The document analyzes the cinematography techniques used in the opening scenes of four psychological thriller films: Videodrome, Blue Velvet, Dark City, and Memento. It examines the use of lighting, editing/special effects, shot types/distances, and narrative through multiple screenshots and analyses from each film. The lighting in Videodrome and Blue Velvet is dark to set a moody tone, while Dark City uses lighting to show the city is not a nice place. Editing enhances saturation and adds tension-building sound effects. Shot types range from close-ups to pans and establish settings without revealing too much. Dark City alone provides narrative context before the story.

1. In the first shot we see a
panorama down through what
looks like a dirty alley in a city.
There is a small gap of light
where we can see more than a
wall. This could resemble
something about having a small
bit of memory or just a small
path to follow, surrounded by
darkness. The light is in the rule
of thirds as well so it was shot to
sit very comfortably for the
viewer, this could show that the
lights more important. The
saturation in this shot is very
low, it’s dark and misty,
connoting an old working city.
The first shot for we see here is
of a full picture, however the
picture is a polaroid picture, so
we can assume the shot is either
after the incident or a reverse
film. The picture is also in the
rule of thirds which shows that,
that’s what we should
concentrate on. The title has
been cast over the picture which
could resemble that the photo is
a memento? From a simple shot
there is a lot to take from it. In
this shot the saturation is low in
this shot and doesn’t really
change. I think the saturation
just creates a feel in this shot.
This is the first shot we see from
Videodrome. This is very strange
as we are watching what
someone else is seeing. The
woman is not in the rule of
thirds so that could suggest that
we should pay closer attention
to what she is saying instead of
what she’s doing. The fact that
around the TV is black shows
that there is nothing else for the
viewer to be thinking of except
the TV. The shot is quite lowly
saturated connoting the time of
day or feeling of the scene.
The contrast in colour between
the strong red rose an the white
fence makes the rose stand out
more. This connotes that the
rose is important. The rose is
also in the rule of thirds. The
saturation is very high and we
can see everything in a strong
colour, which is strange for a
psychological thriller to start
with, but it shows the
importance of the rose.
Mise en Scène analysis of Psychological Thrillers
1. Dark City (1998) 2. Memento (2000) 3. Videodrome (1983) 4. Blue Velvet (1986)
1 2 3 4

2. Analysis of Lighting
1. Videodrome 2. Blue Velvet 3. Dark City 4. Memento
This first image is clearly trying to
make us concentrate on the TV
as the rest of the room is dark
while the light concentration is
coming from the TV. The second
image is interesting as the light
concentration is on the arm and
the watch, showing the audience
that maybe the time is
important. Why is this man
waking up so early? All though
there is no sun rising, we know it
is morning from the tape. Light is
very important to resemble the
time of day, so from the little
light and watch time, we know as
the audience that it’s very early.
I had to look a few times to see if
these two shots had the same
lighting, as even though there
one movement and filmed in one
movement, I thought it looked
like the shot where he fell onto
the floor had different lighting,
this is why it is so hard to film in
the day, as if you mess
something up while taking the
shot, it can be really hard to get
the same lighting again. In this
shot the man is always in shadow
while behind him is light, this
could connote that where he is
isn’t safe.
As you can imagine the lighting in
this film is going to be quite dark.
From the opening sequence we
can already see that the city is in
darkness, granted it is midnight
but if it is midnight why is
everyone awake? The lighting in
the second picture really shows
the film. The city is dark and the
people are the only things
lighting it. You couldn’t see the
light of the moon as there is so
much light pollution. I think that
this effect does connote to the
audience that the city isn’t a nice
place to be.
In these shots the lighting is on
one side of Guy Pearce’s body,
now clearly there is a window
there so that’s why he has that.
The fact we've been shown the
window, may be the director
saying the light on one side of his
body has no connotations but is
just the light in the room. Or it
could be, going on the memory
thee, that Half of Guy wants to
remember things and the other
half doesn’t. That maybe that
due to the light being on the
hand he is holding the photo
with, is holding onto his
memories and the darkness just
wants to forget. You could
analyse this but I think due to us
being shown the window, that it
doesn’t mean much.

