Analysis of Se7en

Luke:

A thriller is a film designed to keep the viewer on edge with suspenseful and sensational action. I will be looking at how editing and mise en scene are used in the opening two minutes of “Se7en” to show us what we can learn about characters and their situation. Mise en scene is everything that we can see in a frame. This includes lighting, props, setting, make-up, body language, body movement and costume. These can all be used to give us impressions about characters and the situations that they are in. Camera work includes the type of shot, camera movement and positions. This can allow us to understand character and their relation to other characters in the frame.

The scene begins with a medium long shot of a character with his back against the camera. From the mise en scene visible in the shot it is clear that he is in a kitchen possibly early in the morning as when he turns to face the camera he starts to fasten his cuffs showing that he may be getting ready for work. In the third shot we are shown an overhead close up shot of a table, possible from the characters point of view. The items that the character is about to pick up suggest that he is a policeman as there is a gold badge, a knife and a pen, which he proceeds to store in his pockets.

The bedroom shot of the character shows the lower half of his body as he goes to pick up his jacket from his bed. His jacket is neatly laid out and as he bends to pick it up he takes a small piece of fluff off the jacket, showing the audience that he is a meticulous person and also very organized. This is also shown in the previous shot by the way he puts the objects in his pockets. The camera then pans to the right, following the character as he walks over to the bedside table and switches off the light, implying that he is leaving.

The next shot shows a high angle shot of a body. From the position of the body and the blood surrounding it, it is clear that this person is dead, and has possibly been murdered. The camera tilts up slightly to reveal more of the body however the identity of the person is still unclear. It then cuts to a long shot of the character previously shown at his home. Because of his coat and hat we automatically get the impression that he is a detective who has been called to the case. The character then walks towards the camera while observing the walls as if he is looking for clues, as he stops the shot is a mid close up to show the characters facial expression revealing his interest in something that is on the fridge. The camera is at a low angle and looking up at the detective which suggests that he is an important character, which is again shown when the camera tilts down and back up again to follow his movements. The lighting in the scene is very dark which gives the impression that something sinister is going on. In the background of the shot there is also blood on a window blind which is revealed as the other character in the shot moves forward. This again suggests that this is a murder scene.

In the next shot the character that was previously present in the background is revealed as before he was out of focus. This character also appears to be a detective because of his clothes and gun, although his is dressed more untidily which suggests that he is less involved and is very different in attitude to the other detective.

We are soon introduced to a third character as he comes up the stairs, he is shown at a medium shot and we are able to see that he is much different to the other two characters. The camera is again angled to look up at him possibly to suggest importance. His clothing is also smart and also slightly more casual showing that he might be “cool” and because of his age and inquiring look he might have only recently started working as a detective.

Throughout the two minutes all the scenes are dimly lit giving a sense of mystery and possibly building suspense, confusion is instantly put into the viewers mind as within the first two minutes they already have questions about the death of the character. Mise en scene shows us the differences between the detectives and gives us ideas as to how they might work.


Charlie:

In my independent research I will be researching and looking at the mise en scene, and sound used in the opening two minutes the in the thriller Se7en.

The opening shot starts as a block shot of the kitchen in the apartment of the main protagonist, his kitchen looks like it has never been used, everything looks clean, in the correct place and well presented. The mise en scene gives you a good impression of the characters personality. For example he has a chess board in the kitchen, this could give you viewer the impression of him being a precise and likes to solve puzzles. There are also some sculptures of what looks like African animals, such as Elephants which could show a side of culture from his African roots, not to mention his appreciation of art which also goes back to the initial precise view of his personality.

When it cuts to a close up of the mirror, which reflects him putting his clothes on you can tell from the mirror and how he much time he spends putting his tie on that he cares about his appearance. You get the idea that in his work place he makes sure that people think he is together and completely in control.

When he goes to pick up the stuff he carries with him when he goes to work you can see that he laid them out the night before, all parallel to each other, this all enforces his precise personality.

