The Ring

Analysisof theopeningsequence

In the opening sequence of the The ring we immediately see a close up of Katies face (Character in
the left picture) as she realizes the television randomly turns on and tells us that she may witness
paranormal activity as soon as we see the remote on the sofa. The close up of her face shows the
tension and fear she is going through when the TV turns on. When Katie slowly walks towards the
room we see a point of view shot which enhances a sense of realism and audience involvement in the
action showing that she might encounter danger. While she is walking towards the room we hear
Diegetic sound which introduces the suspense in the scene as we hear the buzzing sound from the
TV creating a sense of fear and distress for the audience. This is because they dont know what will
happen next to Katie as she is left in a vulnerable position when entering the room. An editing
technique used in the scene is slow motion when Katie was leaving the room after turning the TV off,
The TV then suddenly turned back on and a slow motion scene was shown when the camera was
slowly moving towards her for her reaction. They use this editing technique to show her shocked
reaction towards the TV and we as an audience are certain that she's in great danger of facing horror.
In the scene she is wearing a skirt and a casual shirt to show that she looks like an innocent woman.
As she approaches the TV we see in the background of her window that there is heavy rain which
could suggest that she is unsafe and in danger.

In this particular scene we see a high angle shot of Katie starring upstairs using dialogue of can you
hear me? to see if anyone else is with her. A high angle shot is used to show she's vulnerable and
powerless and makes the audience feel that she is helpless as she is hoping to see if her brother or
sister is with her. We are then followed with a pull focus shot when the camera is focused on her when
she is walking towards the door and then the water on floor stops being blurry and becomes in focus.
This is used to show the importance of the scene as Katie is confused of why there is water dripping on
to the floor creating huge suspense. Diegetic sound is then used when she steps on the water puddle
indicating that something is wrong as she is suspicious to find out. A cut in the scene is significant as it
shows an change of emotion and feeling as when she is downstairs she feels worried, scared and
confused however when she reaches upstairs although she is still scared, Katie is now suspicious and
wants to find out what's wrong. In mise en scene Katie is walking slowly to the door which suggests she
is concerned and her body language shows this as well. They also use low key lighting down the corridor
to show the place as dangerous and unsafe.

In the final part of the opening scene there is a close up of the door handle when she is about to
enter the room. This also gives out suspense for the audience for what's about to come when she
opens the door and tension here is at its highest point throughout the opening scene. After Katie
opens the door, immediately there is a zoom out of the television which links back to the start of the
opening scene where all along the paranormal was on the TV this whole time. This sets out the film
to show what will happening to other characters and they would be facing a similar situation as
Katie. Straightaway after the door is opened there is non diegetic sound which sets out the
atmosphere where Katie is then possessed by the evil spirits from the TV. An editing technique
used is a short take when the door is opened the scene lasted for a few seconds so not everything
would be given away as it is the opening sequence but shows a glimpse of what might happen
further down the film. The location of this scene was in probably Katie's brother or sisters room
which tells us that they might have been taken away from the evil spirits too.