Analysis : SE7EN

Se7en is a psychological thriller about two detectives; a rookie and a veteran in search of a serial killer  who uses the seven deadly sins as his Modus operandi.

In the opening sequence of seven the genre is quickly established: we see  images of the work of the murderer who shows that he takes care of his work and pays close attention to every detail of every murder. The way in which it is set out, makes it possible that it could also be the detective who are putting together photos and details of the murders to have a profile of the perpetrator that they can flow when interview suspects. This instantaneously sets the enigma. The murderer however is not seen; just his hands are shown which also adds to the suspence and mystery. The images that are shown on the screen  are of body parts that have either been mutilated or images of pages and books that have had words crossed out.We also see pages been sown together as though they are making a book with details of the murders and M.O, this tells the audience that he is a very organised and has everything well planned as well has his need to document his murders. This to us would seem like its something out of an FBI file. However  we already know that its not an agents file but its john Doe's(the murderer). 

 The Credits are rough, scratchy and messy which connotes the writing of the murderer in the  background and its also foregrounding. The images are fast pace which give the opening a more thriller feel to it. The sequence is not highly focused on the narrative this makes the audience feel confused and disoreintated. The typeography is very glitchy which also adds confusion. The way in which the images flash onto the screen intimates death in a way portraying life flashing before a victim's eyes. 




The extreme close ups are taken from the perpetrators point of view. This shows the audience how methodical and organised the perpetrator is . The sound and non-diegetic music is very mysterious and  has a foregrounding tone and atmosphere to it. The sound of the scratchy record synchronises with the names of the main characters as they are shown on the screen. The scratchy record also keeps a thriller like feel and keeps the audience on edge. The character of detective Somerset and John Doe are very similar and show how its possible for it to be the same person. 
Within the opening sequence the lighting in the scenes is very dull and dim making the setting allot more tense and keeps the audience wondering where the person is. The lighting used is almost like  lamp in an office again suggesting that it's a detective who is looking through evidence compiling evidence. 
As there are close up of book on shelves, this also backs up the suggestions that its a detective.   
 The editing is extremely effective in creating a thriller atmosphere. The jump cutting  between the scenes makes the audience tense and uneasy. In addition the superimposition also adds a sense of disorientation to the audience. Overall the editing ,sounds, camera work and mise-en-scene all contribute to the opening of the sequence Se7en being effective representing the thriller genre. 

Titles (credits, not the name of the film.)

The titles of the film should contain several key roles. Convention dictates that the titles of a film do not contain an extensive list of production roles as these can be distract and costs time, because of this we have taken the decision to display only typical key roles given in the titles. These will include:

• Production company
• Actors- main characters
• Actors-minor characters: these are to be shown after the main characters in a slightly smaller font size.
• Director
• Score (music)
• Editing
• Film title (Warrior Gene)

In terms of the actual titles, the names we use will be our own as it only seems logical : titles are used to identify who played what part in the production of the film and we want to keep as true to convention as we can.

The titles will be integrated into the opening sequence, physically written onto the set- ( cupboards, photos etc) as opposed to being placed there during the editing process; we feel that this integration will allow for a smoother progression of the storyline. Rather than having to cut from a screen showing credits,

The title of the film will be the only credit added during the editing process.

   

A summary of our ideas: PowerPoint

Silence of the lambs : opening sequence analysis

We've chosen to research the psychological thriller "The silence of the lambs", which is widely recognised as one of the prime examples of the psychological thriller subgenre. We feel that by using such a prominent example we will be able to understand more of this particular sub genre; and the fact that the plot of the film closely resembles some of the core aspects of our initial idea makes this an ideal example.

 

The opening titles could be considered somewhat unusual in that the production company is not listed.

• 
  
• Directed by Jonathon Demme
• Staring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster
• Follows the protagonist Clarice Starling, a young FBI officer as she tries to catch a killer with the help of Professor Hannibal Lecter, an intelligent but violent cannibal who manipulates Starling 
• Mise en scene-grim, grey, gritty.
• Sound-A whole load of dialogue with creepy music
• Camerawork-est.shot, tracking shot and close ups
• Editing- clean cut transitions for realism + shot reverse shot for drama.

Analysis: Memento

Memento

In order to achieve a successful thriller, it is essential to meet all the codes and conventions of the thriller genre. Through out the opening sequence of Memento almost all the psychological thriller conventions are portrayed. Memento is an American thriller film. It is a neo-noir psychological thriller. It was written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It is a thriller movie that makes the audience think of how the end of going to be. It is about a man, suffering from short-term memory loss, that uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife. The man uses photographs which he writes notes on to remember important people and important places. This film has been praised for its unique elements and that is why we chose to research it.

