Analysis of 'Se7en' Opening Credits

During the opening credits of ‘Se7en’, there is a montage of the thriller bombarding us with sickening images of depravity and corruption. There is a series of quick cuts which reveal images which can only be described as disturbing, which flash and overlap to conjure up a sense of inscrutability and mystery. Thin, abrasive writing is used to suggest that they have been scratched in, which suggests violence and torture. The sequence focuses a lot on fingers and hands, concentrating on the dirtiness of the fingernails and bandages around the fingers. This implies that the person is very proactive and does a lot of dirty work. This could also imply that he is cunning and devious. We can understand from this opening sequence that the film is going to revolve around the idea of plotting the murders of people in very tortuous ways. An eerie effect is created by the flickering images to generate the idea of an old movie as it splices. The use of books is very prominent in the sequence. It suggests that all of the sly, devious plotting is held within a book, each page showing the ways in which people have died or will die. Following on from this idea, writing also plays a significant role in this opening sequence. Our attention is brought to the highlighting of words on a page, however they are highlighted in black, so this creates a more disturbing effect. There are flickering images of photographs and film which suggest that he has been stalking these people before tormenting and ultimately killing them. Towards the end of the sequence, there is reference to a needle, binding together the book of compiled images and texts. The fact that a needle has been used again suggests violence and torture.

Narrative and Character in Thrillers

Every thriller film has 5 parts to the narrative that come in an order. These are:
Equilibrium --> disruption --> complication --> resolution --> new equilibrium

For example, in the movie Jaw's, these would be:
Equilibrium = everyone is happy on a beach, preparing for the 4th of july festival.
Disruption = A dead body is found which has been eaten by a shark.
Complication = do they close the beach? keep it open? is it a shark? are there more deaths to come? Another person dies.
Resolution = They decide to catch and kill the shark - so keep the beach open.
New equilibrium = shark is killed and shark hunter dies - everything goes back to normal, but relationships have changed so it is a NEW equilibrium.

Every film usually has 5 common characters too:

• The hero - the one on the quest and the one who saves the day
• The villain - the evil one who causes the disruption.
• The helper - The person who helps the hero on the quest ( the sidekick)
• The victim - The one at the mercy of the villain.
• The donor - Someone who has something special which will help the hero.  

An example of this is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:
The hero: Harry Potter
The villain: Voldemort
The helper(s): Hermione & Ron
The victim: Serious Black
The donor: Dumbledor

Conventions of Horror/Thrillers

In today's lesson, we wrote down the different conventions we expect to see in Horrors/Thrillers:

1. Blood
2. Death
3. Hero
4. Villain
5. Protagonist
6. Screaming
7. Ghosts
8. Poltergeists
9. Knives
10. Weapons
11. Darkness
12. Water
13. Contrapuntal sounds
14. Eerie music
15. Violence
16. Freaky children
17. Animals (spiders, snakes)
18. Echoes
19. Creaking of doors
20. Good-looking person
21. Phones
22. Videos
23. Masks
24. TV's
25. Blinding headlights
26. Radio's
27. Kidnapping
28. Basements
29. Hanging rope
30. Doors
31. Fog
32. Floods
33. Floorboards
34. Attics
35. Mirror's
36. Bathrooms
37. Sinks
38. Flashbacks
39. Shower's
40. Bath's
41. Kitchen's (Knives)
42. Alleys
43. Glass
44. Forests
45. Door locks
46. Trees
47. Hiding
48. Dark box
49. Isolation
50. Dolls
51. Clowns
52. Hooks
53. Demons
54. Zombies
55. Gore
56. Vampires
57. Witches
58. Possession
59. Abandoned house's
60. Murder
61. Dodgy locations
62. Paranoia
63. Owls
64. Sacrifice
65. Chlostrophobia
66. Traps
67. Guns
68. Dogs
69. Graveyards
70. Coffins
71. Churches
72. Flashing lights
73. Lamps/Candles
74. Dark hair
75. Pale skin
76. Numbers
77. Red -> danger/death
78. SILENCE
79. Closets
80. Storms
81. Raining -> bad weather
82. Full moon
83. Car accidents
84. Derelict
85. Power cuts