He has a single bed, made obviously when he first got out of bed because he had his coat laid perfectly on the bed. The single bed could show that he lives alone and that could give the impression that he is lonely. That could be the why he has everything so perfect.

In the second opening shot you get an instant contrast between this protagonists home life to his work life. The second opening shot opens, as at a light low angle to the dead body on the floor, the old thing you can really see as it opens is the dead body and the victim’s blood.

The house/apartment looks run down, with stained wallpaper. You get the impression that the place were this movie is set is not a nice place, it seems to be set in a run down city with a high crime rate, as the detectives don’t seem bothered by the murder that has taken place.

The other detective has his gun clearly on display, and doesn’t carry himself as well as Somerset, his body language and the way that his clothes look like he has thrown them on just before he left his home unlike Somerset who spent time and effort getting ready for his day at work.

Another detective that is younger enters. He is wearing a leather jacket and is somewhat scruffy unlike Somerset. He is also chewing gum which shows a kind of disrespect to the victim, and I don’t imagine Somerset chewing gum at a murder scene. The use of mise en scene gives the impression that this young detective is arrogant and maybe naïve.

The sound in movies and TV programmes are divided into two types, diegetic and nondiegetic sound. Diegetic sound is the sound that the characters can hear, different methods of mise en scene can be added to make out that the character can hear, for example a radio if a song is on or dogs if you can hear barking, but sometimes you have to just presume that the character can hear. Nondiegetic sound is the things that only the viewers can hear, such as voice over, theme tunes and most of the sound tracks that are played during films.

In Somersets apartment you can hear a lot of diegetic background noise, which is used to fade the clarity and tranquil environment of Somersets apartment. The noises include sirens, beeping of horns, loud voices. This gives us the viewer an idea of the type of city he lives. The way that Somerset acts even though there is so much noise is making hard to make out what the character is thinking, but I came to the conclusion that he either blocks it out because it doesn’t bother him or he has dealt with the noise for so long that it doesn’t bother him.

In the second sequence of shots at the murder scene consist of two detectives talking, while in the background you can hear police radios, and the same nauseating sound of the background traffic, horns and people as the first shots. A 3rd detective walks up the stairs. The stairs are squeaking, this could have been used to demonstrate the poor and ran down environment of the city that this movie in set in.

When it moves the Somerset and the young detective (Mills) walking outside into the raid the get the sound of it raining, it’s not that important as it would be normal to hear the rain when you can see it.

I think that the constant sound of traffic and other background noises are used in this film the add the effect of a hectic lifestyle, this has been used to give the viewer and idea of what its like to be living in Somersets world.


ARRAN:



A thriller film aims to entertain and intrigue its audience in many different ways. The thriller film “Se7en” does this, and uses many methods to ensure that the viewers are intrigued. The methods I will be looking at will be the use of sound and camera work that are used throughout the first 2 minutes of the thriller film. The use of sound will create the right type of atmosphere and mood for the scenes, and build up suspense it. There are many methods of sound use such as: diegetic which is sound characters are able to hear (background noise, phone ringing (, non-diegetic which is sound characters can’t hear (voice overs, narration), parallel sound which is music that fits in with the scene (children playing would have nice positive music) and contrapuntal where music doesn’t fit the scene often used when an antagonist is approaching (beach scene from ‘Jaws’). Camera work can help give us impressions of the character, so we can learn more about them as the film progresses. Camera work includes the type of shot, camera movement and positions. This helps the viewer see the relation between characters in the frame.

