I have decided to compare these two horror films as they have the same intention of scaring and entertaining the audience but they both have different ways of presenting and interpreting horror.
Sound
During the clip, a melody from an old music box an be heard playing over the scene meaning that it is non-diegetic sound. This is parallel to the time period and the gender of children centred. The music gradually becomes louder throughout and this prepares the audience to brace themselves against an upcoming event that may disturb them. However this music stops when the children are about to jump out of the window and this signifies that the disturbing event has arrived. After, a woman screams and we can hear a distinct banging of a drum about three times in a row. This shocks the audience each time and could also symbolise that the Woman in Black has taken three more lives.
On the other hand, for Paranormal activity, there is no non-diegetic sound to symbolise the realism in the film. There is only speech and the natural creaking of people walking around a house, nothing fake to it and this is parallel to the genre as it's kind of a documentary of someone's life and findings.
Mise-en-scene
The costume used in The Woman in Black reflects the time period and the wealth of each individual character. For example, the girls have very pretty lacy dresses but the fact that they wear aprons over the top shows the audience that they come from a working class family and that they are expected to help out. The dolls and toys involved in the scene represent the most horror as many people in the audience will have a particular phobia of them and this then will create fear within the each person making the film all the more relevant. Also the use of young girls present the theme of innocence and misfortune as no-one wants the children to get hurt at a such young and vulnerable age. Plus they contrast with the main genre of the supernatural and evil creating again a disturbing plot twist.
In Paranormal activity, they use real life surrounding that are accidentally caught on film than being put there deliberately. Also the natural daylight creates a mysterious feeling that the audience may actually refer to. In one shot, a dream catcher can be seen which shows again the contrast between good and evil but it could also show that they could be very superstitious people, hence the documentary that they're filming. We only get a quick view of the main character behind the camera and he is dressed in casual, normal clothing symbolising again the reality of the documentary then causing the audience to naturally relate the films events to their own lives.
Editing
As we flow into the first scene, we see that the shot fades up from black. This links to the title and creates the feel of evil and mystery as you cannot see through the black darkness. Also many audience members may have a phobia of darkness again stimulating a natural fear making this film all the more interesting. The change between shots is slow and methodical connecting with the music and gives the sense of a sleepy lullaby and this is appropriate for the events happening in the shot because children can be seen playing in a bedroom and we normally relate to singing lullaby's to children before they go to sleep. This then foreshadows that something bad could happen for example: the death of the girls.
In Paranormal Activity, we start off with an interference shot which only normally happens when there are supernatural beings present. This foreshadows what might happen later on and it just makes the genre even clearer to the audience. The camera is handheld and we can tell this by the shots being unfocused and wobbly compared to the fake smooth shots used in other films. This again highlights the reality of the film.
Cinematography
To start off with, the shots are slow and in time with the music symbolising the innocence. The match on actions bring the audiences focus into particular movements for example when the girls are walking on their dolls or dropping cups. The zoom into the window suggests it's importance in the scene and again when zooms are used, all the audiences attention will be centred to where the camera is zooming into.
The camera in Paranormal Activity is constantly used in a point of view shot and there is no other cinematography used except for the jump shots which show that the guy with the camera is an amateur and again gives a sense of realism.
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