The document provides details about the use of sound, lighting, camera work, editing, mise-en-scene, and conventions in the film Se7en. It summarizes that low-key lighting is used throughout to create a gloomy atmosphere. Camera shots include long shots, birds-eye views, and medium shots within a closed frame. Editing is minimal to create a naturalistic feel. Mise-en-scene depicts a grim city under threat and questions the morality of the antagonist. Conventions include a crime-based narrative, ominous weather, and building suspense through music and unknown perpetrators.

2. Use of titles and Sound The electric sounds of the fast paced music go well with the CGI effects used to create visuals of the brains electric impulses The opening sequence is introduced with techno electric non-diegetic music at a fast tempo and alternating beat. The use of this music allows the audiences anxiety to climax. It becomes apparent that the trip through the microscopic brain cells are of the narrator. Straight away we are introduced to the electrically impulsed brain of the main character. With so many electric pulses vaulting through his brain there are implications that one of his emotions are raging. The titles are set in a electric blue colour in order to go alongside the CGI effects in the background so we are not distracted away from the main focal point- the narrators brain. The frantic music and electricity of his brain show us a glance at jacks schizophrenic mind. Portrayed in a frenzied state via the opening titles after a second watch we would adapt this connation of frenzy connected with his adrenalin rushing schizophrenic mind

3. Lighting As fight club is a neo-noir film it needs to abide by the rules of classic noirs. The use of low-key lighting and heavy emphasis on the use of shadowing leads us to feel that the going ons in this film are of a dangerous calibre. Hard light was used to create the shadow effects in fight club so that the darkness of the films narrative is shown through visualisation Different lighting was used when different characters with different ideas from each other where in a scene. When in the fight club and all the contenders and viewers are there the scene is dark. Contrasting ideologies of two different characters would show through use of low-key lighting for more sinister ideas and personalities and brighter light used for characters with bright ideas and a less sadistic view on life

4. Mise en scene At the begging we are introduced to the nameless narrator. We are shown his flat and instantly we notice the tagged items of furniture he has bought from IKEA. This scene is of significance to understanding this characters well-being, neat and unnoticeably to sane to be sane. A panning shot is used to scan his room and it becomes apparent that he is living his life to fit in but his way of living is showing he is living his life opposite to the norm. when we are shown his fridge we can see that there is nothing in it. This suggest that he once again is living to fit in but essentially is doing the opposite and basically ends up living a life on show The narrator is always captured in a plain black suite. This has emphasis on his bleak, icy lifestyle

5. Camera and editing Camera Extreme close-ups of objects are used to show show their significance such as a close up of an object or a persons reaction to the fight. The camera would be long-shot on the action then change to an extreme close up. This would alow the audience to understand a relationship between the action and the object/person. Editing The fasr paced cuts and fast paced story line allowed the action in the film to be continuous. At any point of the film something exciting was always happeing. A technique called splicing was used to alternate between jack (the narrator) and tylers chracters. As they are the same person it shows how the narrators schzophrenia is effecting his mind and turning him mentally ill with a split personlity.

6. Conventions Conventions of a thriller shown in Fight Club Non-degetic sounds in the opening sequence Dark colors shown in the opening sequence Low key lighting with a rare exchange of high key lighting Use of close up and extreme close up shots High angle and low angel camera angels to show power and status levels Mise en scene- guns and knives Jump cuts used Conventions of a thriller challenged in Fight Club Male protagonist and antagonist Male narrator used through out the film

7. Requiem for a dream

8. Camera and Editing Majority of films today contain around 500-700 different camera shots. Requiem for a dream contains over 2,000. this is a result of the movies fast paced sequences of camera shots and abrupt editing A unique style of shots called a hip hop montage is used to exaggerate the themes of loneliness, exhilaration,ect within the film. This technique is used to show the viewer the chain of events which take place once the character has taken the drugs. This technique helps the director to highlight the emotions which characters are feeling (for example taking a pill may make one feel motivated to move and feelings of anxiety may be apparent so face paced camera shots are used to show this emotion). When the characters are craving for things in life and taking drugs fast close up shots are used to emphasise on their need to want it instantly and the abrupt change in their equilibrium. Many of the shots go from fast to slow within seconds to show the change in moods and emotions being experienced by the characters for example Jared Leto’s character in the party scene feeling depressed craving drugs the camera shots are slow and cut in a normal paced sequences but as he and his friends envelope themselves with the drugs the scene is flipped into fast-forward mode.