The scene begins with a medium long shot of the character however; his back is facing the camera. Immediately we hear background noise, which consists of cars beeping, the noise you would hear in traffic jams in major cities such as New York. This is an example of diegetic sound, sound that would normally be found in scene as if it were real life. We can clearly see that character is in his kitchen, he then turns around and walks around the camera to another room. In the frame objects such as chess board, and some wooden cats that could be from another country suggest he could have cultural origins. We get the idea that this character is wise because he plays chess, and we normally associate activities such as chess with humble thoughtful people. We still have not seen the characters face, and as he turns around it is still shadowed. As he walks closer to the camera the top of his body is out of frame due to the camera position. It then cuts to the second shot which is an over-the-shoulder shot of this character buttoning himself up and doing up his tie in the mirror. As he does up his tie the camera tilts up so we can see his face this is presented as a medium shot. This is the first time we see the characters face. The third shot begins as a point-of-view shot of a table underneath his mirror where 5 of his possessions are neatly placed. This tells the audience that this character likes to be smartly dresses and also likes to keep his belongings in place and tidy. We can make out that one of his possessions is a police badge, which we see, picked up; then as the camera cuts back to a medium shot of his torso, put into his shirt pocket. This suggests he is serving in the police service as someone of high authority due to the suit he’s just put on. Still while all this is happening we can hear the faint background noise of traffic and people working.

The camera then cuts to a low angle shot showing his jacket neatly laid out across his bed. This also enhances the fact that this character is tidy. The camera then pans along with the lower half of his body as he reaches to switch off his bedside light. Immediately the next shot cuts to a high angle shot of a body, which we can see might be dead because of all the blood around it. We then hear a man talking to someone off-screen, then the camera cuts to a medium shot of the character we saw getting dressed walking towards the camera slowly down a small hallway, he pauses and then stops to look at a drawing or picture on the wall. We get the idea that this character is a detective and he asks about the dead person kid, the camera then cut to a mid shot of another man, the man that was talking at the beginning of the scene. He replies with something along the line of “Why do you care?” This reveals something about the detective’s characteristics, as he is concerned about the dead persons family whereas the other man obviously doesn’t care. The shot is still on the other man maybe a detective as well but we are unsure, as he moves around we can see a bloody splatter on the wall behind him suggesting that this is quite a gruesome murder, raising awareness to the audience. We then learn as the man carries on talking that this is the main character, he is about to retire. The detective continues looking around for clues, the camera cuts to a mid close up so we can see the detectives facial expression, he hasn’t said much as of yet which reveals more about his personality, he keeps to himself and won’t say anything unless its of relevance. The other man walks into a room around the corner of the cameras position, then another character enters the scene he comes up the stairs looks side to side, and catches the detectives attention and greets him he says “Detective Somerset… I’m Detective Mills.” We have learnt that these two men are detective and their names. As detective mills comes up the stairs and greets detective Somerset, a shot-reverse-shot takes place so we can see Somerset’s’ reaction, he looks up slowly. We can learn a few characteristics of detective mills as well in this scene. He is chewing gum, which suggests he’s cocky; he seems confident by the way he walked up the stairs and looked for Somerset. We also get the idea that he is important character because the camera tilted up to amid shot of his body as he came up the stairs.

The next shot is at slight low angle of an open door, moments later the two detectives walk out together talking, we can see from their facial expressions and gestures what kind of character they are. Mills seems to be moving around and making hand gestures, however, Somerset is still and keeps his and to himself. We can also hear police sirens in the background to ensure that the viewer knows that this is a crime. We can also hear the sound of the rain, this is another example of diegetic sound, the weather is gloomy to add effect to the scene, and it makes the film seem more sinister.

Throughout the two minutes of Se7en, enigma codes have been raised, such as why is this man dead. This has been created by the camera work. Dim lighting is used to fulfil the genre (crime scene). We get an understanding of the two main characters personalities and the environments that surround them. Sound has been used to create reality, in case the main sounds have been background noises. Suspense, confusion and awareness have been raised throughout these two minutes, which is what a thriller film wants.

Analysis of What Lies Beneath

Luke:

A thriller is a film designed to keep the viewer on edge with suspenseful and sensational action. I will be looking at how editing and mise en scene are used in the trailer of “What Lies Beneath” to show us what we can learn about characters and their situation. Mise en scene is everything that we can see in a frame. This includes lighting, props, setting, make-up, body language, body movement and costume. These can all be used to give us impressions about characters and the situations that they are in. Editing creates meaning, lets the story be told in a logical order and is used for the manipulation of time.

