In the first scene I have picked for my analysis happens
towards the start of the movie. Danny is seen playing by himself in the
bathroom and is talking to himself in the mirror. As this is happening, his
mother, Wendy, is in the other room talking to her husband, Jack. It suggests
that she is distracted and unaware of how Danny is acting at this current time.
He continues to talk in the mirror. As the scene progresses, it’s as if there’s
two different people, not just Danny himself. Then it cuts to random shots of
twin girls and blood gushing from a door. It gives off a sense that Danny is
creating it himself in his head or that it’s foreshadowing key events that will
happen in the future.
At the start of the scene where we see Danny playing in the
bathroom, non-diegetic music is used at this point to build up the tension
within the scene. This makes the audience seem worried and slightly confused of
the situation that’s happening. It gives us a better idea that Danny is very
important in the future events of them film from this point in time.
Non-diegetic music is used again when the random shots of what happens to be
seen as the future are on screen. This gives us an unnerving feeling within
ourselves as we watch it. The music during this part is the most tense during
the scene, giving us the idea that it’s the most important aspect the audience
need to look out for. On the other hand, the diegetic sound with in this scene
is mainly build up on Wendy’s, Jack’s and Danny’s dialogue and nothing too
significant.
The lighting for this scene has kept high-key throughout.
Most horrors are usually low-key throughout the film with added high-key lighted
areas. As this scene is towards the start, high key lighting is used to show
that everything is alright at this moment in time and that the characters are
safe, for now.
The colour red was a significant colour during this scene.
This includes; the blood gushing out of the red doors and the red accents on
Danny’s shirt. This is one of the big conventions that are used within horror
films. The red is used to symbolise danger, death and blood. Another key
convention that was used was the tense and unnerving music. Horror films
generally use this to cause tension within the audience and the audience are
more likely to get scared if the music is used to build up and intensify
situations.
As I have stated before, the fact that the tense music is
being used as Danny talks to his self is important. It’s a possible meaning
that he is involved within something that we do not know of yet. To me, I think
this scene tells us that something isn’t right in the atmosphere and the family
are going to get involved in that situation. The fact that Wendy is unaware of
what Danny is doing in the bathroom may suggest that she’s going to be like
this with other events that are slightly more important than what’s happening
now.
In the second scene I chose, Danny and his mother, Wendy, go
on a casual stroll through the maze that’s within the hotel grounds. Everything
seems alright and calm. However, Jack is inside ‘supposedly’ doing work alone.
He walks over to a model of the maze and looks over it whilst smirking. This makes
us think that he is up to something and has plans that have something to do
with that maze. In the following shot, there is a bird’s eye view shot of the
model maze and you can see Danny and Wendy within it. It shows that they are
alone and are possibly isolated.
When Danny and Wendy are exploring the maze, non-diegetic
music has been added on top. This makes the maze seem mysterious and eerie to
the viewer. Mazes give off the effect of isolation and confusion, hence why the
mysterious music would be effective here. A range of camera angles have been
used in this scene as well. The most important one is the bird’s eye view. This
is because it shows the audience the large space surrounding both Danny and
Wendy. This helps to show isolation and the fact that they are alone.
Isolated areas are important in this scene. The maze expresses
that quite well due to the amount of space and the feeling of getting lost
within it. This is a convention of the horror genre which happens to be used in
an eerie and mysterious way throughout this scene. The use of the colour red
has made its appearance in this scene. Both Danny and Wendy seem to be wearing
red. The red symbolises danger but also love. This represents the family bond
between Danny and Wendy. This convention is the most important within this
scene and the rest of movie itself.
The way the maze is viewed in this sequence is a possible
meaning of isolation and confusion. Mazes are seen as a way to confuse the
human mind and victory when finally reaching the centre or the opposite exit.
The maze in ‘The Shining’ is very large and shows a lot of space that’s empty
around them. That links in with the meaning of isolation. Another possible
meaning would be the fact that Jack seems intrigued by the model maze that he
is standing in front of. It’s as if he is watching Danny’s and Wendy’s every
move. It also suggests that Jack is making plans for future events that have
something to do with the maze. This makes the maze seem significant in the
story. To me, I see this scene as sign that there is something wrong with Jack
and that things are starting to get a lot stranger. As it is just the family
staying at the hotel, I believe it suggests that things will definitely start
to go wrong as they are alone and far from contact with anyone.
