Filming/Editing

Today we started going through shots on the iMacs and found out that many of the shots were too dark to use and too dark to lighten up. This is because for some of the shots we didn't have enough of a fill light and just used key lighting, meaning we will have to reshoot some of the shots.

Sounds

During Friday's lesson (28.2.14) I had to find background music and little clips we could use. These are what I found that best resemble what we need for the music that goes into our title sequence. 

http://www.freesfx.co.uk/soundeffects/industrial/

https://soundcloud.com/industrial-records/sets/throbbing-gristle-tracks

Developing the Detective

In order to create a convincing and detailed title sequence we'll have to research and find people or characters from film and TV that we can use to help develop the character of Detective Lawrence Ansen and our murderer.


Over the years, TV, books and film have seen a range of detective characters as murder mystery is a very popular viewer experience. Memorable characters such as Sherlock, Dexter, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot and so on have adapted from books with great description of the characters background, personalities, looks etc and it is difficult to create a memorable Murder Mystery detective or catalyst to the situation without coming from a book. For our characters, this means we can take characteristics of various memorable characters and put them into one for our own detectives and killers.

In the film, Se7en, the film that inspired us to take our title sequence down this route, has two very memorable detectives; Detective Mills, who is played by Brad Pitt and Detective Somerset who is played by Morgan Freeman. It is the character of Mills that I find to mostly fit best with the character we wish to create as he is a detective who needs to prove himself in a big murder case and he is passionate about this case and it takes him over the edge. 

The fact that Mills has a wife and love-life helps the viewer feel sympathetic and connect to the character and his situation. This is what we will aim to portray to the audience in our title sequence; being done through images of his wife and other varying forms of media.

                                        

Codes and Conventions of a Horror/Thriller/Suspense

The Silencer: Characters and Story

This is our original brainstorm for the characters and story.

Roland Barthes Enigma Code

Roland Barthes Enigma Code is a theory that text portrays mystery to draw an audience in to ask questions and be involved in the piece whether that is via TV, film, a poster etc.

The title sequence is meant to have you question what is going to unfold in the film. Barthes Enigma Code are categories into 4 sections:

- The Hermeneutic Code: The voice of the truth (the code of puzzles)
- The Proairetic Code: The voice of empirics (the code of actions)
- The Culture Code: The voice of knowledge
- The Semantic Code: The voice of the symbol

Developing the Killer

This secret side to our killer is inspired some roles of detectives with other double lives. For example, Sherlock is a very straight talking possibly innocent character who doesn't understand the means of human interaction that is socially acceptable. At one point in the series he has a secret girlfriend to keep the media and the girl happy and to get to where he wants, but he knows full well that the relationship would not go any further than work purposes because that's all he needed her for. This kind of self aware but unaware of society norms is the kind of killer we are going for.

This is much like Dexter; a detective who is very good at his job because he understand the mind of a killer as that is what he does on the side of his day job. Dexter's soul purpose for killing is to take out the 'bad guys' in society. He is driven through a lack of emotions and throughly studies humans and their behavior patterns to integrate himself successfully in the real world. Much like Sherlock, he has a secret girlfriend who he uses as a cover up, to make him seem more human.

Se7en Title Sequence Analysis.

Narrative

The villain seems to be more evil and brutal when there is that aspect of mystery as the tension is building within the audience. 

The different words focus on the films complex plotline, suggesting that the audience has to think hard about the different events within the film.

Mise-en-scene

The opening sequence does not include any long shots of the setting; but the audience can assume that the things taking place are happening in someone’s home, or in a lab as the props are what you would typically find in these places. However not actually knowing the location could create tension for the audience.

The props used in the opening could be associated with investigations and detective work. These include books, photos, files, pens and paper. It appears as if the person is putting pictures and information into one file or case.

All of the objects are shown very close up and therefore they take up most of the frame. This creates suspense as the audience don't know who the person doing these things is as they cannot see their face or where they are.

All of the shots are reasonably dark, this connotes danger and that the film will be quite serious. The shots are indoors using low key lighting, this gives the setting a dull and suspicious feel.

Most of the colours shown are black and white, however when the photos are shown being developed you see the red light that is used to develop them. There is also a flash of red across the screen at one point giving the connotations of blood and murder. 

Editing

The opening is in a montage format, it is lots of different clips put together. The fact that it isn’t done in an chronological order that makes sense gives the idea that this person is doing many different things to create some sort of file or investigation about something.

The fading of some of the transitions creates an eerie feel, and the fade to black reflects the sincerity and darkness of the overall film. 

The filter in the camera is sepia which is made up of grimy and dirty browns, this makes the audience feel nauseous and uneasy, highlighting the psychological thriller genre.

Most of the shots are fairly short, however some are edited into slow motion. The music is also quite slow, particularly at the beginning which gives it a slow pace. As the sequence builds up and gets faster towards the end, it creates tension for the audience and shows that it will be a tense film to watch.

Cinematography

As all of the shots are close up objects, there are many shallow focuses. For example of the books, a pen, photos etc. These allow the audience to focus on what is happening with these items as it may reflect the happenings in the film. It also distracts them from seeing who the person is that is doing these things which creates tension.

During the opening sequence, most of the camera shots are still. There is not much panning or any other kind of movement as all of the shots focus on one main thing and keep it at the centre of the shot.

Titles

The titles that are written appear in a font that resembles handwriting. This fits in with the idea of someone creating a file or investigation, as well as some of the props. The text appears in white which makes it stand out against the dark background.

The Silencer (4.2.14)

This is the powerpoint of the new film idea: The Silencer. The film is about a serial killer in SE London and a policeman. The plot doesn't focus on the killer, but on the policeman; Detective Ansen. He has his heart set on catching the killer before he can take anymore lives, but his brother is trying to stop him before he gets killed himself.