9. Lighting The scenes in which the characters are feeling in good spirits are lit up by the portrayal of sunny spells or by the intense artificial lightening from the characters domestic lights. This introduction of bright light almost surprises the audience as it enlightens us into the characters limited worlds of false happiness. The light enhances the theme of false hope and many scenes in which bright light is used rarely appear as the film progresses as the characters worlds spiral into darkness and serious addiction and a fear of no way out is apparent. The lighting in the film usually reflects the mood or the time of day it is. Very dim lighting is used when the characters are in cold turkey mode from the drugs or when a hip hop montage appears. This advocates the ideology of pathetic fallacy and being in thedark. The characters dark phases throughout the film are reflected by the dim lightening on set giving the audience more insight and understanding into the shady emotions of the characters provoked by the menace to their society in their society ‘heroine ’ ‘ Low key lighting’

10. Conventions Conventions abided by requiem for a dream Titles of the film is introduced within the first minute of the opening titles Intense orchestrated non-diagetic music opens the scene of the film Introduced to two of the main characters within the first two minutes of the film Dialogue is initiated between two of the main characters within minutes of the 30seconds of the opening scene Different months are given throughout the film to establish what time of the year it is with no date which connatates the directors idea of making the film relevant to all audience contemporary of in the future so we think that the events taking place in the film could happen to use Conventions challenged by requiem for a dream Crimes of a class A drug usage, prostitution are committed and petty crimes such as theft but no deliberate murders are known to us at the beginning of the play There are no protagonist or antagonist dominantly apparent throughout the film although it could be argued that the so called antagonist is the heroine/other drugs and the protagonist is Jared Letos character A blonde vulnerable women is not the main character or victim instead there are a few main characters including two males. No establishing shot is used to open the film

11. Sound The use of diagetic and non-digetic sound is used throughout the film. Intense non-diagetic music compliments the intense and harrowing themes of the film. The orchestrated song by Clint Mansell introduces itself within seconds of the opening sequence, setting a mood of anxiousness. the diagetic sound of conversation between Marlon waynes character and Jared Letos character creates a sound bridge which implies that something dramatic is about to happen to these two characters the intensity of the non diagetic sound increases to the effect of having audiences feeling uneased. requiem for a dream song is later remixed throughout the film which makes of implications of a change in equilibrium. Diegetic sound is cleverly used right through the film. The most important and successful use of degetic sound is used within the hip hop montage shots. The over exaggerated sounds of heavy breathing, boiling, pupil dilation, lighter flicking, injecting are all heard in the montage shots. This allows the audience to fully entice themselves with the effects the heroine is having on the characters

12. Mise en scene Set in a urban area of America the director shows the lifestyle of the characters through mise en scene. I've noted that the main characters are depicted to live a life of poverty or near poverty which drives them to chase their ultimate dreams of becoming rich. Thriving on their dreams of living it big they drive themselves into false hope which alternately results in their downfall. Using stereotypes the director plays on the idea of the working class wearing loose untidy clothing and living in cluttered circumstances. Director Darren Aronofsky uses these stereotypes to build a setting for his characters. The main characters live in run down homes, with very little to enjoy and have very little money The television at the begging of the film is seen being taken away by Leto and Waynes characters. This television belongs to Letos mother who is addicted and in love with her TV (even though its an inanimate object). This symbolises her fate right from the start. The abduction of the television right at the beginning foreshadows the fact that she would never be able to apply the life of the people on the television in her own life as there is always something someone or her own disbelief which disallows her to become a TV personality. The dream of becoming the person on the TV will always remain a dream to her as their reality is twice removed from her own.

13. Vantage point

14. LIGHTING AND USE OF TITLES The most dominant colours in the opening titles are orange and black. Orange light rays are fragmented across the screen on over the black background appearing for a short duration representing some sort of enlightenment from being in the dark, this foreshadows the events which later take place in the film as we feel as an audience that we are left in the dark not knowing who assassinated the American president but once we are introduced to different characters point of views pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together. Within the orange rays there are pictures moving shifty overlapping each other showing many different images confusing and disfiguring the viewers perception and understanding as the images within the rays change constantly and disallow proper recognition. Using black and orange in the opening titles interacting with each other connotates the ideology of the unknown and neutral opinion. The black symbolizes darkness and the unknown it makes the viewer feel that something bad is going to happen as they are left with a blank dark canvas. The orange being a neutral colour allows the audience to have a clear mind not being biased to a particular point of view.

