The Shining

The Shining:
(Here's Johnny Clip)





The sequence opens with a shot which is tracking backwards showing the main character Jack Torrance the camera is tracking at the same speed of him walking. In this shot jack is walking into a room up a small corridor, while this is happening non-diegetic sound is playing in order to create suspense. The music playing is a high pitched screeching type sound which tells the audience that something sinister is going to happen.
When Jack reaches the end of the corridor he is stood in front of a door/window in this shot you can see a cross shape being made by the window panels. This shape is seen very frequently throughout the whole film which is used to reference religion and possibly a sinister force being present, this is big horror film convention used a lot in the genre.
From this the shot cuts to a mid-shot of a woman struggling to get out of a window, the fast movements of the woman and the speed of the music helps to create panic in the viewers. The following long-shot shows the boy outside of the window, the panic is also emphasised from the fast and heavy breathing of the boy, this put me on edge as you know that something is going to happen soon. From this scene I also began to mimic the sense of nervousness shown in both the characters. The next few shots are shot reverse shot of jack walking closer to the bathroom door and the woman trying to get out of the window, these are being used to show the audience that the woman and her son are trying to get away from Jack.
In the shot that Jack reaches the door the music takes a slight pause and then begins to increase its pace again, this adds to the suspense of the film as it uses the music to show climax's in the action. The following shots are of Jack breaking the door down with an axe, in the first shot there is a window present again showing the cross symbol, perhaps hinting at the supernatural force that sent him into madness.
There are many different shots used at different angles showing Jack breaking down the door, the second shot is positioned in line to the door, this is a mid-shot and shows the axe coming through the door and also the woman's reaction. The music during these scenes are very quiet compared to build up, the prominent sounds are diegetic and of the axe/door and the woman screaming. Another shot used was a mid-shot showing Jacks face as he is making a hole in the door, this shot shows Jack to be quite crazy, following this shot is the shot of Jack with his face through the door this also emphasises how crazy he has become.