Scarlet's Witch

The low-angle shot of the camera tracking along the road, along with the music demonstrates that the journey that Scarlet makes. The de-saturated colours help create this sense of mystery, with the forest surrounding it. The opening of what seems like a cottage door in darkness as the title ‘Scarlet’s Witch’ implies the dark tone of the narrative and the idea of black magic. The colour of the title using red fading into a harsh yellow is a connotation of hellish, dark imagery. The repetition of this shot later on, when Scarlet goes to visit the witch reminds the audience of this. The opening voiceover dialogue ‘Once upon a time there was a little girl named Scarlet’ is fairytale like, and so sets up the structure of the plot, good being taken over by evil before overcoming it again.

The use of the camera movements and angles are interesting because they keep the reader’s attention. For example, the shot of Scarlett on the swing whilst watching the other kids play together highlights her loneliness and immediately establishes a reason for actions later on. The far away shot of Scarlett as she stands alone in the wood make her look vulnerable and the narrowness of the path makes her seem as though she is trapped. The close-ups of her support this, as the audience can see the fear written on her face even though she sounds brave as she talks. The switch to the sand-timer being in focus and then out draws the audience to the importance of time in the story. As the camera moves slowly through the trees the audience is put in Scarlet’s position which creates a feeling of trepidation in them. By keeping the hourglass in shot as the audience see Scarlet crying, again shows its importance.

The director’s deliberate use of lighting is very important because it creates the tone of each scene. Changes from normal, bright colouring to darker and almost sinister one adds to the sense of danger. The fade in and out of black helps move the pace of the narrative on. The contrast of the warm interior of the cottage and twist in the narrative deliberately changes the audience’s expectation and thus makes the ending unexpected. The third repetition of the cottage door opening again is much more ominous because there is a creak and the mise-en-scene has again adopted a darker colouring, making the dark interior appear more threatening.

The use of a voiceover helps to add to the audience’s feelings; “She had to do something. So she did,” This sense of foreboding overshadows the narrative. Another example is, “Scarlet had finally used her favour. But time had run out,” a sense of fearful anticipation is created for the audience and they want to know what will happen to Scarlet. Ending with a powerful emphasis on the moral of selfishness and a question, ‘What would you sacrifice?’ the audience is left to ponder on it and the importance of character and integrity.