Se7en Analysis

My write-up of notes on the David Fincher film Se7en (made in 1995)

Sound:

The director of this film uses the sound to put the viewer on edge and to make them uncomfortable. An in-depth analysis of the sound could be that each extra bit of synth or scratching (aside from the main soundtrack) could be the directors idea of how each of the deadly sins sounds.

The different sounds give the viewer different feelings such as;

• The electronic volts used near the start give a feeling of anger and fear this could be a representation of the sin Wrath
• A sound similar to grinding gears can be heard that gives a sense of pain. This sound could be teeth grinding together this could then be attributed to Gluttony.
• The sound of a creaking door is so overly cliche that to the horror/thriller genre that it'd be weird for it not to make an appearance in this film. The creaking sound could be linked into Lust as the creaking could also be of bed springs
• Sloth could be linked to the dial-up sound preferring to let the phone ring on instead of going to answer it. This sound is also quite cliche to the horror genre mostly appearing when two people are having a conversation over the phone (normally the main character warning the other person about their impeding doom) then one of the two suddenly being murdered
• Drums can be heard as a bass-line to the soundtrack using a rythem similar to a heart beat. The drums sound like army marching closer and closer. This military likeness could be linked to Pride
• The constant electronic screams and scratching sounds might be what the director believes the sin Envy sounds like, preferring to show Envy's anguish and how insane it can drive a person
• I don't believe that there is just one sound for Greed and that it is linked into all of them showing how engulfing Greed is or showing that in the directors point of view it is the most common sin committed in our modern lives

Images:

The director uses the imagery in a creative way to put the viewer on edge and covey feeling of disgust, distrust and overall fear. The imagery it's self look ruined on purpose through the use of filters and overlays. This tarnished and wrecked look puts people in an uncomfortable state. This technique is used in anime a lot to show power or strife.

These various images, techniques and effects are used to put people on edge;

• For a start there are no shots of an actual persons face only black and white photos of victims
• Shots of bible passages are a constant theme in the sequence showing the films link to biblical themes and it's wrath of god scenario
• Needles and Thread make an appearance in the scene. Instantly anyone whose seen the human centipede is put on edge. They could also be linked to surgery and scarring for life
• The only thing human that can be seen in the sequence are a persons hands with the fingers wrapped in tape. This is obviously the antagonist as he is trying to keep his identity unknown even to DNA standards
• Newspaper clippings also show up a couple of times. Another cliche to thriller genre being used as ransom notes or death threats. In this case though the only word the is cut out of the newspaper is 'God'
• Film clips or old camera films are seen being cut up. This could be an attempt to get rid of video evidence that shows the killer
• Scenes of the antagonist writing. The writing it's self is weird and creepy as the writer prefers to write three lines to a segment. An overlay is used this gives the seeming normal task of writing a more sinister look
• The credits themselves are creepy just because of how they are written. The text is a very sketchy like it has been scratched onto the page with an empty Biro. The effects used also help to make the writing look creepy, using overlays, cut-aways and  even simple font changes to put the viewer on edge       

Marnie Analysis

My write up of notes on the Alfred Hitchcock film Marnie (made in1964).

Title credits: It is not uncommon for old films to have the title scenes at the start though it is rarely done in modern cinema. in the title scenes of Marnie the first thing the audience sees is the production company's logo, which in this case is Universal Pictures. It becomes quickly apparent that the film is a suspenseful thriller because of it's choice of soundtrack that accompanies the credits. The credits themselves are a play on the fact that the film is a novel adaptation. They are shown in a book which flips one page after the other. The credits go through all of the main cast and crew.

Scene One: (2:00) As the credits end it suddenly switches to scene one, the music stops and all that can be heard is footsteps. The scene shows a close up of a woman's bag being held tightly under someone's arm. The bag instantly stands out as it contrasts with rest of the persons gloomy outfit being a bright yellow. The camera tracks from behind the person, following them as they walk on-wards. The camera slows down yet carries on tracking the person. This slowly changes the shot in a seamless fashion from a close up all the way out to a long shot. This change allows the viewer to see more of the surroundings and more of the person, revealing that the person is a woman and that she is at a train station in a seemingly industrial district. The setting is important as it gives the imprecision  that she is 'boxed in' and alone as there are no other people around. Up to this point the viewer will not have seen the woman's face once, this adds mystery to the character and builds tension.

