Section 2: Research into Examples of Comparable Media Products.

Today in media we finished watching se7en to give us a clear idea of thrillers.
When we had finished watching it we began to analyse the opening, using grid sheets.

Narrative Structure.

The narrative structure was linear. There was a clear beginning, we could see somebody building up to doing something or doing some sort of research, helping the audience to paint a picture of the person. We see there is somebody doing something but we don't know exactly who it is, we are only shown so much so that we want to keep watching.

The person opens a book, this could represent the beginning of the film, he was just getting started.

Thriller Codes and Conventions.

The Question and Answer model is used throughout. The audience asks such questions as 'what's he doing?' 'why is he slicing his fingers?' 'who is he?' etc.

Partial Vision is also a mainly used one, used through out, the audience don't see who this person is so that they want to keep watching to find out.

Concealment and protraction is used, we are only shown little bits. We see a person and what he is doing and we get the impression he is bad but we are not shown who he is or given any clues about why he is doing it.

Camera Work.

There is a collection of extreme close ups used. This creates tension as we’re not really sure what’s happening. The close ups highlight the characters personality, we see what he is doing is very concise and important.
We see an extreme close up of the book pages turning so we see what he is looking at but not what it is that he is reading.
Also we see an extreme close up of somebody slicing their fingertips. It all happens very fast so we are not sure what exactly is going on and we are left asking why it is happening. Although we do notice that the camera keeps referring back to the book.
Only one different shot is used, this is a panning shot.

Mise-en-scene

The mise-en-scene is unclear for most parts. We don’t actually know where it is set, the camera shots do not give much away. However it looks like it could be set in some sort of office or library type place. The character is moving slowly and calmly, carrying out calculated acts.

Sound.

The bass sounds like a heart beat, beating at a normal pace at the beginning and eventually gets louder and faster to build up tension. Disturbing sounds are used such as screechy and scratchy noises and creaky chairs. Also an almost supernatural / alienated sound creates a surreal eerie effect.
The only bit of lyrics used are at the very end ‘you got me closer to god’. Towards the end the bass sound / beat kicks in again, it changes to make you jump again. Overall the bass is very loud, signifying that the sound is just as important as the visual effects.

Editing.

The editing is very fast paced and distorted to the audience. The use of a lot of cuts is disorientating.
Jump cuts are used to show the passing of time. Also split screens are used and cuts dissolve into the next cut to show the passing of time and what the character is doing. The cuts also seem to be in time with the music.

Graphics.

The graphics are all white and the hand writing is slightly childish. They flicker a lot and jump from the centre to different corners of the screen. They always end up on a plain black screen and they have an outline / strobe to them. They seem haphazard, as though they have not been thought about properly but this give an eerie effect.