Candyman- Analysis

• Production companies: Propaganda Films and Candyman Films
• Distribution companies: TriStar Pictures and Polygram Filmed Entertainment
• Release dates: Sept 11th 1992 (Toronto International Film Festival), Oct 16th 1992 (US) and March 19th 1993 (UK)
• Age certificate: 18
• It uses a narrative opening which is a common convention of horror films as many aspects (specifically in this film the music and camera angle) can easily build suspense and connote the genre.

Institutional context

The film starts with the two distribution companies and then the production company. They all fade in which follows genre conventions, especially for the decade this movie was created in where fades were used to slow down the beginning of the film and therefore create a tense atmosphere. Each of the companies texts are constructed in exactly the same simplistic way so as not to draw attention away from the music, which is essential to creating the mood for this film. Keeping it simple in this scenario has been effective mainly due to the genre. The black background, as well as creating a contrast for the white text to be read clearly, is a good colour palette to use as it connotes darkness which is a common fear (suggesting it's a horror), and not to mention that in a cinema it would cause the whole room to be practically pitch black. This would make the audience feel uncomfortable, further building suspense. They're all positioned in the centre of the screen, which is a common convention of all title sequences as it implies the importance of the companies.

Narrative

Candyman uses a narrative opening, which involves the credits displaying above a long take tracking birds eye view shot is used, following a road. Although this doesn't establish any main characters and only vaguely establishes any kind of setting, it succeeds in creating a few enigmas that are vital to keeping the audience interested whilst the opening credits are shown- what is the relevance of the road? Where does that road lead to? Are they being followed? That last enigma is created by the angle used, giving the feeling that we're watching from the POV of a bird, stalking it's prey. This helps build suspense, as it will give the audience an uneasy feeling. Candyman is a linear narrative that is kept in chronological order, although in the first two minutes this is not made clear as only one shot is used. The other shot that begins at around 1:49 creates more enigmas as it is a shot of bees (just like in the poster)- why are bees used? What is their relevance? At 1:49 the music ends and a non-diegetic voice, a narrator, speaks over this peculiar shot. It doesn't necessarily establish a character as all you get to hear is his voice, but are left with many other questions about his identity. He discusses shedding blood which builds on the narrative, but also develops the audience's curiosity.

Representations

The first shot is made clear to be a part of a city, which represents the sort of people who go to cities often or live in them (upper class 25+ males and females in particular). The characters in the film are the best way to represent groups in films, but the only character introduced within the first two minutes only has the potential to represent males, but he doesn't because of the sound effects added to his voice making it feel supernatural.

Genre

Candyman main's genre is obvious- horror. The non-diegetic music at the beginning, the colour palette of the first few shots displaying the companies involved and the simplistic opening credits are all genre conventions for a horror. The voiceover towards the end is edited to include echo like sound effects which creates suspense- this is a necessity for horror. The voiceover also connotes the subgenre- supernatural horror. The sound effects layered on top of the narrator give it an eerie, ghostly feel, making the audience suspect that the movie will involve something unnatural and unhuman.

Cinematography

The first two minutes of the film only consists of two different shots. The first shot is the birds eye view tracking shot (achieved with a helicopter) used for the narrative title sequence, and the second shot is a zoom in of bees. The first shot is a long take, meaning that there are no cuts or edits, just the same shot going on for over a minute with no edits. It's also an establishing shot which helps set the scene for the movie. It uses static composition, and in theory they're meant to be somewhat soothing, calming and tranquil. The fact it's not perfectly symmetrical, and the music will make the audience feel uncomfortable and unsettled. This is effective as in horror films, in order for them to suit the genre and be memorable, they have to create this effect. This shot doesn't haven't anything in particular to look at and focus on besides the road, which was placed central of the shot to draw attention that particular road rather than the other ones leading to it.  

This shot zooms in, but the Director of Photography wouldn't have had to spend too much time trying to figure out it's composition and framing as the entire shot is taken up by bees. This would've been on purpose, as there is absolutely nothing else placed in shot to distract attention from the bees, emphasising their importance in the story. This will create a strong enigma for the audience- what is the relevance of bees in the film? It's not an obvious answer, so helps attract and interest the audience as they'll have to continue watching the movie in order to find out their answer. This is the effect that the beginning of a movie should have.

