic code is also used within this trailer as we see the use of toys which creates a feeling of innocence and purity as
they are often associated with childhood however the appearance of the toys is quite unexpected as they are displayed in a
sinister way and are damaged, therefore subverting what an audience expects and as a result creates a sinister atmosphere.

15. MODE OF ADDRESS
 The trailer talks to the target audience by using their website and twitter account
as a synergistic technique.
 This form of advertising is relevant to the target audience as it can help people to
raise awareness of the film through social networking. Also, with twitter if people
start talking about the film, this all helps the promotion and raising awareness of
the film.
 This film also shows the films release date of January 2nd so that audiences who
are already interested in seeing this film will know when they can see this film and
find out more about the film in the lead up to its exhibition

16. INFLUENCES
 We have been influenced by theWoman in Black trailer to include point of view
shots as this allows an audience to take the position of the character which not
only makes them feel involved but share the emotions and feelings of the
character.
 With the editing, the quick cuts create tension and create a countdown effect as
this transitions are building up to something that will make the audience jump.We
think this is successful as it makes audiences feel uneasy which is expected of the
horror genre. Fast cuts were also popular in our questionnaire so this needs to be
something that we consider using.
 This trailer does not use any dialogue, only diegetic and incidental sounds so this
encourages audiences to use their imagination.This is something that we are
considering to use in our trailer as sometimes using your imagination is more
powerful than seeing or being told information.