A Nightmare

on Elm Street

Titling• The main title of the film is Red and

White. The red is used for the words “ A nightmare” which suggest danger with a nightmare. Also nightmares are scary so red is the most appropriate colour to use. White is used for “on Elm Street.” The colour white suggest that Elm Street is clean and pure and connotes them as the victims of the movie. For the rest of the tile sequence white is used as to not draw attention away from the action. After the main title he font changes to one that Is more bumpy and not in line which suggest the movie may be about disorientation or delusion ad also implied by the title of a “ nightmare.” Red and white are typical colours used for titles in horrors because of what there colours symbolize.

Camera• For the beginning sequence all the

shots are close ups of what the character is doing with his hands. It follows the sequence of someone making a glove with knifes at the end. It is only when we leave this setting does the camera use a long shot to show a blonde female in a secluded tunnel. This is conventional of horrors because it shows the audience that there is now where for the victim to run or hide. We still do get close ups of the victims face to show there horror, they don’t know where they are. This is another typical convention of horrors because it makes the audience sympathize with the character so when they die it is more shocking.

Mise-en-scene• For the first minute everything it the scene is

either dark red or brown, creating what seems to be a red tinge to the screen. As said before red connotes danger and blood so this is setting up the genre of a horror. Also the character is around dangerous equipment like a torch blower and hammer which further denotes that they are a dangerous character. We know that the character shown first is the dangerous character because he is shown around knife and he is also wearing red clothes. The next character we see is a blonde female, typically the first victim, in a white dressing gown with a white background. The white suggest she is innocent and pure so we know she is the victim. When we see her in the next setting a tunnel with leaky pipes, the audience knows that she is in danger. This is because the tunnel is totally secluded and also the leaking gas pipes suggest that it is dangerous place. There are heard leaking pipes where the “killer” was in he first setting so it links the to places so we know she is in danger.

Who is the hero and who is the villain? How do you know?

• The audience at this point only knows who the villain is. This is because the open sequence is primarily someone in red, a colour that connotes danger and blood, making his weapon, a hand with knifes. There is a possible hero, however the audience doesn’t know this. I think she is not going to be the hero because she is blonde female and in horror movies they are typically the ones who die first. Dark haired girls are usually the heroes.

Where is the story set? What does this tell you about the genre of the film?

• As the title suggest the film is set on “Elm Street,” however from the first two minutes we do not see this setting. The first setting seems to be in a construction site. The reason I think this is because of all the pipes and metal and mechanical equipment we see the killer using. It also must be underground because that is usually where pipes are found. The fact that the first two minutes are set underground connotes that there is nowhere for the victim to run or hide, if they try it is a long way before they reach where people are.

How many principle characters?• In the opening sequence we are only introduced to two characters. One I think is

going to be the killer because he is seen in red and the other I think will die shortly because she is a blonde female and they conventionally die first or soon. Therefore I do not know how many characters there are going to be. However because the name of the movie is “A Nightmare on Elm Street” it suggests that there may be a few approximately 4 or 5.

How is the story told?

SO far in the opening sequence I is told chronologically. We know this because I presume that the killer makes a weapon before doing any killings and this is what we see him do.

What questions are you left with?

•What does the killers face look like?•Why is he going to kill the girl?•Is the girl going to survive?•Who is he going to kill? A group of friends?