The Ring Opening Sequence

In the beginning of the opening sequence we see a wide shot of a young woman in what appears to be a kitchen. We acknowledge this by the presence of the props in the kitchen: Fruit basket, jug of juice, salt and pepper, toaster and a table with many more kitchen appliances. The woman is wearing a white shirt, which could suggest she has recently returned from work or college. The director has portrayed this young woman as a normal teenager in society. This reflects on the target audience as it is creating verisimilitude, which shows what a young person would be doing when they come home.

As she picks up her drink she walks and then suddenly halts when she hears the sound of the television with no signal. The audience can also see this by the light of the television being shown from the other side of the window. This creates a very tense and mysterious atmosphere. The camera cuts to a close up of the young woman's turning her head with a cautious look on her face.

The director then uses a wide shot from the point of view of the girl moving cautiously closer towards the television screen. This shows the audience what the character is afraid of and what she can see, this put us in her shoes and enhances the intensity of the situation. A reaction shot then shows the young woman looking confused. She then walks towards the screen, picks up the remote, switches it off and walks towards the kitchen again. But suddenly, the television automatically switches back on, showing the reflection of the screen on the window for the audience to see. Much to her horror, she realises something strange is going on. The camera slowly zooms into her, heightening the tension and increasing the sense of mysteriousness. She runs towards the screen and stares at it from point blank breathing heavily; she pulls the plug and leans on the television screen. Suddenly, the non-diagetic sound of swift movement is heard, and the reflection of the curtains blowing upwards is seen on the screen. She then has a fast reaction and turns towards the living room window's. The director may have chosen this shot to show the audience that there is an unusual presence in the house. This re-enforces the theme of 'Supernatural Thriller'.

Next we see a reaction shot of the young woman's face filled with fear. The director has chosen to do this to tell us that she is feared of the unusual presence in the house.

As she walks into the Kitchen, the fridge door suddenly opens by it self. The woman then rushes towards the door to shut it and breathes heavily emphasising her fear. Meanwhile, because the camera is on shallow focus, the background corridor is blurred out from the audience's sight. The director could have used this because it creates a sense of suspicion and mystery. The girl quickly then turns her head and the focus pull shows that there was nothing really there, easing her as much as the audience.

Next we see a high angle shot at the top of the staircase looking down at the girl nervously approaching the stairs. The director could have used this shot to make the girl look powerless and vulnerable. The camera then cuts to a low level shot of the girl approaching the bedroom which seems to have water leaking at the bottom. I personally think that this shot was used by the director to make it seem awkward and different from the rest of the scene. It makes the audience feel like something is about to suddenly happen.

The shot then changes to a close up shot of her face showing her facial expression which is representing confusion. The director has chosen this shot as it make the audience feel scared for her and eager to find out what is about to happen next.

We then see a extreme close up shot of the door handle and the girls hand attempting to open the door. The door handle is also dripping with water which makes the audience feel as if there could be someone in the bedroom. The girls movement towards the door handle is very slow and gives us the feeling that the girl is extremely scared. This shot is affective as we the audience are also eager to know what is about to happen next.

Next we see a wide shot of the door being pushed open and see the television screen screaming towards her. This shot and sound effect is very effective as even we the audience feel the need to jump out of our seats.

The last shot is a quick zoom into her face and her face changing into this scary monster. This director has used this shot to make the change of the girl happen extremely fast. I think that this is affective because it makes the audience feel uncomfortable and out of place.