15. CAMERA An establishing shot is used immediately at the beginning of the film to show where the film is set. Panning shots were used shortly after to show the viewer which characters were of importance. When we came across one of the eight main characters the camera would pan the crowd of people around them as if looking for their culprit then it would focus on them and zoom in to make the audience know that that charater is of importance. An aerial shot is used to show the large crowds of people gathered in the opening scene. This shot permits the audience to understand what is going on from a clear vantage point

16. SOUND AND EDITING SOUND There is use of intense non-digetic music played within the first few seconds of the opening titles. The music dominates the opening as it builds up anxiety levels with consistent drum being beat throughout the sequence creating a ambience of suspense. Watching the opening credits you expect the names of the actors to appear but we are left without a idea of who is starring in the film so we stay neutral to make our minds up about who committed the assassination after we have viewed each characters vantage point. EDITING We are entered from the opening titles to the opening camera shot through the title vantage point as it swallows up the dark background around it into a establishing shot. From this there is a lot of straight cuts to shows different characters. A lot of normal cutting pace is used throughout until action kicks in then fast past cutting is used.

17. CONVENTIONS Within the first few seconds of the film we can see that the director has challenged a few conventions of a thriller. The film opens on a hot sunny day in a busy town in spain, most thrillers will open in a isolated area and more than often in the middle of the night to provoke the audiences fears of being alone and frightened. Conventions challenged by vantage point A male Vitim who is well known to their killer and the world 8 strangers all possible culprits for the death of the victim Set in the afternoon not the night More than one Victim killed Events do not happen in chronological order as flashbacks are used The mood of the characters is not reflected through the weather (pathetic fallacy) as it is sunny Classical conventions kept by vantage point Eerie intense music used to introduce the opening titles The use of symbolic titles to represent themes in the film We are led away from the real killer to believe someone else did it Feeling of voyerism from the audiences point of view Credits come up over a black screen

18. MISE EN SCENE Within the first few minutes of the film we are drawn in to the point of view of the news reporter. The atmosphere is chaotic as shots a franticly changing between the news reporter and the crowd. The use of quick paced slides create an ambience of chaos and anticipation for something exciting to happen. The shots alternate between the key characters withing the first 20minutesof the film.

20. Conventions Conventions challenged by Se7en Male dominated thriller Only one female main character who is a victim Similarities between potential protagonist and antagonist are highlighted to the audience (binary opposites not distinctive) Murderer seems to understand that his killings are wrong but doesn’t seem that different to the protagonist characters in terms of sanity Murderers bad deed is juxtaposed by his moral deeds ‘riding the world of sinful people’. His killings are argued as good or bad? as we begin to question whether or not he is a psycho or according to the moral code of society a normal law abiding citizen? Conventions of a thriller abided by Se7en Cinematography in the opening sequence is formatted to shadow/represent the events or themes which occur in the film. Frantically paced shots Intense music Dark, rainy weather Non diegetic and diegetic sound bridge Male murderer Known death or murder is the plot of the story Set in a low-key colours throughout to have emphasis on horror and grim only lightens up when Gwyneth Paltrow’s character Is in shot with Brad Pitts character to show their happiness Find out the murderer in the last part of the film Narrative is based around a crime/murder

21. Conventions Conventions abided by Se7en: Narrative is based around a crime scene As a audience we witness the murder/crime scene but are left oblivious to ‘who dun it’ The weather is dark and gloomy projecting the atmosphere surrounding the audience The music accompanying the opening credits builds up suspense Male detectives investigating into the crime Psychological playground

22. Editing and Camera shots/angles Editing Editing techniques are kept to a minimum in this film. Even though the editing is parshly apparent the objective of the narrative is still projected to the audience. It is obvious that the lack of editing used is to make the film as naturalistic and real as possible. By having uncomplicated editing techniques the audience can indulge in the film almost forgetting they are watching a film. This technique of continuity editing also allows the narrative and plot to work together to build on the events alone in effect creating a flow of linear sequences and necessary shots being depicted to the audience for reasons. Camera shots/ angles Closed framed design was used to create a representation of all the characters sense of entrapment. Birds eye, medium shot and long shot were the only camera shots used regularly. Long-shots - filmed entirely within the closed framed design made emphasis on the limited freedom of the characters Birds eye- to distance us and to ensure we know we are voyeurers. Medium shot - establishes everything and everyone in a enclosed frame Panning shot – Displays the spatial awareness between the characters and their settings.

