Opening Sequence Analysis***

To gain a further understanding of the thriller conventions, I have analysed an opening sequence from the thriller film 'Se7en'. This understanding will assist the planning of my own opening sequence, as I will be able to identify aspects deemed appealing and unappealing, thus improving my own opening sequence. When analysing this opening sequence, I have addressed micro elements such as cinematography, editing, sound and mis en scene. Individually, I have researched into these, however I will be able to identify how each of them work together by analysing them as a whole. Below is my analysis, followed by how this research will assist my own production.

Se7en

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114369/plotsummary:

A film about two homicide detectives' desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopathic "John Doe" sermonizes to Detectives Sommerset and Mills -- one sin at a time. The sin of Gluttony comes first and the murderer's terrible capacity is graphically demonstrated in the dark and subdued tones characteristic of film noir, and therefore can be placed into the 'crime' sub-genre. The seasoned and cultured but jaded Sommerset researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while the bright but green and impulsive Detective Mills scoffs at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer; which implies aspects of a 'psychological' thriller.

Credits

In the opening of the film Seven, some of the credits are viewed on a separate frame to the action on the others. The images fade into a black background, with white font for credits. The contrast of the colours black and white are representative of both the darkness of the antagonist and the innocence of the protagonist as the connotations suggest this. It creates an eerie atmosphere as the lack of colour suggests lack of life which foreshadows the narrative therefore suggesting murder/violence to the audience, leaving them on edge. Also, The style of font used for the credits is conventional to the genre as well, as the credits look hand written which makes the font eerie. Furthermore, the font can be linked to the narrative as the antagonist writes a lot in his diary which again, makes the font eerie as it is reflective of the antagonist.

Cinematography

In terms of cinematography, the opening sequence conforms to the generic conventions of a thriller film by using lots of close up shots. Close ups shots are typically used to emphasis a moment as it encourages the audience to look at something specifically. The use of a close up in the context of the opening sequence is significant in reflecting the 'psychological' aspects of the film. By having a close up of someone scraping the skin off of their fingers, the audience become aware that 'someone' (antagonist) is not deemed psychologically normal or stable. It makes the audience focus of the skin coming off of the person's fingers which makes them feel on uncomfortable as it conveys the intensity of the person's lack of 'normality'. It also suggests that the person takes pleasure in hurting themselves/others which once again, is reflective of the narrative and therefore implies to the audience that violence will take place.

Editing

In terms of editing, the opening sequence conforms to the conventions of the thriller genre by using a 'montage'; in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information. Each of the short clips are taken from the antagonist writing in his diary, which is heavily evident in the actual film and therefore is reflective of this. A montage is typically edited using fast transitions and therefore the editing of the opening sequence connotes the chaotic and unstable mind set of the antagonist through its fast pace. By representing the antagonist is such way, this makes the audience feel on edge and uncomfortable in regards to such character, another convention of the genre. Lastly, the audience receive a a lot of information at one time because of the montage editing which in turn, may make them feel slightly distorted and on edge to anything 'out of the ordinary'.

Sound

The sound used on the opening sequence is highly conventional to the thriller genre for many reasons. The first being the pitch of the sound, as it is very high and almost sounds very similar to screaming. Because of this, the sound creates a very disturbing atmosphere as it appears that there is background screaming, which implies an upcoming disturbing cause. Therefore the audience are made to feel on edge due to the eerie atmosphere created. Furthermore, the sound is also conventional in that it fluctuates and changes in volume. This is a convention of the thriller genre as the sound becomes unpredictable; it will be quiet one second and then loud the next. The unpredictable nature of the music makes the audience feel on edge as the change in volume makes it jumpy and irregular. This is conventional to the thriller genre as it effectively manipulates the emotions of the audience into feeling on edge. However, there is also a monotonous beat included in the soundtrack which sounds similar to a heartbeat; throughout the sequence the 'beat' increases in speed which may influence the emotions of the audience are heartbeats typically speed up when frightened, which may influence them to feel so.

Iconography

The thriller film 'Se7en' falls into both crime and psychological sub-genres, and therefore uses conventional iconography such as weapons. In the opening, a weapon is evident in the picture as a man with an arrow through his head, which implies to the audience that the narrative will consist of violence or possibly torture. Both of these are regular themes that are focused upon in the thriller genre, as they make the audience uncomfortable and on edge. Such iconography is also reflective of the antagonist as it suggests that they are psychologically imbalanced in order to do such act. Furthermore, this also highlights the conflict between victim and antagonist as it suggests a similar/possible outcome between such two characters, thus building suspense.

Hidden Identity

Finally, the identity of the antagonist is not revealed to the audience which is conventional to the genre. By having the identity of the antagonist hidden throughout the audience are made to feel more on edge as they suspense is built in the run up to the revealing of said identity. It creates an enigma as to who the antagonist is which keep the audience engaged to find out. Although aware of the percussions of the antagonist, the lack of knowledge in terms of their identity makes the audience more vulnerable, as they are not all knowing like the antagonist. This is an effective and conventional method in which thriller films typically make the audience feel on edge.

From this analysis, what have you learnt and how will this influence your own production?

From the research I have conducted, I have gained a better understanding of a conventional thriller opening which in turn, will allow me to create a better thriller opening myself. In the analysis above, I addressed the main micro elements that construct a thriller opening and therefore to conclude on what I have found, I will discuss how such findings will influence my own production. From my analysis, I found that black and white credits are conventional due to their connotations, thus creating the desired 'eerie' atmosphere. Therefore I have decided to include such convention in my own thriller opening as the contrast of black and white will highlight the conflict of antagonist vs victim, a heavily focused theme in my opening. I have also found that red is often used in thriller openings to suggest violence and blood, however I am too subvert this convention as violence or blood will not be evident in the film. Furthermore, in terms of cinematography I identified the opening used many close up shots which intensified the content of the frame, encouraging the audience to focus on it and therefore were made to feel uncomfortable. From the research I was able to recognise the close ups were effective in intensifying a moment and therefore I will use one when the victim is distressed. By using a close up in this point, the audience are encouraged to focus on the 'distressed' facial expressions of the victim which further encourages them to build a relationship with the victim out of sympathy. Also, the analysis assisted with my understanding in terms of conventional editing; the film used a montage to reflect the mind set of the antagonist though fast and chaotic editing. However, the narrative of my opening focuses on the victim thinking the antagonist is in her house and therefore slow paced editing will be more suitable. By having slow paced editing, suspense is built throughout the opening while the victim is looking for the antagonist. It suggests to the audience that a climatic event will occur as a result of the suspense built which will make the audience feel on edge. In terms of sound, the opening conformed to the conventions of the thriller genre as it used a soundtrack that fluctuated in pitch and volume, thus making sound unpredictable to make the audience feel on edge. This is an effective method of manipulating the audience's emotions and therefore will be incorporated into my own thriller opening. As the opening appears realistic, the sound used will also be realistic i.e. a storm, so that the audience are familiar with the sound, which in turn converts something associated with comfort to something disturbing, making them on edge. Also, the opening uses iconography such as weapons as the narrative is based on graphic and violent crimes and therefore effectively reflects the narrative. However, from the questionnaires I have conducted, I have established that my target audience prefer a non violent narrative and therefore will not include weapons, as it will not be representative of the true narrative. My production will be focused on the psychological aspects of the thriller genre rather than crime and therefore weapons are not suitable iconography to include in my opening sequence. Finally, the opening sequence does not reveal the identity of the antagonist, which creates an enigma to keep the audience engaged; and therefore I plan to conform to such convention too.