3. Analysis of Editing and use of Special Effects
1. Videodrome 2. Blue Velvet 3. Dark City 4. Memento
There is little non diegetic sound
in this opening. The only obvious
non diegetic sound is at the
begging with the low sounds to
add tension and the sound
bridge from the title to the TV.
Those will have been edited in
after. The other bits of editing
such as the watch is simple, as
the sound editor will have just
increased the sound of the watch
so we could hear it, but that
sound is a diegetic sound. The TV
is all diegetic so there will be no
editing there. Other bits of
editing may be the saturation of
the shot, as it is quite dark in
them.
From the first shot of the film we
can assume that the colours have
been enhanced, to make the film
more atheistically pleasing. This
is because I don’t think that a
rose and the sky can be so
perfect. However it does connote
that the director wanted to make
the town look perfect as though
nothing is wrong with it. The
editor will have also added the
fade in and out for the
transitions between shots.. They
will also have faded the sound
out from the music and
enhanced the rustling sound of
the grass. Which then makes the
small creatures look more
threatening.
In this simple shot they will have
filmed just the sky at night. Then
to make it look more interesting
the editor will have added in
some contrast and added more
stars. This just makes the sky
more interesting for the
audience. After that the editor
will have added in Dr. Daniels
voice in, which then were getting
a back story. Then finally to
create the tension and mystery
for the shot, the editor added in
the choir of low voices, this gives
the shot more and puts the
audience on edge. It is possible
that it was edited in through
special effects. I believe the cars
are also special effects, as it
would be hard for the director to
film a shot like this. It is the
editors job to make the music
louder and the diegetic sound
quieter as well.
The editor in the opening scene
has reversed the clip to possibly
resemble the memory loss.
That’s the editors main job. Then
they also have too add in the non
diegetic music. There isn’t that
much editing bar the transitions
in shots and music. Compared to
the others, this opening scene is
quite simple and uses just simple
filming in reverse to create an
interesting story. The editor may
have saturated the shots just to
make it more atheistically thriller
like.

4. Analysis of Shot Types/ distances
1. Videodrome 2. Blue Velvet 3. Dark City 4. Memento
The shots in this opening scene
are quite simple. There is:
- Medium long shot
- Medium close up
- Close up
- Pan/follow
- Point of view
The shot used most frequently is
the pan/follow shot, as the
camera moves to see and follow
the man a lot. All these shots are
affective but I think the sound is
more important at this point in
the film and, it’s not till he gets
up that what we see gets
important.
There are a lot of shots in the
opening scene. There are:
- Pan
- Medium shot
- Long shot
- Medium close up
- Close up
- Shot reverse shot
- Extreme close up
There is quite a lot of the same
type of shot used, for example
there are around seven medium
shots. The extreme close up
works really well in making the
small things looks bigger and
scarier.
Some quite simple but effective
shots. There are:
- Pan down
- Medium shot
- Long shot
- Close up
- Extreme close up
In this opening sequence its
about what is happening in the
shots, and I think the director
wants the audience to see the
whole of the city and what
happens. It’s hard to do that
through close ups.
In this opening sequence the use
of close ups is important as they
don’t give much away, but the
shots are. The shots are:
- Pan up
- Follow
- Close up
- Extreme close up
- Medium close up
I like the shots in this opening as
they don’t give much away and
want the audience to find out
more, however there all quite
simple shots, except the extreme
close up. Simple yet affective.
Dark City is the only one out of the four that has narrative. In Dark City the narrative gives the audience a
bit more of a back story of what were about to watch and what's happened previously, which is very
helpful and sets the scene. Narrative can also be used as someone re telling a story or what their thinking
at that moment.
Analysis of
Narrative