Sound

The non-diegetic title music begins after the companies have been displayed on screen, when the long take of the road comes up along with the other title credits. No ambient sounds or any other diegetic sounds are used, as they would  disrupt the tense atmosphere the music creates. There's no dialogue throughout the whole first two minutes which helps maintain the sense of mystery and uneasiness created by the simplicity of the opening. Only two sounds are used at this point- the non-diegetic voiceover and the diegetic sound effect of the bees, which is made significantly quieter than the voiceover so as not to draw attention away from what the male character is saying. However, the sound effects of the bees buzzing have been amplified to louder than how they'd sound in real life, to add even more uneasiness to the audience. The male's voice has been enhanced and edited to sound more intimidating and aggressive, connoting the genre and giving the audience an insight into the character's personality just from his tone and pace of voice.

Editing

There isn't a large variety of editing  in this particular film opening as it only includes two different shots. There are no characters or actions (other than cars driving in a straight line), meaning it doesn't require any of the rules of continuity editing. For the company names at the very beginning fades are used (only lasting approx. 1 second) to slow down the titles to build up the atmosphere and create the illusion that an old fashioned camera has been used. They would do this to help set the scene, connoting the time period in which the movie is taking part in. These only last 8 seconds, whilst the first shot (the long take with all the other credits on it) takes around 1 minute 40 seconds. Between the long take and the zoom in of the bees is a straight cut, designed to not bring too much attention to itself so that the audience are able to focus more so on the storyline.

Mise-en-scene

The contents and props required for the two shots involved in the first two minutes of the film are kept simple. This could be because the movie was released over 20 years ago, but it's also effective as too much is unnecessary- it could ruin the atmosphere by distracting the audience from the aspects in the shot that are vital towards setting the right mood. The shots are kept vague, so don't give much away in terms of character and narrative.
The first shot, the tracking one following the road, helps set the scene. It's an establishing shot which is a convention of a majority of movies to set the scene right at the beginning of the film. It lets the audience know where the story is taking place. It's not a very specific establishing shot, as most modern movies either skip the shot or show a clip of a easily recognisable famous landmark to let the audience know the exact location. A few movies recently use subtitles to let the audience know where the scene is taking place. The scene is also brightly lit which isn't a convention of horror movies as they tend to use darker lighting, as darkness is a very common fear and has set connotations of bad things. As it is only the beginning of the movie, it could be used to make a bigger contrast between the beginning where everything's ok, and the end where the lighting would be made darker.
The second shot only raises more questions. The sound, the non-diegetic narrator speaking over the shot, is more vital towards constructing the characters, genre and narrative. The shot only lets the audience know one aspect the film will include- bees. With some people this could help connote the genre due to a fear of them (apiphobia). Due to the fact a character is speaking over the top of it, helps us get an insight into the character as it creates a mysterious relationship between that particular character and bees. This shot uses a darker lighting, which works very effectively as the narrator of this particular shot plays the antagonist of the film, which helps construct his character as evil due to the connotations associated with darkness.

Titles and credits

After the companies associated with the film are displayed and the long take of the road begins, the first job title displayed is who directed the film. After that is the title of the film. All of the people's names and job titles are constructed in the exact same way- plain white text of a slightly smaller than medium size. The only difference is the positioning of them on the screen. They all enter the shot through an animated movement, and are displayed in different areas of the shot to make the opening credits appealing and interesting, rather than keeping them all the same as that would appear boring and repetitive. The job titles included are (in order they appeared): actors, executive producer, executive in charge of production, person who chose the cast, sound designer, special make up effects artist, costume designer, film editor, production designer, director of photography, musician, producer, and the writer. No other text appears on screen, although a few of the job titles and names are shown at the same time. The job titles are in smaller text to the names, so as not to draw attention away from the main people responsible for the film.

The title follows the same colour palette- white. The font used is fairly similar to the job titles, but has harsher and more pointed edges to connote that this character, the "Candyman" is harsh and possibly violent. The text for the title also takes up a large portion of the screen to ensure that it has the audience's attention, and it also has to separate itself from the the other credits as it's the most important.