Reference films

After the names of the production houses and financial institutions the film starts with a shot of trees giving the feeling of the nature of countryside with noises of birds. The horse cart passes through a road indicating that it is in past when cars were not very much in use. These both things indicated where and when the film is starting from that is the setting. A voice over starts of the protagonist of the film defining the theme, exposition and his experience which will be shown in the film that all the events of life are written and we don’t have much control on certain things which means destiny exists. While the voice over was there the journey of the cart is shown from different shots showing the beautiful natural environment of countryside. As soon as the voice over tells about the big huge traditional house it is shown in the frame and the voice over along with the journey of the cart ends. The door opens in a traditional way with a traditional sound which can be an archetype. The person who was in the cart enters the house and its is so much silent that the noise of his shoes is also evident and while he is looking around the house so the iconography is shown with long corridors, candles, frames and long stairs. The style which is been carried out throughout the scene is dull and dark lighting although it is daytime. As soon as the person was looking around he goes towards the chessboard and is then interrupted by a person and silence breaks down. This is the person who introduces himself as the caretaker of the house and tells that the owner wanted to build a hotel over here and he also mentions British in his dialogues which also indicates the setting that it is the time when British people use to rule in India. Within this description of the caretaker he also introduces the person to the audience who is an architect and is here to do the work what the owner wanted to be done. During this all conversation the house is shown in detail as the architect was surveying it and the lighting was continuously dark. One more thing which gives an indication to the audience is that when the architect asked to the person about the architect came before him, so the caretaker gave a sudden look to the servant and molded the talk into a different direction which may mean that they both knew something about the house. This is also a genre element that is found in most of the horror films that there are people who always know about the antagonist in the film but never tells to the victim. Before this day scene ends one more very important element of horror genre is shown that when the caretaker asks the architect that from when he will start the work so he tells him that tonight.

Now in the beginning of the night scene there is always a master shot of the haunted house, another genre element which is always there in especially Vikram Bhatt films. Long corridor is shown without electricity and candle lighting which is also a very important genre element that electricity is never there in the scene. There is always a pin drop silence in the horror films and suddenly something breaks down which is made up of glass, giving a feel of something being wrong aided by the expressions and reaction of the person who is the architect in this case. In this type of scene there is always a soft background sound so the noise of the breaking glass can be sudden and effective which is also a genre element. After this type of event whenever the person turn back to the work in such films there is something spoiled which is creating an environment of the presence of a supernatural being. The victim in these horror films is always curious and never ignores anything especially the sound of someone walking or screaming which is also a generic type used in this film. One most important use of non-diegetic sound is to create suspense and in these films it is consolidated with camera shots in a tremendous way that first there is a diegetic sound with a fast zoom in towards the actor/victim and then a non diegetic sound with a zoom in to the corridor in this case. Whenever a person turns to see behind a wall so to make that move effective and special there is again a rising non diegetic sound used which is also a genre element. Use of big pendulum clocks is also an important element of iconography in horror genre and there is always a sound of the pendulum comes first and then comes the big clock in the frame to create an impact of suspense aided by the expressions and reaction of the actor to a very much normal thing.  There is always a use of long shots from behind the pillars to give an impact that some supernatural being is keeping an eye on the victim. The victim who is curious is always aided by the non diegetic suspense creating sound which is raised with the rising action/conflict. In this film the victim’s leg breaks the stairs and is stuck while he was climbing stairs to find out what is there in the above room from where the noises were coming. This is the part where the non diegetic sound changes and loud drums also contribute a lot to reflect the problem and disturbance along with the screaming and expressions of the victim which is diegetic. The glass above the stairs gets cracks and breaks towards the victim and his screams reflect that he is now dead and the scene ends with a long shot of the house again which was also the start of the scene. As always in the morning the servant came with the tea and is shocked after seeing the dead body lying on the stairs and the indication of his shock is shown by his action of dropping the tray on the ground aided by some non-diegetic rising sound.

The subtitles begin along with a voiceover of holy phrases of Hinduism which indicates that it is a film about fight between the evil and good as first scene was an incident of evil and then comes the praying of god. The setting of this scene is early morning and a lake within a temple, where this person who had the voiceover in the beginning and is also the protagonist of the film is shown with different shots and camera following him. He is walking on the street and going home probably and the voiceover of the phrases are also continued along with the description of the place with the help of the mise-en-scene which includes cloths of the people around, which indicates place of Gujarat and an environment of a village. His all actions and expressions showed his bond with his god and the feeling that he was not satisfied with the luxurious life his family was living. The credits ends with the phrases and the scene changes giving a clear picture to the audience of the main theme/thesis of the film which is the fight of good and evil projected in the rest of the film by Vikram Bhatt.

This film is quite close to the theme of my film of fight between good and evil. In my film the use of voiceover of the Protagonist will be there in the start giving hints which is similar to 1920. In my film also the story is based upon a haunted house with a back story attached to it. Use of country side setting, traditional way of door opening, dark and dull lighting and pendulum clock are some more elements I will be using. Non diegetic sound in normal moves of the character to make them effective, use of candles, long shots behind the pillars, curiosity of the character are some more similar elements. Use of non-diegetic sound consolidated with camera shots in a similar way as 1920 that first there is a diegetic sound with a fast zoom in towards the victim and then a non diegetic sound with a zoom in to the room in my case. The use of the non ignorant sound of someone walking and one whole incident covered on which whole film will be based on connecting the hints given to the audience are also some important common elements in my film and the reference film 1920.

This film is also a Vikram Bhatt film with the same theme of the fight between god and evil. After the names of the production houses and financial institutions the opening credits starts with a sound track which is an instrumental with an impact of suspense and romance. Beautiful scenery is shown moving the camera towards the road and drums sound giving feel of horror and suspense shows a big car passing away. The voiceover begins of the protagonist of the film telling his story that he returned from America after his studies and due to the illness of his father, to handle the urgent business of his father he was sent to a place near Delhi, India called Ekoti. In his voiceover the audience gets a very little hint of the upcoming story that there will be some events in his journey related to love and the real life in the film as he tells in the voiceover. The car stops near a small local restaurant which describes that it is a village/countryside with the mise-en-scene of the people, waiters and environment shown. With this opening credit ends with the name of the director Vikram Bhatt.

In the film Haunted 3D the beginning is similar to 1920 but one thing which I will be using in my project film will be the shots of a car passing with different angles along with a use of some non digetic sound and voiceover which will be similar to the above film of Vikram Bhatt.