Section 2 - Analysis

Se7en Analysis

(0:00 - 6:20)

      Narrative Structure

-        The narrative structure is quite conventional, being that the story begins with a setting and character development before rising to a conflict and ending in a conclusion. The story is moreover presented in a clear and chronological manner. It is a complex structure, however, because it involves multiple twists and turns.

-        Everything is told through the dialogue of characters; the entire story is told through diagetic sound, without a non-diagetic narrator.
-         Follows Tzvetan Todorov's narrative theory because the film start with an equilibrium, reaches a conflict, is resolved and then returns to an equilibrium at the end. This is shown in the movie respectively before the villain, the villain acting and murdering people, the villain being killed and then after the villain has been disposed of.
Sound

-        Music put over scenes to emphasise a certain mood e.g. soft classical music over a calmer scene with louder and faster music over a dramatic scene.

-        Constant city sounds at all times – cars honking and people arguing.

Camera Work

-        Camera mostly still and controlled, using pans and other camera techniques to suggest that the film is high budget as well as giving the idea that the characters are in control; more movement of the camera in chase scenes suggests that the characters are not in control of the situation.

-        Low angles of the detectives often, to show their authority.

-        Pans out often to show the entire mise-en-scene (arrangement of props and scenery to represent surroundings) of the respective setting so that it is clear to the audience where the characters are. For this purpose, also, establishing shots are used.
Mise-En-Scene

-        Run down urban surroundings, deliberately deteriorating, to create a depressing atmosphere and dismal impression of the city, which supports the sombre subject of the film (the murders). This is supported by the dark lighting of film.
Editing

-        Fades out into the next scenes – a lot of editing used in the credits, with the film constantly merging.
-        Uses simultaneity to show two character’s different actions moving towards one situation.
Graphics

-        Strange creepy music which relates back to the film, as well as the video behind which also relates with the killers’ journals etc. The makers also didn’t put Kevin Spacey’s name in the credits, so the killer can’t be easily predicted.
Codes and Conventions

-        Tension and suspense keeps the audience guessing, with the plot full of twists and unexpected moments.

-        Scenes to make the viewer jump.

-        Some features of other genres: action with chases and cars crashing; psychological with the final twist and the idea of the characters getting into the mind of the villain; supernatural because of the sins theme etc.

-        Pascal Bonitzer’s theory of partial vision is used, with details hidden from the viewer and character, which become more apparent as the plot unfolds.

-        Follows W. H. Matthews’ maze-type plot, with many twists and turns and dead ends which the characters have to overcome to continue to the villain. Furthermore follows his theory with the idea of mythology from the use of the Seven Deadly Sins.

-        Follows Northrop Frye’s theory since the city is seen as a fantasy world – quite literally, since sins are associated with hell, therefore the city is directly compared to hell. Moreover, the heroes are normal people following a villain doing extraordinary things.

-        John Cawelti’s theory of the exotic comes into play with the use of Detective Mills’ wife, who does not belong in the city or the plot in general.

Jaws Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8SnZmUjhAA

      Narrative Structure

-        The narrative structure of the opening is quite conventional, being that a setting is defined (the sea and beach) but is quite unusual because it starts with the viewpoint of the shark which could be confusing at first for anyone who has not previously heard of Jaws.

-        All of the story is told in dialogue and through visual aspects rather than with a narrator.
Camera Work

-        The camera starts off under the ocean, with the shark’s viewpoint, which both hides the shark and shows something is lurking in the water.

-        Above the water, on the beach, the camera slowly pans and uses establishing shots to show the entire scene with everyone there.
-        Shot reverse shots are used to show a connection between the young man and woman.

-        While the girl is being attacked the camera stays above water, so it is unknown what is happening to her because the shark has not been seen yet.

-        Camera framing exaggerates the idea of how vulnerable she is, by showing how tiny she is compared to all the water.

Mise-En-Scene

-        The way the girl and boy remove their clothes is symbolic of how vulnerable they are, also, and signifies that they are stripping away their defences.

