Deconstruction Of Exorcism Scene In The Conuring

The following is a deconstruction of the exorcism scene in "The Conjuring". Below I have deconstructed the opening in order to select certain elements to use as a source of inspiration in our opening. Our opening starts of with an exorcism of a possessed girl. Therefore, I have focused for possessive conventions to use.



Mise En Scene

• The sequence firstly denotes a woman who is showing signs of possession. Her body language and facial expressions signify possession. Makeup show bruises on her face. Low key lighting connotes a negative occurrence.

• Paranormal activity is then shown through long shot of the woman flying around and objects moving. Tracking camera movement is used in order to follow the woman's possessive movement.

• The Exorcist is a male, fairly young. Props such as the crucifix and bible represent an priest type figure. A low angle, close up shot has been used to make the Exorcist dominant.

• A long shot shows the woman tied to a chair. A white sheet has been thrown over her to restrain her. A zoom is used which helps the close up to denote blood appearing through the sheet. This is a common convention seen in exorcism scenes, which usually happens towards the end as a way of building climax.

 



 Sound

• The on-screen diegetic sound of the woman screaming connotes that she is possessed.
• Diegetic dialogue and the absence of non diegetic sound create realism.
• The diegetic sound of the object rattling is synchronous.
• The use of the silence after the woman has stopped screaming, creates suspense.
• Sound effects have been used such as bone breaking. This is a convention audience expect to see in supernatural horror films, which therefore conforms to the genre.

From this deconstruction, my group and I will use a cross and bible for our priest. We will also use various camera shots from different angles to denote the possessive movement. This will make our opening more intense and active, as the audience will be receiving a view from multiple angles. In terms of makeup, we shall create bruises and cuts.