Analysis of 'The Ring'

At the beginning of the opening sequence its starts with a blurred vision which you would associate with a tele not having signal or not working. This gives an unclear sense from the start which can already emphasize how the film won't be a happy children’s film and it’s more of a horror. I chose to analyse this because we chose to do a Psychological horror so the genre will be the same. Once you have seen the blurred vision the background music is a children’s nursery rhyme which could already be trying to covering up a story with an innocent children’s song. It as if they want the audience to see the good side of what’s going to occur. It gives an eary atmosphere.

Flashing images occur of a circle. This could represent repetitiveness as a circle is never ending so it could relate to how what happens is a recurring performance and there’s no way of stopping or getting out of it. This image refers to the title of 'the ring' and as a circle is one line that connects together it could highlight the difference between how the storyline is split between someone being trapped inside and then the other people who have control are the outside of the circle and have all the freedom and power over the situation. This image lasts a long time during the opening sequence as the credits are placed in front of it.

The colours in the sequence are quite dull and are dark colours. The background is a very dark colour which can represent going into a hole which is unknown and dangerous. This also creates a link to the circle shape which could be a hole. The colour of the ring and the text which is displayed is a white glow which has a tint of colour. This contrasts to the background and stands out to convey how you there could be unexpected occurrences and can show that it could be jumpy due to the images flashing suddenly on the screen. Grey, black and white is the most common colours used giving a mysterious sense to the audience. The contrast between the colours could be associated with the different personalities involved in the sequence.

The title of the sequence appears 28 seconds into the sequence and it is positioned inside of the circle. After that shot, more of the credits appear. Within the credits the letter 'o' has been replaced with a peace sign. As it is small it isn’t noticed instantly. This could highlight it being contrasted or that person named is the innocent one in the storyline. Then we start getting more visual representation of what the film consists of. A glass filled with water and what is assumed to be blood inside of it is shown. The effect of it being in water makes it uneven and spread out which could illustrate there being no control over any damage and it demonstrates violence within the film. The same image is shown from different angles which could mean that there could be several sections throughout the film where violence is involved and someone gets hurt.

Shortly afterwards there is an outside shot of a tree positioned on the left hand side which is in a sci-fi effect. It’s surrounded by a black effect in a circular shape yet again representing

the ring. As the tree was positioned on the left hand side it could highlight how there was a feel of freedom as it was just surrounded by an open space. This also represents isolation as it was on its own.

In between the image shots there are credits on a black screen in white writing. This allows the audience to think what the picture could refer to whilst they are waiting for the next image to appear. After the shot of the tree, there is another simple image which can have a lot of meaning to it. This was a silhouette of a chair which simply moved across the screen. As it was a silhouette it could represent something hidden as there is no detail about what you can see. The way it moved across the room could create a sense of suspiciousness as no-one is there that you saw physically moving it. You then see this occur again however the angles have changed so you see it come from the opposite side and flash from upside down. This can play with the mind for the audience creating tension.

Later on in the sequence you see the blood being dropped into the glass again which could highlight how there has been a repeat of a previous event. Although you saw it being dropped in the glass, an effect had been used to reverse this as we saw it come back out. This could illustrate someone trying to cover up their tracks and hide any evidence of what they did so there was less chance of them being caught. Again the tree and chair appear. Having the repetitive images make it unclear for the viewers as it gives them an imprecise thought on what the film could be about.