Ideas for Thriller Opening Sequence

• There is a close up of a tap with water coming out. A little girl is in a bath tube singing ‘Incy Wincy Spider…’. There is long shot down a long dark corridor of the door to the bathroom, glowing around the edges due to the light emanating from behind the door. There is a series of cross cuts between the little girl, the tap and the corridor to build suspense. The long shot down the corridor appears to be handheld but without the jerkiness, showing that they’re slowing getting closer and closer to the door. These cross cuts continue, and we begin to notice that the water level is increasing rapidly. The girl continues to sing with the diegetic sound of the water from the tap, along with the non-diegetic background music to assist in building suspense. Using a medium close up from outside the bathroom we see the door slowly open to reveal the inside of the bathroom (steamed up mirror). The camera then shows inside the bathroom, focusing on the bottom of the door as we witness a shadow of a figure, suggesting that someone is about to enter. The girl moves to turn off the tap as the water level is really high, and there is a close up of her hand as she tries to turn the tap off. The music builds up as we see her struggle to turn off the tap. Meanwhile, the camera approaches closer to the closed curtain of the bath tub. There is then a cutaway as the camera turns to focus on the steamed up mirror, revealing a blurred black figure moving past. The tap begins to make strange noises and begins spurting out black liquid. The music builds up and becomes much more dramatic whilst we see the ‘figure’ edge closer to the bath curtain and we see a black glove reach out to pull back the curtain. Instead of seeing what’s behind the curtain, we hear a loud piercing scream as the camera returns back to the long dark corridor looking down to the slightly ajar bathroom door. The music stops and there is silence.
• Camera tracks a teenage girl on her way to the underground to catch her tube which she is late for. During the opening sequence we a completely deserted tube station. The lights are flickering and we see and hear the tube go past without stopping. But when the tube is gone, so is the girl.
• Set at night time in what appears to be a hospital. There is a patient who wakes up to find themselves handcuffed, lying in a hospital bed with no recollection of how they got there. The camera reveals various tools and syringes which have been used on this patient to suggest that someone has been testing on them. The patient uses the tools to release them from the handcuffs. The patient then draws back the curtain of what appears to be a hospital room, only to find that it isn’t a hospital room at all, but in fact a room inside someone’s house. They open the door to find themselves overlooking the garden of someone’s house.
• There is silence. Using a low angle shot, we see a clock on the wall which shows it is 12o’clock, and we hear the diegetic sound of a clock ticking. There is a synchronous diegetic sound of a music box being wound up as we see a cut away of a woman’s hand winding up a music box. We see the back of a 5-year old little girl with long dark brown hair is sitting on her bed, and the camera slowly pans and rotates around to reveal that she is drawing. Whilst the music box is playing, the little girl hums and sings along to the music. Similar to the beginning of this song:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSs-00CiTzE

As the music progresses, we see shots of the woman folding away little clothes into perfectly organised drawers of a very pinkly decorated bedroom. Then there is a long wide shot of the woman walking up some stairs. There is a close up of her feet as she is walking up the stairs, accompanied by the diegetic sound of footsteps. The humming of the girl slows down and becomes more feint as the woman draws closer to the top of the stairs. When she reaches the top, she closes the door behind her, carefully locking and bolting the door shot with loads of padlocks. The audience begin to get more suspicious because it appears that this ‘mother’ is locking her child in her room, which seems a strange concept. The camera then follows the woman into a dark/red room underneath the stairs where we see her developing some pictures. The camera only ever reveals the back or side-profile of her face, never her full face. This adds mystery to the sequence. The camera zooms in on a picture of the same little girl with long brown hair. The non-diegetic music in the background is getting more intense as we witness her pegging the photo onto a piece of string to dry. The camera then zooms out to reveal a whole room of pictures of this same girl, in different locations as if she has been stalked. We assume from this that the woman who appears to be her mum is in fact a stalker who has abducted this girl from her real family. We find out later on in the film that this same woman lost her own little girl years prior to kidnapping the other little girl, and we see her reasons for doing so.