-        The teenagers drinking and smoking show a relaxed scene, and the warm colours of the beach and fire contrast heavily with the starting shots of the cool blues under the ocean.

-        The fence can be seen as the skeletal bones of a large fish and in places looks as though is has been bitten by a huge set of jaws, which can suggest what is about to happen to the two youths. Moreover, the way she lifts her leg in the water looks like a shark’s fin.
Sound

-        The music is very recognisable, even to those who have never seen Jaws. Orchestral music, it starts off low and sinister in an oppressive minor key before the rhythm starts to evolve and more instruments join the music, slowly getting faster and more dramatic to signify something is steadily moving closer and closer.

-        The dramatic orchestral music turns straight into the music of a harmonica, again showing a vivid contrast between the water and people on the beach; hinting the two are enemies.
Editing

-        The film starts off as black, with just underwater sounds all around which set the scene even before an image has been shown. It fades in from the black to the underwater view of the shark.
Graphics

-        The credits fade slowly in and out, and though they are plain, they are very bold and striking – can relate to the size and power of the shark in the film, and also gives the impression that you can’t escape.
Codes and Conventions

-        The naïve, vulnerable “damsel in distress” is a typical feature in thrillers, because it is often young, pretty girls who tend to be the victims of attacks. Moreover, the way she runs off from the group follows the codes and conventions, because attacks in thrillers tend to happen in isolated places where no one can help.

-        The screaming follows the codes and conventions of a thriller because there are often the sounds of panic such as screaming. Also, it follows Pascal Bonitzer’s idea of partial vision because the shark is not seen, always hidden under the water which makes the viewer wonder what it is that is killing the girl.

-        Lars Ole Saurberg’s idea of concealment and protraction is used because the enemy is concealed to the audience, and protraction is used in the struggle of the girl, who the viewer knows is going to inevitably die, against the shark.

-        The transformed city is used within the beach, where something extraordinary is going to happen even though it is an ordinary place.

Silence of the Lambs Analysis



(0:00 - 5:16)
      Narrative Structure

-        The narrative structure is quite unconventional since the setting is not immediately defined and it is not immediately apparent who the woman is or what is happening to her.

-        Like most other thrillers, the narrative is shown only in dialogue, leaving other indications of what is happening out.
Camera

-        The camera is very controlled and static all the time, as though to show either she or someone else is in control of what is happening in the film.

-        The camera follows the running woman as though it is chasing her or is someone observing her, which can make the viewer believe that she is vulnerable like the girl in Jaws.

-        A shot of her feet running shows more movement and so a more erratic and desperate pace.
Mise-En-Scene

-        An FBI and obstacle course helps set the scene, and first implies she is not actually running from anything. Moreover, the time of year is told because the trees are bare and dying – implies death.

-        Signs saying “Hurt”, “Agony”, “Pain” signify what will happen in the rest of the film and can represent the struggle throughout the character’s life.
Sound

-        Non-diagetic orchestral music is sinister and played in a minor key to be low and dramatic, like Jaws. Additionally like Jaws, the music gets lower and louder as the forest thickens and it gets darker, building suspense.

-        The diagetic sound of her heavy breathing and animals exaggerates how isolated she is, while the gunshots later in the opening contrast that because they show she is not alone at all.

-        The sombre music is played again at the end of the opening when she is looking shocked – eyes wider and camera zooming in – getting louder until showing what she is looking at.
Graphics

-        The titles, like other thrillers, are very bold; black and white shows a contrast, also.
Codes and Conventions

-        The opening follows the idea of transformed city because the setting is rather extraordinary in itself, being an FBI training facility in the middle of a forest where something extraordinary could happen. Moreover, the forest follows codes and conventions because it is stereotypical that that is isolated and so where bad things happen.

-        The main character is unconventional because she is obviously a strong woman to be in the FBI, which the viewer doesn’t pick up on immediately because it deviates from the idea of the vulnerable woman running away which they first assume in seeing her running through the forest.