Scene Two: (2:31) The setting quickly changes from being a quiet lonely train station to a loud and busy office. The contrast in sounds is effective for startling the viewer and adds more tension to the moment. The man shouting seems to be very important due to the suit he is wearing, this is because the human brain instantly recognizes a suit as a state of power, and that the person wearing it is of a high status. The office it's self could also be a sign of his power as it is very large and well furnished. The man (who we can assume owns the office because of his position behind the desk) seems to be lonely. This can be picked up on by looking at his surroundings as there are no signs of any family photos in the office. At the start of the scene the man is heard shouting "Robbed, Cleaned out" this connects back to the previous scene and gives the viewer an understanding as to what the woman has done but also what might be in the bag. As the scene goes on three more "minor" characters are introduced to the scene two detectives and one secretary. You can work out who the characters are from the clothes they wear or what props they are using can show what a persons role is in the film without them even having to use dialogue. The detectives ask the man if he knew who could have stolen his money. He replies that he does know and describes the person. His description is in-depth to a point that it is creepy and apparently laughable judging from the reaction of the detectives and the secretary. As Sean Connery walks into the room he pulls focus away from the rest to show how important to the story he is. As the Boss notices Sean's presence he stops shouting and his voice softens. This gives the idea that Sean is more important than the boss. The director or director of cinematography made an odd choice of camera shot when he chose to have the camera pan and zoom to give Sean a close up. At the point 4:36 there is a mistake made by the camera man that causes the camera to rock. 

Scene Three: (4:49) The scene then cuts to the woman with another close up of the bag clutched firmly under her arm. This only increases the importance of the bag in relation to the story. Much like the first scene this starts as   an extreme close-up on the bag, tracking it and the woman. The camera also slows but this time at a faster pace. The woman is now walking down a hallway. The hallway could be in any type of building like a office or a apartment complex but we can assume that the building is a hotel as right next to the woman is what appears to be a bell boy carrying her luggage. In the time that it took her to get from the train station to the hotel we can assume that she has already spent some of the stolen money as the bell boy is carrying boxes that the woman didn't have when she was at the train station. In this short scene the director, Alfred Hitchcock, makes ones of his signature appearances as he comes out of one of the rooms along the hall way near the end of the scene.

Scene Four: (5:03) We go from inside the hall to the inside of the woman's hotel suite. Going from an exterior shot to an interior shot gives the illusion that we are now looking inside one of the rooms attached to the hallway. At the start of the scene the camera pans over the woman's bed showing off her various purchases which includes a new suitcase and lots of new clothes. The camera stops panning when it reaches the now open yellow bag which allows the viewer to finally gain an answer to what it is that she has stolen. The scene carries on to show the women neatly packing away her new clothes into her new suitcase while just throwing her old ones into her old suitcase. She also empties out all the money into her new suitcase. The woman then takes out her ID and swaps the ID card for one of the others she has kept stashed in a secret compartment in her compact mirror. She chose to use the name Margret Edgar. Afterwards the scene cuts to a shot of her washing her hair in the sink. The water starts to turn black as dye washes out of her hair. The camera now stands still in the position of were a mirror was. The newly named Margret stands up and flicks her, now blonde, hair back over her head to reveal her face.

Scene Five: (6:29) Quickly the scene changes to a tracking shot of the woman's legs following her as she goes through crowds of people. As the viewer you acquire the sense that you are following her as people cut across in-front of the camera. The scene seems to be set in another train station only this one is a lot busier than the one at the start of the film. We follow the woman to a row of lockers were the camera pans up as she puts her old suite case into one of the lockers and locks it in. The camera carries on panning upward till it gets to her face were we see that she is looking at something. This is were the camera does a point of view shot to show that she had been looking at a drain in the floor. She walks over to and stops next to it. A close up of her hand is shown which shows her holding the locker key which she then drops down the drain and walks off with the camera still focused on the drain. Analysis ends at 7:06.

Trial Continuity Video

This is a short film produced as an exercise in Continuity. The film involves two characters - Liam and Tom - travelling from two separate locations to meet together and shake hands. With Liam, his travel was shown in one shot, and his identity revealed instantaneously, almost presenting an image of 'victim' in him. We then move with Tom in an elevator (with obligatory elevator music) - an over the shoulder shot hides his face, but highlights the location, giving a sense of villainy to himself.. Two shots (again hiding Tom's face) show Tom leaving the elevator, and a final shot reveals the identities of both during the handshake. Then, a two part conversation (?) occurs, and the film ends.