Opening sequence & camera work
The opening sequence of memento is about 2 minutes long. We see photographs being flicked in the background of the titles, showing the audience that photographs are going to be a significant part of the film . 
The opening sequence does an excellent job in giving the audience an insight into the film. It does not give out too much information about what is to come, it gives us the information about the key elements of the film. We see the protagonist taking a photograph, showing the audience that photographs are going to be significant in the film. Memory in Memento is portrayed in an interesting way. Camera work in the opening of Memento starts with a close up of a picture. The scene starts with the main character taking a picture. Then we see the film in reverse. The opening uses specific camera shots such as close-ups, this makes the audience realise that the props which take the centre of the shot and are the most attention grabbing are important and will have an important part of the film. There are many point of view camera shots perhaps because they want the audience to see everything from the protagonists point of view and make them feel as though they are in the situation as well. 

The sound used in the opening scene of Memento is non-diegetic. There is music in the background that creates a sense of mystery. It is low paced and done by a violin. The sound is a key convention as it sets the atmosphere as it is very dramatic and makes the audience unsure of what is about to happen. The music starts slow and slowly builds up to the point which makes the audience more and more tense.

The editing in the opening scene of Memento is clean cuts. The key point of editing in the opening sequence of Memento is that the opening is in reverse, making the audience want to focus more so they can understand what is happening at that point as it gives it  surreal feeling. 

The Mise-en-scene in the opening of Memento is the man is wearing a cream suit with a blue short and black shoes. This gives the protagonist a smart and makes the audience think maybe the protagonist has a profession in something, perhaps his job. The audience sees that the protagonist has writing all over him, and tattoos on his body which suggest that the protagonist maybe a forgetful person and may have problems with his memory. The props are a camera and photos as they are the most significant and relevant to the storyline. 

The titles and credits are in an electronic blue font with a black background. They are in capital letters in order to grab the attention of the audience. The font of the credits is blue and basic compared to horror where the font would be thin and red. 

To conclude, the opening sequence and the credits of Memento fulfill the expectations of what a thriller film opening sequence should be. It fulfills the codes and conventions of the thriller genre. This particular opening audience gives the audience an insight of what the thriller film will contain and what they should expect. Particularly in the background of the titles and credits where there are pictures being flipped, audience get an insight that they are going to play a vital part in the film. It makes the audience think and it gives the audience a chance to predict how the movie is going to end. This gives excitement to the audience and keeps the audience engaged the whole way through. Overall we like this opening sequence and we have gotten some ideas from it to put in our opening sequence. Particularly the titles and credits as we think it is very unique and different from many other thrillers such as Seven and Law abiding citizen.

Analysis: Law abiding citizen

Law abiding citizen

In order to achieve a successful thriller film, it is essential to meet all the codes and conventions of the thriller genre. Law abiding citizen is a thriller about a man who is driven to commit multiple murders in attempt to avenge the murders of his wife and daughter and the corrupt justice system. Law abiding citizen was a very successful thriller film. It  was nominated for a Saturn Award as the best crime/drama/thriller film of the year 2009.

Opening sequence & Camera work
The opening sequence of law abiding citizen differs from other opening sequences of thrillers films such as memento, seven, etc. It begins with the credits for the production company's. The font that is used is very effective as it looks like a very basic font which has scratches and chunks out of it, hinting some kind of disruption or damage to something that is supposedly normal. 
The opening scene seems like a normal day in the house. The sequence is 3 minutes long. The scene begins with Clyde's daughter playing with her beads and making a necklace with the name Heather.T his hints to the audience that the name Heather or the necklace will have significant part in the film. There is a close up shot of Heather's hands, although the audience does not get to see her face, they can tell from her delicate hands that she is a little girl. It is then cut to a close up of Clyde's machine which shows the audience that Clyde is an engineer. Also this is a hint that later in the film Clyde will use his engineering skills. The shots showing that they are both making something tells the audience that they have a close father daughter bond. 
A shot reverse shot is used in this scene also shows the father-daughter relationship between Clyde and Heather. These few opening shots set the equilibrium and the normal state.  
When there a knock on the door  we see a mid-shot of Clyde walking to the door still showing that its is a normal day . The audience gets a glimpse of the house which shows that Clyde has a good paying job as they have quite a big house. A  mid shot is again when Clyde opens the door and sees the two burglars. This gives the audience to see both Clydes facial expression and body language as he realises that he just opened the door to burglars. The family atmosphere changes dramatically the shots are quick and continuous the ambient music has turned to a cold sharp sound building suspense. The jump cut from Clyde on the floor to his wife as she walks in her screams give the audience hope. the close ups on the faces of the characters show the des  

The sound of this opening sequence is non-diegetic as we here a radio however we do not get to see it. The sound makes the scene feel like a normal day where a father and his daughter are spending quality time together. 

Law abiding citizen has clean cuts all the way through.

In terms of mise en scene, the bat and knife that were used when the burglars attacked Cylde and his family are the most important as they are weapons used to harm Clyde and his family. Also every time we see the one of the weapons a close-up is used therefore

To conclude, the opening sequence of law abiding citizen fulfills all the codes and conventions of a thriller film. The fact that the opening sequence does not have any titles and credits, it made law abiding citizen unique and that is something that we admired. We are going use some of the components we found that law abiding citizen has. This opening sequence was highly influential to our opening sequence. Overall we think that this opening sequence is very good simply because of the fact that it is unique and not many other thriller films do not have this type of opening sequence.