An example of the eerie music that could be played in the background to this opening sequence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSs-00CiTzE

Here is a video I made which shows this idea in a more visual approach:

Preliminary Task Video

Denotation and Connotation of Thriller images

In today's lesson, we were given some still images from a variety of different thriller films. We then had to decide in pairs what the denotations and connotations of each image were:

SCREAM

DENOTATION: A person in a scary mask behind a window, dressed in black. A blonde woman looking through the window. Both are on phones and it looks as if one of them is holding a knife.

CONNOTATION: The fact that Scream is dressed in black along with the darkness outside shows the fear. The knife symbolizes death. The woman is blonde which conforms to the stereotype in thrillers where the typical stupid girl at the beginning of the movie always gets killed.

PSYCHO

DENOTATION: Naked girl in a shower who is soaking wet. She has a shocked facial expression.
CONNOTATION: She has seen something which scares her. Shower's can be dangerous. Her face shows impending danger and her vulnerability.

  GOTHIKA

DENOTATION: Girl staring at blood on wall which reads 'Not One'. She has dark hair. We can't see her face.
CONNOTATION: The writing could say 'Not Alone', showing that someone is there and there is danger. The blood signifies death. Her scared body position shows something is going to happen. It is very mysterious but we know there is an importance in the writing.

FRIDAY 13TH

DENOTATION: blonde woman in black coat looking at another person in black coat across empty carpark. Something red in bottom corner.

CONNOTATION: Red signifies danger, and the black coats suggest something scary. The deserted car park shows no-one can help.

THE EXORCIST

DENOTATION: There is a very pale ginger girl. Her eyes look dead and she has cuts all over her face. She is wearing an innoccent looking dress but there is blood all over it. She has horrible teeth. There is a black background.
CONNOTATION: Her face suggests she's dead/possessed. She is smiling yet she's clearly hurt so this show's she dangerous. Her dress shows she was once an inoccent girl.

THE RING

DENOTATION: A girl sat on a chair in a room with tiles on the wall. Everything is white apart from her long black hair and black shoes. There is some kind of wire/plug at her feet.
CONNOTATION: The white suggests innocence/ purity which juxtaposes against her hair, making her look evil. Her concentrated face suggests she's ill.

OMEN

DENOTATION: there is a small boy in a suit in a graveyard with his hands on his hips. The suit is black and the gravestones are white.
CONNOTATION: His stance gives him confidence and power. The contrast of black and white show's him to be evil which juxtaposes against the white gravestones which signify purity.

IT

DENOTATION: There is a clown with fangs, and its mouth is open with its pointy teeth showing. It has green eyes and red hair. There is a black background.
CONNOTATION: The dominant colours of red and black signify darkness, death and danger. Its mouth is open as if it's ready to bite something.

HALLOWEEN

DENOTATION: There is a low angle shot looking up at a man with a mask who's holding a knife. He is on a staircase/ stair balcony.

CONNOTATION: The low angle shot gives him superiority showing his control and power.The knife show's danger and gives us the idea that he is in somebody elses house. The stair balcony acts as a barrier against him showing he is dangerous.

H20

DENOTATION: There  man with a white face looking through a porthole at a women who is terrified. There is a dark blue background.
CONNOTATION: The blue baground and porthole suggests water and that they are on a boat. His skin compared to hers gives us the idea that he is dead.   

Post-Production Preliminary Task

A few weeks ago, we learnt how to use Final Cut server, a computer programme created by Apple Mac which is used to put together a series of shots to produce a film. This is a screenshot of Final Cut Pro.