The first shot in the trailer sets the scene of the film, it shows a large house in the countryside situated by a lake. There is a car outside which suggests that there are people living in this house, and they may be the main characters. The sun is setting on the horizon meaning that it will soon be night, which prepares the audience for the thriller and possible suspense. We can also tell that the film is set in modern day America.

In the next shot we are introduced to the main characters of the film, Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer. He is holding onto her and her body language suggests that she is happy, this may be to show that these characters are in a relationship.

Editing has successfully been used to show the manipulation of time in this short trailer. Many of the shots have been joined with the dissolve transition to show that the joined shots are not the same as they would be in the actual film. This manipulation allows for the showing of shots from the whole film to be shown in the two minute trailer. Throughout the entire trailer the speed of the cuts are generally very quick, setting a quick pace for the film and creating suspense in the viewer.

A quick montage of editing is used to show that a family member (possibly the daughter) is leaving the household, possibly for a long period of time. Because of this we know later on the female character is “alone” in the house, which again creates the opportunity for suspense and thriller.

The overall lighting for the shots in the trailer is very dark especially when involving the house and most of the trailer appears to be set at night. This aspect of mise en scene builds up the atmosphere that something bad will happen as darkness is often associated with evil.

Later on we see the two character meet, the facial expression of the female gives the impression that she is scared while the mans shows concern. Behind the characters are shelves containing beakers and other equipment suggesting that this is the mans workplace and she has come to him because of something that has happened at the house. The shot soon cuts to the next using a dissolve transition. The two characters are now with another couple having a meal. This other couple are well dressed and wearing jewellery, therefore they appear wealthy and the main characters would value their opinion. It is clear that they are out in a restaurant as there are waiters and other tables present. This is where we learn that the female character has been aware of another presence in the house. The woman finds a newspaper article hidden in the back of a picture which falls from the wall unexpectedly and reveals the search for a missing girl. Due to the nature of the film the audience automatically assumes that this is the ghost that is in the house, this shows that the mise en scene has been successful as this idea is instantly put inside the viewers head.

The shot showing the steamed up mirror with the words “you know” written on it appears to begin the sequence of shots building the climax of the film. The words appear like dripping blood, could imply murder has taken place. The cuts now come at very quick intervals with fades used after each possibly to show the sinister side of the husband. This is again backed up by the use of titles coming up between shots, these are all aimed at the husband. They summarise who he was and how he made a mistake and make the viewer want to watch on to see the consequences. The facial expression of the characters during this sequence shows their anxiety

Because of the actions of the female character it would appear that she has now been possessed by a ghost or another supernatural being. Towards the end of the trailer the pace of the cuts becomes even quicker than before which helps to increase the tension felt by the viewer. We are constantly shown scenes of the characters submerged underwater this may be to show that this is an important part of the film and maybe the girl drowned. The possessed character also appears to have a knife during this sequence suggesting another murder may take place although we are not shown this in the trailer, which makes the viewer want to watch the whole film to find out what happens.

The mounting tension built up by this trailer makes it a good example for a thriller film as we able to learn a lot about the plot and the characters but without giving too much away, questions are still left unanswered. The mise en scene is very successful in establishing the mood of the film and characters, to begin with they appear to be a normal affluent American family but by the end of the two minutes the circumstances changes it to a suspense filled film, enough to intrigue an audience.