-        The opening follows the idea of mazes and labyrinths because of the tortuous nature of a forest and the way she looks around to see where she is going.

-        Partial vision is used because it is unknown what is going on or who she is for a long time. This is also represented by the mist she runs through, because she can’t see beyond it and the camera angles in front of her, showing the mist behind her and symbolising she can’t turn back.

-        There are aspects of the exotic in the film because she is clearly out of place where she works, like Mills’ wife is out of place in the city in Se7en. This is because the FBI is clearly a male dominated environment; everyone is taller than her and she is wearing different clothes to them, therefore she is quite alienated.

-        The “Behavioural Science Services” which she is seen to walk into relate to the idea that it is a psychological thriller.

Red Eye Analysis



      Narrative Structure

-        The narrative structure is quite unconventional in the way that it skips to many different scenes, showing different things, before settling on one definite location with the protagonist.

-        The dialogue between people and the main character are the only indication of what is happening in the story.
Camera Work

-        Establishing shots around the protagonist to show exactly where she is, while in the other scenes the camera is focused on one area to hide the entire location.

-        Close up on the wallet and keys; zooms in to draw focus to just them, framing them to the right a little to still show the photograph in the shot, bringing the assumption that something will happen to the woman featured.
Mise-En-Scene

-        There is a lot of rain in the settings which relates back to the continuous rain in Se7en and suggests something bad will happen.

-        JR on the wallet so it can be identified in later scenes; the audience knows that the wallet is stolen by someone else because of the laws of continuity, with the hand stealing the wallet coming from the same direction that the man who dropped it has just gone in and wearing different clothes to the man.
Sound

-        Very energetic music is used, deviating from the orchestral music of other thrillers, but it is still face paced and loud leading up to the first scene. Both the diagetic and non-diagetic music is like this in nature. Moreover, in the opening credits the music builds up to the noise of an aeroplane’s engines in the background.

-        The music and what is going on in the scene compliments each other e.g. when the wallet is stolen the music reaches a climax.
Graphics

-        The credits come in immediately and, like most other thrillers, are bold with white text on a dark background. The text effect makes it look like the credits are moving away, like a plane going down a runway.
Codes and Conventions

-        Like Silence of the Lambs, the main character is a very strong willed and powerful woman which deviates from the conventional idea of a woman in a thriller.

-        Heroic romance comes into play because the entire film begins with an image of the protagonist in the photograph, looking very clever and powerful.

-        Partial vision is used because the audience can’t see who dropped the keys and wallet and who stole them. It is also a mystery what is in the box which was so carefully transported.

Gamer Analysis
      Narrative Structure

-        The narrative structure of the opening is quite unconventional, being that barely anything is told about the story and it is very confusing. The main points of the story are told through visual aspects and the viewer’s perception, and within the dialogue. Moreover the images in the credits give subtle hints as to what the film is about.
Camera Work

-        The camera is quite frantic with many different shots showing the entire scene rather than an establishing shot. Most of these shots are close up so there is a constant feeling of disorientation and unknown as to what is happening. This relates to the confusion of the character, also, and so brings the idea of partial vision because neither Kable nor the viewer really knows what is happening, just that there is fighting.

-        The camera sometimes takes the viewpoint of the character which relates to later in the movie because Kable is being controlled by someone else.
Mise-En-Scene

-        The characters have guns, shooting each other around a war ground, making it seem like a proper first person shooter game. One of the characters “teabags” a dead soldier which is conventional of what people do in a war game, therefore there are hints of the storyline.
Sound

-        The sound is mostly diagetic at the start because there are mostly gun shots, shouting and dialogue as opposed to music like other thrillers. The socialising game, however, has upbeat music in the background which contrasts to the war game highly.

-        There is a well known slow and dark song as the theme song, by Marilyn Manson.
Editing

-        The film fades in from black, and there is a sudden change from the music to the first scene. In the credits the scenes are sped up, moreover.
Credits

-        The credits are simple and bold, like most other thrillers.
Codes and Conventions

-        The opening takes into account the transformed city because as well as the usual real life city there are the gaming worlds, which are very much extraordinary.