To start, all clips must be uploaded onto Final Cut. Then we watched the clips to find the ones which fitted our sequence the best with the least mistakes. We put the best clips into a log bin which helps to separates the clips and makes them easily accessible and therefore more organized.

It was our first trial of filming, and so there was obviously going to be a lot of mistakes, however we tried to get rid of these mistakes by cutting down clips with background noise or extra talking to make the scene appear more professional. This helped us to find the best fitting cuts to build a scene which really worked.

Whilst editing, we had to constantly think about continuity editing, making sure that the scene flowed smoothly. We also had to remember to fit the correct sound to the correct action, otherwise the scene wouldn’t work. We had to choose the most relevant shots to build a scene which flowed smoothly in order to manipulate time and space in the narrative. We had to think carefully about choosing appropriate shots to help the audience to side with the protagonist and the antagonist. The shots have to appear in a particular order so that the audience can have some background understanding of the scene. The scene showed this by showing the antagonist walking along into the room, opening the door and then closing it behind him. The woman is sat holding a gun, this makes the audience think that she is perhaps the antagonist as she is going to shoot the man, however, she could also be protecting herself with the gun so the audience are left in suspense. During this 30 second clip, the audience can tell that the man is the antagonist because he looks threatening and therefore the audience understands that he is dangerous.

The chosen shots were then put onto the storyboard and this storyboard worked as a timeline which would fit each of the clips together. Once we had dragged them onto the storyboard in the correct positions, we had to make sure the background sound was in time with the movement of the shots. In our sequence, we had more screen time on the protagonist (the woman) as we wanted to highlight how she is good and how her reactions are of great importance. In the editing we made the cuts between each of them fast to portray the tension between the two characters. There is also a few single shots of the gun to highlight the danger within this scene.

Overall, I think the editing of our sequence turned out very well and the scene looked professional in the end. However, when we were watching is through, we realized that we had left a flash-frame, which is when there is a second when the scene goes blank in between 2 clips. This meant that the clips were not directly next to each other, therefore we had to go back and pull the clips together. It was quite a subtle mistake, however through the eyes of an expert, it would be very obvious.

Preliminary task

During the preliminary task, we used a tripod to attach the camera to in order to reduce shakiness of the lens and to create more professional video clips. Before attaching the camera to the tripod, we needed to work out what height that we wanted the camera to be and consequently we had to adjust the length of the tripod legs using the knobs on the side of the legs. We then had to attach the camera by pressing the button on the side of the stand, which allowed us to slide the camera into place on the stand. We then had to flick the switch on the side of the camera to ensure that the camera stayed fixed in that place. We then bubbled the camera to ensure that the camera was level. We did this by looking at the small circle of liquid on the camera stand whilst adjust the lever underneath the tripod until the bubble fitted into the smaller circle. However, there are also benefits of not using a tripod. Using a handheld shot, it allows the audience to experience someone else’s perspective which lets the audience to experience the emotions felt by the character.

White balance

The process of telling the camera what the white looks like under the current lighting environment. Once the camera has established what white looks like, it can then balance the rest of the colours in that environment to match that white. To do this, use a white surface like a piece of paper and ensure that the light falls onto this piece of paper.  Face the camera towards it and zoom in on the piece of paper. Press the white balance button, and zoom out again. White balancing is simple in a single-lighting environment, but there is problems if there are mixed light sources. To solve this problem, a mixed white balance must be used. To do this, ensure that both types of lighting fall equally onto the piece of paper, and then white balance the camera. Without white balance, the camera will be set to automatic which will produce unwanted results and bad lighting.

Exterior - Daylight – cool, blue

Interior - Tungsten – warm, orange

180 degree rule

We nearly made the mistake of breaking the 180 degree rule, as we started to record from a position which reversed the two characters positions in relation to each other. Luckily, we managed to spot this mistake at the time, so we were able to record the scene again but from a position which didn’t break the 180 degree rule. Had we not spotted this problem, we could have shown the camera moving as we crossed over the 180 degree line, however this wasn’t necessary. 