ARRAN


I chose to analyse the Mise en scene and the editing used in the “What lies Beneath”trailer

“What lies Beneath” is a thriller movie directed by Robert Zemeckis in the year 2000. It stars Harrison Ford, Michelle Pseiffer, Diana Scorward, Victoria Bridewell, Joe Morton and James Remar. “What lies Beneath is a rousing tale of doubt, deceit and murder. Norman (Harrison Ford) and Claire Spencer (Michelle Pfeiffer) are a seemingly happily married couple who uncover a terrible secret… a secret so disturbing it threatens them. Claire begins to see ghostly images and hear mysterious voices in their home, her husband Norman suspects them to be her imagination – until the images become real. Together they uncover the truth and find out “What lies Beneath”

The mise en scene used throughout the trailer of “What lies Beneath” is similar and creates an atmosphere of a slightly creepy house in America. Household paraphernalia is used throughout the thriller trailer such as sofas, beds, chairs etc. This would show reality and keeps the viewer interested in the film. As many of the scenes in the trailer are set clearly in the night which adds to the eerie atmosphere that creates a thriller. From watching these quick cuts the viewer can get a chill running down their spine created by mise en scene. The cloths worn by the characters in the thriller trailer create reality in the trailer. The husband Norman is a research scientist for a university and he is wearing a smart shirt and trousers throughout the trailer. This leads the viewer to believe that Norman is a real university researcher. We can learn some personality details about him from this; he must be clever and well educated to be working for a university. Claire is also an intelligent, and a mature woman as she is a retired concert cellist. In the trailer she is shown wearing formal clothing, this would also suggest that if she had to solve a problem she would be capable to do it.

Many uses of editing are used in the trailer of “What lies Beneath”. Firstly many fading cuts are used for multiple reasons, the fade helps to change from one scene to another in another setting/location. It also creates a thrilling and dramatic atmosphere that a thriller movie wants to create. The editing helps intrigue the targeted audience by quick cuts of intriguing scenes. At 1 min 28 montage editing is used in the thriller trailer, 7 shots take place in around 10 seconds. This sequence creates a fast pace which make the audience compelled and enticed into the thriller trailer. This montage sequence is used to reflect tension and some disturbance, and build up a slight threat. The editing used creates an idea of what the characters personalities are. We can see there is a seductive woman, she gives off a negative vibe and the editing used such as the shots of her face proves this, which are threatening and spooky.

Overall I feel this trailer has done very well to preview “What lies Beneath”. It portrays the main characters well, and adds a twist to the trailer that will make people that enjoy solving the twists (or try to) want to watch the whole film. Towards the end of the trailer the mood created by mise en scene is dramatic and creates tension and the use of editing backs this up.

Charlie

Analysis of what lies beneath
This thriller is one that will keep you on guard and asking questions throughout. There is obviously a relationship between the protagonists. Maybe married or just in a long term relationship, we know they live together.

The use of conventional thriller techniques using dark lighting, a strong male protagonist and the female protagonist venerable at time but still has confidence and not at all feeble. Mise en scene at concerning house hold items and costumes shows and represents the realism of the couple in their every day lives.
The body language of the two protagonists definitely show a distinct difference between the male and female as he seems very much in control. When she finds out about the girl he had an affair with she starts to panic but he stays calm and in control.
The sound used in this trailer really gives it the thriller feel, and enforces the suspense as the trailer goes on.


Note: my poor attempt to re-write after losing my original, would of been better but i had just finished my evaluation and was tired

Actors

Actors involved in our production:

Arran Smith - Murderer
Charlie Meaden - Main male character
Frankie Lusty - Main female character (girlfriend)
Gary Simmons - Vicar

Luke and Arran

Planning and permission

We have permission to film in Slaugham church as we personally know the victor there and asked if this would be okay before hand.

Luke and Arran

11/02/2009

Today we will be going out to take pictures of the locations that we will be using during the filming of our production.

Edit: It turns out that we were unable to take pictures on this day as the church was being used.

Luke and Arran

11/02/2009 Media AS Foundation Production

Synopsis

It begins at a church where a funeral is taking place. While the vicar is talking, one character appears to be disturbed and distraught. He then begins having a series of flashbacks showing the male character walking together through a wood with his girlfriend. From the flashbacks questions are raised; What happened to both characters, where is this girl now, and is it her funeral? As the funeral goes on the male character becomes distressed and leaves the church. As the film goes on he experiances more flashbacks that torments him but at the same time reveals what happened in the wood.

Luke, Charlie and Arran