Se7en Title Analysis

 

The Prestige analysis

The opening sequence of The Prestige shows a variety of different editing techniques throughout. It mainly uses jump cuts showing an older man perform a small magic trick to a little girl, and then jumping to a man on a stage with a crowd performing a magic trick. As this is the opening scene, the audience is unaware of who anyone is or why everything is being shown. This is stereotypical to the thriller genre as most thrillers use the opening scene to create confusion for the audience. The jump cuts continue throughout the scene and the stage scene seems to be a flashback or something that happened in the past, which creates uncertainty for the audience. The jump cuts in the sequence also keep the audience watching as they are watching more than one place at once.


Also, the opening sequence of The Prestige shows a variety of sounds throughout. The first shot of the scene shows a forest location where a voice is heard, who is narrating, which says 'Are you watching closely?'. This is directed at the audience which will make them question who it is speaking and they will also keep watching to see why that needed to be asked and what will happen next. This creates confusion and uncertainty for the audience which is typical to the thriller genre. There is more narration throughout the opening scene but it is a different person speaking which again confuses the audience and makes them want to know who it is speaking. This also relates to the scene as it is about magic tricks and the audience wants to look closely so they aren't tricked by it.


Cinematography is used throughout the opening scene of The Prestige. A lot of close ups can be seen such as one of a small bird in the hand of the old man when he gets it out of the cage. This is done purposely so that the audience is focused and the things in the shot are shown in more detail. This links to the narrator saying 'Are you watching closely?' earlier on in the opening scene. The audience is focused on the scene and the magic act that s unfolding. Also, the scene with the stage has its audience, shows through mid shots and close ups, which makes the audience feel like they are with the audience watching the magic trick. Thriller films usually draw the audience in during the opening scene which is what happened in The prestige.


The Prestige's opening sequence uses a variety of Mise en Scene examples. An example of this would be the location of a theatre, where a magic act is taking place in front of a live crowd. The lighting in this location is low key, which is also typical to the thriller genre. The location is purposely used as low key lighting can be easily used and there is an audience, making the scene more atmospheric as well as making the audience feel like they are at the theatre. On the stage, there is a man, who the audience is first introduced to. This means that they do not know who he is. He is wearing a suit and tie, connoting power and importance. This shows that he is the main magician and a suggested main character to the film. This is typical to the thriller genre as the audience asks questions and wants to carry on watching. The mood created is mysterious which is also a common theme in thriller films.

Flightplan analysis

Flight plan's opening sequence uses Mise en Scene throughout the extract. The location of an underground train station and the colour of the train is purposely used. The underground train station is associated with being really busy all of the time but is very quiet with almost no one around in the opening scene. This creates mystery about the location to the audience and the protagonist is present which suggests that they are alone both mentally and psychically. This makes the audience question why the protagonist is alone and wants to know more about the location and why they are there. The colour of the train is yellow which connotes happiness. This is done on purpose to juxtapose the mood created by the train station, which has low key lighting and is almost empty. The audience then feels confused as to why the protagonist is alone and wants to keep watching.








Throughout the opening sequence of Flight Plan, there is various cinematography techniques used. An example of this would be the use of close ups which are purposely used to show the shot in more detail so the audience focuses on it more and makes everything in the shot more important. Films of the thriller genre use close ups when something important is shown to emphasise what is being shown and sometimes to build tension. An example of a close up in Flight Plan's opening sequence would be a close up of the protagonist's face, to emphasise her facial expression, suggesting how she is feeling. Tracking shots are also used when the protagonist looks out of the window into another, and then there is a tracking shot of her walking through her house. The tracking shot seems to be shot from the window she looked at, suggesting that she is being watched and therefore building suspense for the audience.






Editing seen throughout the opening sequence of Flight plan via the use of fast paced editing throughout the scene. This makes the whole opening scene quicker for the audience as they have to keep watching to keep up and know what is happening. The fast paced editing appears throughout the different locations which is stereotypical to the thriller genre as thriller films are usually fast paced, especially in the opening scene. The fats paced editing in the opening scene is purposely done so more tension is build in a shorter time and the audience finds it harder to keep up, creating confusion which is typical to the genre. Jump cuts are used widely in Flight Plan's opening sequence, to show a lot of different locations and times in the same scene. There are jump cuts between the protagonist in a morgue, at an underground train station and at her house. These are all set in different times but the jump cuts allow them to be in the same scene, further suggesting that they are all very important locations.




The opening scene of Flight Plan shows a variety of different diegetic and non diegetic sound. This is seen via the use of the non diegetic soundtrack when the protagonist is at home. She looks out of the window into another but no one is there. The soundtrack is fast paced, which juxtaposes the peaceful location of her own house. The camera angles shown next suggest that she is being watched which then matches the mysterious mood created via the soundtrack. This is done purposely as the soundtrack is played first to confuse the audience. This shows that something is about to happen, creating tension and making the audience want to keep watching. This is stereotypical to the thriller genre because fast paced non diegetic soundtracks are usually used in films of this genre. They are also commonly used in opening sequences, like Flight plan, to build suspense straight away which is common to the thriller genre.