During our preliminary task, we used the following terminology to indicate to the actors when we were about to start recording:

STAND BY / STANDING BY - readys everyone into position for the take. The AD calls STAND BY and the response tells them that everyone is prepped

TURN OVER / TURNING OVER (Roll film/Rolling etc) The director tells the camera operator to start filming - a few seconds of film is then run as the camera gets up to speed - this is often referred to as LEAD IN. Once done the Camera operator will respond TURNING OVER or ROLLING (etc) to indicate being up to speed

ACTION! - Cue for the actors to perform the take, and the crew to do their jobs. It is good practice for the Director to let the film run on a further few seconds after the take is completed before cutting - this is referred to as LEAD OUT

CUT! - Cue for the camera to stop running film. Industry practice expects that the camera operator does not CUT before being told

Continuity Editing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xauSCz1mEk

Continuity editing is used to create a seemless transition from shot to shot and to establish a logical coherence between these shots which emphasizes the smooth transition of time and space. In some films, this cutting into contiunity is used in a much more complex classical way which also tries to show psycholohical continuity of shots. The montage technique relies upon symbolic association of ideas between shots rather than assoication of simple phusical action for its continuity.

Jump cut

·          Awkward, abrupt jump which enables the narrative to move forward at a quicker pace.

Eye line match

·          When a character looks at something and in the next shot, we see what they are looking at.

Match on action

·          When shots can be matched through dialogue, and through shot type. Eg – when we see someone open a door, we see them coming through it.

Shot/reverse shot

·          When camera cuts from one subject to another.

Montage sequences

·          Consists of a series of short shots that are edited into a sequence to condense narrative. It is usually used to advance the story as a whole (often to suggest the passage of time)

·          Alternative filmmaking to break continuity/build thematic symbolic links between shots.

·          As a theme.

Prelim task

During our filming lesson, we were divided into groups of 4, where we were given a scenario where someone walks through a door, says some dialogue to the person in the room and then walks out again.
This is the scenario we were given:

In my group there was Holly, Honey, Miran and I, but for our filming, we asked 2 people to act for us.
Before we could start filming, we had to set up the tripod and the camera. To do this we:

• Adjusted the tripod to the right height
• Bubbling the tripod to make it level
• Attatched the camera to the tripod
• Open the shutter on the camera and turn it on
• White balance the camera by facing it towards a white surface
• Adjust the shutter speed
• Focus the camera

This is the camera we used: Sony HDV HD HVR-V1

We had to do a variety of different shots in the short filming sequence:

• Wide shot

• Over the shoulder shot

• Close up

We also had to make sure that we didn't break the 180 degree rule:

Photoshop

During the past few weeks of using photoshop, I have explored a number of different tools:

• Lasso Tool (Cut)
• Blur Tool
• Spot healing brush Tool
• Blur Tool
• Text tool

I have then used different ways of adjusting the image such as:

• Hue/Saturation
• Match Colour
• Shadow/Highlight
• Transforming the image
• Scale
• Rotate

I found it quite hard to adjust the colour to make the images fit together smoothly. However, with more practise I think I'll find this easier with time.
I then looked into various ways of layering the pictures on top of one another. I found that the 'hard mix' layering technique worked the best, as I felt is blended the images together and made the image as a whole look much more professional.

At first, photoshop looked as though it was going to be difficult, however after spending a bit of time using it, I found that I was more familiar with the different tools and ways of manipulating the image. I definately think that using Photoshop is crucial to creating a Media Product, because it creates professional-looking posters and DVD covers in a small amount of time.

Thriller poster

Last week, we were divided into groups, where we went outside with the cameras and took some 'thriller' pictures. My group borrowed some tools from the drama department to emphasise the horror and thriller of our pictures. We then uploaded these pictures onto the computer, where we chose the ones which we wanted to use for our thriller poster.