23. Sound Diegetic Sounds of dogs barking ( usually suggest evil is around or something is effecting the equilibrium) Constant sounds of police sirens to show the neighbour hood is under threat or crime ridden Interruptions of Indistinctive and distinctive chatter from neighbours- voyeuristic characteristic presented such as likely peeping toms, noisy neighbours Non-Diegetic Intense up-beat music used to create tension Classical music accompanies the stereotype of study being for the upper class. Used when a character who is studying is in the library Rock music used in murder scenes or build up to murders

24. Mise en scene Set in a unknown city the director is basically saying to the audience this could be happening to you or to a neighbour or to anyone in your town, city, village, ect. Every scene is grim and rainy with low-key lighting expressing the meloncholic behaviours of the antagonist and the effect these behaviours are having on their society. The use of this lighting plays on the Finchers ideology of creating overall fear and anxiety in everyone by playing on the minds and teasing our moral standards by questioning is John Doe really a cruel antagonist

25. Lighting Low-key lighting is used in almost every scene of the film. The only time a change in lightening seems evident is when Brad Pitts character is with his wife Gwyneth Paltrow. This is the only time in the film when the low key lightening turns more vibrant. It signifys the hope and happiness they have in their marriage and in their future together (for example a baby). Another interpretation could be that she is one of the only goods in the film or the only character who brings good will. The low key lighting also indicates sadism and a lack of optimism within the characters. Hopes usually related with white, bright colours Doom or no hope related with dark colours .

27. Mise en scene Mise en scene is cleverly used through out the film. Colors and clothes working together to infuse imagery of good and evil, the pure and the tainted. When we first meet the victim she is in a hotel room with a man. Wearing white linen clothing which have connotations of purity, Naivety and innocence. however once she steals the money from her boss and goes on the run the idea of white clothing to symbolize purity is juxtaposed by this act and we see that she is no longer wearing white but she is wearing dark morbid colors relating to the ideology of evil, impure and dark intentions. darkness and danger.

28. Conventions Conventions of Psycho Blonde Female victim Male murderer Set in a isolated motel Camera close ups Use of a big knife Point of view camera shots Close ups on victims face and killers face Dim lighting and emphasis on characters shadows Establishing shot used to open sequence Time and date given but no year to make the film contemporary to all viewers Conventions I could challenge (my director concept) Have a disabled killer- instead of a able killer A male victim- instead of a female victim Set in a city in the middle of the day- instead of being set in the night Use of a guns to kill victims- instead of a knife

29. Camera angles/shots An establishing shot is used to initiate the begging of the film. It allows the audience to understand where the events will take place, what time of the day or night it is and whats the economic situation (in terms of big city skyscrapers or slum homes). When Norman Bates is seen spying on Marion we see an extreme close-up shot of his eye at a hole in the wall (peeping tom) the lighting on this shot is enhanced in brightness almost as if his eye is illuminated. This act of voyeurism shown is intense. The close-up of his eye shows makes the relationship between the viewer and Norman more intimate as the next shot is from Norman Bates point of view watching Marion we are made to feel that we are the voyeurs accompanying his act of indecent intrusion.

30. Use of titles The titles and music go well together in the first two minutes of the opening titles. The titles slicing and cutting and twisting into each other rapidly representing the characteristics of Norman bates personality disorder. The use of the black background and white bold titles show that his two personalities are both very strong and this causes his psychopathic mind as he can not tell the difference between himself and his ‘mother’ Sound When we are met with the opening sequence the music in which accompanies it is hard to forget. The slightly off tuned strings playing violently alongside the shifting titles resemble the events which take place in the film, quick paced murder by a confused antagonist. The strings compliment the sounds of screaming and stabbing well as they are ferociously playing away

31. Editing Throughout the film the pace of the cuts are normal cuts. When a murder happens the pace of the cutting becomes more abrupt, increase in speed to make emphasis on the quickness of taking someone's life. The shower scene in which Marion falls into the hands of the murderer takes a quick 45seconds in a mosaic sequences. Use of slow-motion and normal speed. Though we never witness the knife actually enter her stomach the well crafted cinematography allows us to make implications on how bad the wounds are