Source of Inspiration: Victim

Horror films always have a victim of some kind. It is important for us to decide if we want a victim to appear in our film opening or not, and if we choose to have one how they will be portrayed and act in the opening. 

Victims are often weak characters who are seen as quite vulnerable. Sometimes they can be living a normal life when somebody or something suddenly targets them, this is especially useful in a psychological horror film as it makes it much scarier for the viewer. I decided to focus on 'The Ring' when looking at victims in particular.

Point 1: Talking about TVs
Camera Angles:
There is an establishing shot to show the large house both the girls are in, and how they're quite isolated. Throughout this section there are medium shots of the characters talking about televisions and their boredom while the camera slowly zooms into them. 
Editing:
An eye-line match is used when Becca turns off the television, this brings our attention to the television they were looking at and what will later be an important part of the scene. 
Sound:
There is only diegetic sound in this scene, we can hear the rain outside and the sounds of the television as it is being turned from channel to channel. We also see the girls talking about television and how it affects the brain in a negative way.
Mise en Scene:
By looking at what the girls are wearing we can see that they are school girls, this shows that often the victims in films are young. We also see that it is night time, suggesting that victims are more at risk at this time of day. In addition they are watching television which is ironic as this is what will become a danger to them. 


Point 2: "What kind of tape?"
Camera Angles:
In this section there are medium and close up shots of the characters as they start to discuss the tape. Over the shoulder shots are used to show Becca describing the mysterious tape and then we see Katie's reaction, through reaction shots. The camera zooms into Katie's face to show the sheer terror she is experiencing, this is from a high angle shot highlighting her vulnerability. 
Editing:

Continuity editing is used throughout this scene.
Sound:
Once again, only non-diegetic sound is used in this section, we can hear the rain outside and the two girls discussing the tape. They seem to get more and more panic as they ponder over whether the tape is real or not, and if they should be concerned if they've heard it, "Who told you?" is an example of the speech here. 
Mise en Scene:
In this part of the scene we can see the victim, Katie is wearing her school uniform, but the main colour of her clothing is white, showing purity and innocence. Meanwhile, her friend, Becca is also wearing her school uniform, but the main colour of her hair and clothing is black, showing mystery and a possible threat, since she told Katie about the tape. Katie foreshadows her own death by pretending choke, showing that victims are often quite light-hearted and believe nothing bad will happen to them.  


Point 3: Phone ringing
Camera Angles:

There are close ups of the phone and the girls in this part of the scene. The camera zooms into the ticking clock on the table near Katie's bed. This shows there must be some kind of importance to the time that it is. There is also a close up of the phone as it is ringing and we see a full shot of both the girls as they look down the hallway. 
Editing:
The only editing used in this scene is continuity editing and a jump cut to the shot which zooms into the clock. 
Sound:
The diegetic sound in this section of the scene is made up of the ticking of the clock and the sound of the phone ringing. We can still in the rain at this point. The girls are talking to each other and then Katie has a conversation with her mother over the phone. 
Mise en Scene:
We see the girls are in an empty house, showing that they are both quite vulnerable since they are young and alone. We see Katie go from upstairs to downstairs. This could show how upstairs she had greater control and power but has she goes down in the house she looses control and authority and is much weaker and vulnerable. Katie is quite fearful in this scene as Becca tricks her when she picks up the phone which worries Katie a lot. 


Point 4: TV turns on

Camera Angles:
The camera angles used in this scene mostly medium shots and a close up of Katie when she is on the phone at the beginning. A point of view shot is used to show her creeping around the corner and look into her living room at the television which has mysteriously turned on by itself. Katie is shown at the beginning of the scene from low angle shots, as if she is still in control of the situation. However, throughout the scene this quickly changes and later on she is shown through high angle shots, like when she is going up the stairs. This shows how she is losing power in the scene. 
Editing:
There is continuity editing in this scene and a few visual effects are used when Katie looks at the television in her room. Her skin flickers a greyish colour like the television as the camera quickly and unsteadily zooms in on her face.
Sound:
The diegetic sound in the section of the clip is mostly made up of the sound of static from the televisions in Katie's house. We can still hear the rain faintly, which acts as a sound bridge throughout the whole scene. The sound of Katie's breathing is also apparent, which shows she is very scared about the situation is worried. 
Mise en Scene:

The televisions in this scene are the main threat to Katie, in fact they are the only threat. We see Katie get more and more fearful of them until eventually she stares at one in her bedroom. This scene is scary because televisions are always around us (or screens of some kind) and the fact Katie sees something move in the reflection is very unsettling. 

After looking closely at how the victim is portrayed in the opening of 'The Ring' we can see how this could be, and has been used in other films. For example, in Shrooms, characters are made to look vulnerable by high angle shots, making them appear much smaller than they actually are. In addition to this, when looking at 'Orphan' Sister Abigail is killed by Esther, and then dragged down to lower ground. This shows how much height can impact our perception of victims, and how it gives the killer or thing threatening them so much power. Clever editing techniques can be used in combination with different camera angles to make the victim appear in a much more vulnerable state and this can be done easily on a low budget, which will be good if we want to feature a victim in our film opening.