For my poster, I chose to go for a more subtle approach to a thriller, and so I chose the picture of me walking with my back to the camera, with a hammer in my hand as I thought this picture looked innocent on the surface, but there was also something very mysterious about it. I uploaded this picture onto photoshop where I then cut out the outline of my body from the picture. I then uploaded an image of a subway from google which I imported into photoshop.

After altering the colour levels, hue and saturation, and contrast and brightness levels, I was able to capture the right look that I wanted for my Thriller poster. I then added a title, and some other text to make the poster look more like a poster as opposed to just an image.

Camera shots and Camera movement

Here are links to some OCR videos which show the different camera shots and camera movements that we have learnt:

Camera shots

Camera Movement

'Doctor Who?' Trailer

During our lesson, we worked on putting together different video clips, sound effects and music to make a 'Doctor Who?' Trailer. It was quite hard to smoothly link the clips in the trailer because there were no transitions that I could use to cross-fade different clips, however I do think I was successful with the available resources.

This is my trailer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/trailermaker/view/7iaqh7

What is a Thriller?

A thriller is a genre of film which combines elements of mise-en-scene, lighting and sound to create a feeling of suspense, mystery and excitement in the audience. The different ways in which lighting and sound are used together can impact the audience in different ways, and a Thriller focuses on these elements to produce a film which suprises and scares the audience.

Whilst studying 'The Usual Suspects', we analyzed the ways in which sound, lighting and mise-en-scene were used, and why this reflected the thriller genre. We studied the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds and what impact these sounds have on the audience. We noticed that the use of background non-diegetic sound in the opening sequence of 'The Usual Suspects' created suspense and mystery, whilst slowly building to a climax where both the action and the sound was very dramatic.

The lighting on the other hand is very dark and gloomy, which conjures up a sense of mystery which conforms the typical 'thriller' genre. This gloomy dark lighting contrasts with the light of the fire in the opening scene, which signifies danger.

Shoes are an important factor in the mise-en-scene of 'The Usual Suspects', as they are the only bit of the killer that is revealed. The costumes of the characters also suggest that the movie is a thriller because they are very dark, which normally signifies suspicious, criminal behaviour.

 

Photography and Image Manipulation

Photography brings a visual language that is universal in understanding. We must then understand its vocabulary which consists of shapes, textures, patterns, lines, colours, shade of light to dark and sharp to blurry images. Just as we must learn to arrange words in a coherent order in order to make sense when we write or speak, so too must we put visual elements together in an organized manner if our photographs are to convey their meaning clearly and vividly.

Composition means arrangement: the orderly putting together of parts to make a unified whole; composition through a personal, intuitive act. However, there are basic principles that govern the way visual elements behave and interact when you combine them inside the four borders of a photograph. Once we have sharpened our vision and grasped these basic ideas of principles, then we will have the potential for making our photographs more exciting and effective than ever before.

During the last 2 weeks of learning photoshop, I have learnt how to manipulate images to produce proffessional looking images like we see on posters and on TV. I've learnt how to cut an object from one picture and transfer it onto another, where I adjusted the image in several ways to make the object appear as though it was part of the picture in the first place. I did this by modifying the brightness and colour of the image and altering the contrast levels. I also used some layering techniques to give off different effects which made the image look more proffesional. I transferred a picture from one picture to another where I made the image appear as though it was coming out of the water. To enhance the picture, I created a reflection of an object in the water, using a blurring tool to make it more realistic.

About Myself

Helloooooo :) I'm Imi, I live in Cornwall and I used to go to Stover School in Devon, but recently moved to Hurtwood to study Music tech, Media, Art and Business. Me and my cousin have our own youtube account: http://www.youtube.com/Liamandimii. We've been playing together since Janurary, but I've been singing most of my life. I hope to make my own music business in the future, or be involved with the music industry in some way. I'm also interested in art and media, and this refects in my subject choices here at Hurtwood House. I also love watching movies, especially Rom-Coms, Chick-flicks and Thrillers, especially ones that have a significance or meaning.

I also love my roomate. She is the best person ever.