-        There is the theme of partial vision because the viewer and character are unsure what is happening until the film begins to unfold.

-        There is the idea of mazes and labyrinths because the characters are running around torturous buildings trying to find and kill each other. There is also a metaphorical labyrinth in the way that Kable does not know where he is going or doing.

-        The idea of heroic romance is included because Kable is an ordinary man who was framed and put into the extraordinary gaming world. There are also many unfair fights which he, as an underdog, wins.

-        It follows the codes and conventions of an action-thriller because apart from these conventions of all thrillers it involves guns, car chases and explosions etc.

The Butterfly Effect Analysis

(0:00 - 6:12)

Narrative Structure

-        The narrative structure is unconventional because it starts from the end of the film before going to "thirteen years earlier". This is a confusing narrative structure and already causes questions from the viewer, for example who is the person he is writing about in the diary? It is also quite unconventional because the protagonist tells part of the story out loud while he is writing, which is not shown in any other researched thriller.
Camera Work

-        The camera is very controlled even in the scenes where the character is frantically running around, which can suggest a psychological thriller because the characters always think they are in control when they are not. Establishing shots are used in the 'thirteen years later' part to show a street, but in the first setting it is unknown where he is and the audience is not yet told. A particularly long establishing shot is used to show the institute which may suggest is plays a big part in the movie.

-        There are only two close ups, on the page he is writing ("save her") and on the picture he drew of a murder. This can suggest that there is a woman who is very important in the story and hints that something bad will happen, and the fact they are the only close ups can hint that the film centers primarily around her and around his psychotic tendencies.
Mise-En-Scene

-        At the beginning the character is wearing a blue robe which is associated with sick people, and can suggest where he is though it is not obvious. There is a great contrast between the darkness of the first part and the bright day in the thirteen years later, which can furthermore suggest a psychological thriller because of changes in personality.
-        The character is seen holding a knife, which relates back to conventions of a thriller because of violence and gore, which is often seen in the genre. 
Sound

-        There is non-diagetic sound over the film constantly, which is very low, opressive and eerie, whereas at the start is is louder and more fast paced. This is another contrast which hints changes in personality and therefore suggests a psychological thriller. The music slowly fades in from silence, which is effective because it is quite eerie and makes the viewer wonder what is happening.
-               The viewer can hear what the main character is thinking at points, which is quite an unconventional example of non-diagetic sound but gives a good impression of a psychological thriller because it is a typical idea that insane people talk to themselves.

Editing

-        The music gets louder and with a faster pace as soon as he kicks the door in, which is an example of good editing.
Credits

-        There is an extract from the chaos theory instead of credits which is very unconventional but is effective because it shows inspiration for the film. It also gets into the story quicker which will capture the audience's attention more effectively.
-        The name of the film appears with a scan of a brain which can relate back to the idea that it is a psychological thriller. The music gets louder and more eerie when the title is shown.
Codes and Conventions

-        The opening takes transformed city into account because the settings are normal (a house, a school, etc) with abnormal circumstances (he is found with a knife in his hand, drawing murders in school etc).

-        There is the theme of partial vision because the viewer is unsure what is happening until the film begins to unfold. The viewer learns things as the character does because of going back to thirteen years earlier, but because of the unconventional narrative structure (starting with the end of the film) the viewer knows that a girl is in trouble, meaning that, unconventionally, they know more than the character.

-        There is the idea of mazes and labyrinths because the character doesn't know what he is doing and is lost in a metaphorical labyrinth. Moreover his mind which is being tested could be an implication of mazes and labyrinths because doctors do not know what is going on and so are too lost.

-        The idea of heroic romance is included because the main character is an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances, and by the end the viewer begins to empathise with his situation. There are also many situations which seem to have the potential to beat him but he prevails through them (the underdog wins).

-        It follows the codes and conventions of an psychological-thriller because it involves the brain and obvious contrasts and juxtapositions between situations etc.