Se7en Opening Analyses

The sound in the opening of Se7en, non diegetic sound is used in in the form of an eery piece of music. This track uses creeks of doors, clicking and a lot of base like beats; these all add up to create an uncomfortable atmosphere for the audience which helps to imply that the film is going to be unsettling. The way in which the opening scene only uses non diegetic sound can show the audience that what is happening in the scene is private as it means we are unable to hear what is actually happening in the scene which allows us to understand that the character in the scene is doing something that he shouldn't be. This can therefore give us an insight into what the characters personality is like. The non diegetic sound is very abstract and random noises all mixed under one track which can also give us the knowledge of the instability of the character in the scene, perhaps a mental patient or prisoner.

The editing in the opening of Se7en uses an array of different transitions that add to the idea of instability as it shows a lack of organisation and continuity. An example is the close up shot of the pen writing on the paper, in this short clip a fade in effect is used however still showing the pen writing between the transition. This expresses the idea that maybe the vision of the character is poor or it could also again link to the idea of a mental problem that effect the way in which you see the world. The title that appear on the screen also add to the understanding of the character within the scene. The font chosen is as if the letters have been scratched onto the screen, this could imply that the character is vicious and dangerous which provides an explanation as to why they are in a room on their own. Perhaps they have been abandoned or locked away to keep others safe.



Se7ens opening scene also uses a range of different camera angles, however many of these are close ups. The director most likely used a lot of these in order for the audience to have an idea of the story plot before the film fully begins, they allow us to see clearly what strange things the character is doing. For example in one close up we can see the use of abstract props such as a razor blade that is being used to remove finger prints. We know that this is something a criminal would do in the event of a serious crime however it brings the question of why they wouldn't just wear gloves. This again can link to the idea of instability and abnormality of the character. However the main thing this act is showing is that what is being done must be extremely illegal and definitely a crime. Another close up shows us a black marker being used to erase certain words from a book. These words are things such as 'pregnant' and 'intercourse' which can help us link the character to extreme religious thoughts (sins).                                                                      

The lighting throughout the clip is mostly a yellow or blue wash. This allows us to understand that natural lighting is being used however only a slight bit which suggests that the room in which the character is in has few windows, maybe because again they want to be private. The lighting also adds to the eery atmosphere of the audience as it makes everything seem much more dull and discomforting. This creates a link with the story line and allows us to understand what the rest of the film is going to be like.                                                            

Se7en - Opening Titles

Production Crews: Roles & Responsibilities

Writer

They writer can turn a book into a film through taking the main parts of the book and transferring it into a screenplay to suit a film. They have to take into account that, unlike a book, the words aren't just sentences but have to express character development and personality. Also the fact that the words will be performed as dialogue and so have to convey the story to the audience through what the characters are going to say and do. However if the producer has hired the writer to write the film the producer can ask for rewrites, they my even ask other writers if they don't feel the script is working which happens a lot in big hollywood films. 

Composer 

A composer writes and produces the music for the film but also helps to pick out the non diegetic sounds. For example the bangs and crashes. Their job has a big impact on the emotions in the film as they can control the amount of tension, relaxation, excitement (etc) in scenes. Composers have some responsibility for how the film flows and therefore have to work with the directors in order to place the music in the correct scenes of the film. Finally the composer has to carefully select a team of musicians and editors to put together the different tracks.

Director
The main person in charge of the creativity of the film and how it will be presented to the audience.
During pre production the director casts actors and is able to make changes to the script to suit their personal preference and visions. They will storyboard the shots and choose locations, colour schemes, costumes etc. During production they are in charge of the set and work with the actors and other crew members to ensure their creative ideas are presented in the correct way. 

Head of casting 
They have knowledge of what makes a good actor/actress and what skills are needed, as a result they work with the director to help select the cast members. They look at participants skills, ability and past experience in order to make sure that the perfect people are selected for each role. They are responsible for interviewing and coming up with a fee to offer each cast member.

Producer
They are in charge of co-ordinating the shoot and be responsible for getting anything the film needs to make it happen such as cameras, locations and props. However they don't decide what these things are as the DOB will decide what cameras are needed and the director will decide on the location and the producer just finds these things and negotiate a price.

Camera Operator
They are in charge of filming all the shots in the film and therefore works alongside the director in order to select the correct camera angles, lenses and type of camera. They will have to ensure that all shots are finalised to perfection ensuring the shots take in the full effect of the locations, backdrops and background extras. As a result of this the camera operator also has to work with the director and props crew to make sure the background and props are able to be picked up through a camera.

Studio Logos; Similarities and Differences

Similarities

All  the logos I looked at used few colours in order to keep it simple, for example the film 4 logo only uses red and white. This is effective because although the logo is effective, it doesn't overwhelm the audience and as a result allows the studio to be recognisable. All these logos also show profession as they are edited and designed to perfection in order to make the studio unique and stand out. You are able to see that they have all been planned and developed through soft wear and when on screen they all come with some form of animation.

Differences

However it is clear that there're different codes and conventions that studios go by in order to create. For example a lot are inspired by mythical creatures for example Dreamworks 'the man on the moon' and Tristars 'Pegasus' . However others are inspired by monuments such as the statue of liberty. This can show us another difference as some logos don't reflect anything about the films that are produced however logos such as Disney (the castle) portray what the film is going to be about which in this case is Prince and Princesses. Another difference in the studio logos is the way in which the animation is done. For example Tristars has a simple zoom out animation as the wings of the Pegasus spread out however other studios have a more detailed animation for example Disney. This shows a castle with lights shining upwards, a flag waving in the wind and multiple fireworks going off in the background. This may also be linked to the idea of some studios designing their logo based on the genre of their films and other choosing not to. 

Christian Metz; Model of genre development

In 1974, Metz wrote a book named "Language and Cinema". The book looked at different genre trends and how it develops. He mentions how genre goes through different stages in order to progress.:

1. The Experimental
2. The Classic
3. The Parody
4. The Reconstruction 

Experimental 

 This is where the genre is established and different scenarios are experimented with. An example of this is in the late 70’s and early 80’s this stage began to employ psychological origins to the thriller genre. For example 'Scream'. 

Classic

An original piece of work which is developing the initial codes and conventions of the genre. For example in 1926 the Thriller movie genre was established  with silent thriller film. Alfred Hitcock (an amateur director) defined the thriller genre with his suspense thrillers with the success of  films such as ‘Rebecca’ (1940). Hitchock explored instrumental ideas whilst establishing the thriller movie genre which still has a major influence today. A classic example of thriller movies experimenting with sound, acting and visuals is 'Psycho'. 

Parody 

 In the 90's the development stage reached a point at which thriller scenes and movies used comedic effects which watered down expectations of the stereotypical film genre. A good example of this is the "scary movie" series. 

Deconstruction

The thriller has now fused with several other genres creating sub categories the most established being sci-fi/thriller or horror/thriller. This has allowed the thriller genre to evolve creating more variety within the genre field. 

My Studio logo (Darkson Studios)

My Studio logo development process

                                  

                                    

                                      We started with an image that we had in mind 

                                             which in this case was a crystal ball

We then added text of our studio name with a 

colour that went with the colours all ready existing on the image  in order to stick to the codes and conventions of studio logos 

We then played with the colours as we felt the brighter ones didn't portray the horror opening we were planning to create.

Finally we continued to play with the colours and darken them down till we were satisfied with our 

finished logo.