Production Company Deconstruction

Blumhouse Productions

Above is the production company introduction for Blumhouse Productions, a production company that specialises in low budget horror films such as Sinister, The Purge and Paranormal activity, which was made on just $15,000 and grossed over $193,000,000. Since 2009, they have produced over 40 films, the vast majority of which have been horror and a few comedies and dramas.

Sound

Throughout the clip a loud heartbeat and frantic breathing can be heard. The rate of the heartbeat increases rapidly throughout to signify the build up of fear and the breathing stops halfway through to emphasise the extreme terror. This is very fitting for the company's main genre of horror. The heartbeat also cuts off very suddenly at the end as the logo appears to imply death. At the end, all the sound is cut off and the only thing that can be heard is the electrical noises from the light, implying it's faulty which fits with the common setting for horror films - old houses. The company's logo also features an old house.

Many sounds build up during the clip to show a build up of fear and intensity. It begins with just a low hum and when the chair is shown a violin playing a sinister, creaky noise joins in followed by the harsh slam of the door. All of these noises are intended to create tension and to make the viewer jump. The crinkling of the paper can then be heard, and as the girl is shown this is joined by a creepy sounding female voice and a music box as these are both common horror film tropes. Several more unidentifiable sounds then join and contribute to the build up before all the sound cuts off.

Editing

The video is filmed in one whole take to give the impression of someone looking around frantically. As it gets further in, the camera movements begin to speed up and shake to increase the impression of nervousness. CGI has of course been used to create the image of the flying paper and chairs. Also, to add to the effect of faulty electronics, towards the end the camera glitches very suddenly.

Mise-en-scene

The clip is very centred around supernatural horror. The book and chair are floating in mid air and the door slams by itself which relates to the idea of ghosts and makes the viewer feel as though they're not alone, whereas the young girl provides connotations of possession as young children are commonly the victims of possession. This is because children are usually seen as innocent and seeing them in such a different settings creates fear and tension. Finally, the hanging light creates a sense of interrogation and being watched.

School Production Company - Watershed Productions

This is the production company titles for Watershed Productions, a fictional production company made by another AS media group. The red colouring in water looks like blood which creates an eerie effect, which is added to by the glitching of the text and image. The font is sans serif which means it's unlikely to be a supernatural horror film as there are no religious connotations, and the blood suggests that the production company's main focus would be on slasher horror films.

I found the way the text glitches to be particularly effective as the background behind stayed still which made it seem slower and more eerie in comparison. The glitching sets the viewer on edge as it happens at random moments, meaning the viewer doesn't know what to expect.

The colouring ('blood') drips onto the top left corner and slowly spreads out across the screen like real blood would if dropped into water. The video is then suddenly reversed and the colouring recedes back into a corner again. I thought the it looked very like real blood due to the colouring that had been applied to the video so I thought it was fitting for the horror genre. It also makes use of vague, creepy sound effects which cannot be distinguished and therefore makes it more disturbing.