Limitless Analysis

Limitless opens with a black screen and the opening titles of the film, showing the names of the actors involved. There is a sound, which seems like something banging is heard. This is done so that the audience is confused and keeps watching to find out what the noise is and why it is happening. The sound is synced in with the titles so a new title comes up on the screen when another bang sound  is heard. It is then revealed later on that it is someone, who the audience doesn't know, is banging on a door and trying to break in to an apartment. This is a great use of sound as it still leaves the audience confused as to who it is and why it is happening even after it is shown what the noise is. The use of sound in this part of the opening sequence is great because it is typical to the thriller genre. This is because it causes confusion and uncertainty for the audience and so they want to keep watching to find out what is going on.

When it shows a tracking shot from the bottom floor all the way to the top, it shows the size and scale of the building with the main character standing over the edge of the top balcony. The cinematography in this is used purposely to show that the building is very tall and it shows that something is wrong if the main character is standing over the edge. This also suggests that the main character owns the building because the people trying to break in are trying to get in through the bottom floor, where as he is standing at the very top looking down at everything. Therefore, it is suggested that he is very wealthy and makes the audience question how he got that rich and why he is standing over the edge of the building. This cinematography technique of a tracking shot is common to the thriller genre as it is usually used to reveal something and build anticipation as to what is about to be shown all in one shot. This is used in the opening sequence of Limitless as it build up at the start of the film so the audience keeps watching.

The Mise en Scene in this extract shows everything very well and makes the audience ask how did things get like that. The main character is wearing a suit which suggests his wealth and makes him look important. This is done purposely to show him as a main or important character to the film. The suit connotes class and wealth which makes this an important theme to the opening sequence and film. The audience will question why the character is wearing a suit as this is the first we see in him in the opening sequence. The lighting of the scene is low key and dark which creates a sense of mystery to the audience. This also makes the character mysterious as half of his face is covered with dark lighting. This connotes both good and bad as there is both light and dark lighting on the character's face, suggesting that he is an 'anti-hero' to the audience. Therefore, the audience is unsure whether he is the protagonist or antagonist at this point.

Limitless uses editing in the extract as match on action can be seen. This is seen when the protagonist is standing over the balcony at the top of the building and looking down at the street and passing cars below. This is used to show that he is considering jumping over the edge and killing himself. The match on action is used to create emphasis on him leaning over the edge and creates tension on whether he will jump or not. This is the first of the character that the audience sees and it is in the opening sequence so the audience waist to keep watching to see why he is standing there and why he might jump over the edge which brings suspense to the scene. A shot-reverse-shot is seen after that when the protagonist looks down at the street below, and the camera zooms down on the street, and then goes back to the protagonist's face which further suggests his thoughts to jump over the edge. This also creates a lot of tension for the audience.

Sub Genre Research

Products in the media can be put into genre and sub-genre. The word 'genre' means a 'class' or 'type'. Genres of media appear within film and television such as a 'comedy' film or 'romantic comedy' film.

The thriller genre has a wide variety of themes. This means that sometimes two genres can combine together. For example, more recent films can be psychological thrillers, action thrillers, and crime thrillers. Examples of an action thriller would be 'The Bourne Identity' or 'Inception' and examples of crime thriller would be 'Pulp fiction' or 'Se7en'

A hybrid is different to a subgenre because a hybrid is three or more genres together, as a subgenre is only two. An example of a hybrid would be the horror comedy action film of 'Shawn of the Dead'


Normal thrillers differ from psychological or political thrillers, for example, because psychological thrillers are more about mental health and psychology whereas political thrillers are about politics. The subgenre makes the thriller more specific rather than just having a normal thriller.

Genre research

A thriller film is a genre that revolves around anticipation and suspense. The aim for Thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set against a problem, usually an escape, a mission, or a mystery. No matter what sub-genre a Thriller film falls into, it will emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces. The tension with the main problem is built on throughout the film and leads to a highly stressful climax.

There are certain things that films of the thriller genre need to achieve. Firstly, it need to have a good story. This is because the audience needs to be 'thrilled' and so the theme needs to fit the story of the film. Also, the may be moments of shock or dread.

A common usage of the title or opening sequence in thriller films are that massive confusion is created. This is done so the audience keeps on watching and they want to know what is going on and/or what will happen next.

Every good thriller film has at least one main character that changes significantly throughout the film. It has to be an emotional change that shows growth and victory over some of their enemies or obstacles. This could be done through an event, the character's past

Conventions of the thriller genre

• low key lighting
• jump cuts
• fast paced editing/soundtracks
• diegetic sounds e.g. breathing
• black and white shots
• montages
• match on action

The genre has developed massively throughout its time. Thrillers have evolved from some suspense in a film to violent, gory films with many shared themes with the horror genre. The first films in the genre were directed by Alfred Hitchcock and directors like him. The difference is the huge plot twist that is in many thrillers. This ranges from Psycho (1960) to Shutter Island (2010). The technology that adds fast soundtrack that build suspense and shots/angles that create fear and anxiety have improved and developed so much in the genre.

 

My group

I have decided to work on my own because I feel like I can choose exactly what I want to put in to my opening sequence and how I want to manage it all. I have experience with working with others but I feel like I can film and work in a more flexible way where I don't have to rely on others.

What the main task is

The Main Task

Create the titles and opening of a new thriller fiction film, to last the maximum of two minutes.


All video and audio material must be original, produced by you with the exception of music or sound effects that are copyright free.

Initial Response

I have found blogger.com and the tasks alright so far, as they have not been too difficult and I have been able to complete everything so far. It was hard to get used to but I have found that I have learned how to use it properly and so I use my time well.