Opening Credits & Timeline 'S7ven'

Genre

'Se7en' is a psychological thriller. Just from the opening credits we can identify the genre due to it conforming common conventions of this type of this type of genre. From the trailer, we can gather that the character has an obsession, as the main focus of the opening credits is of them creating a book/diary over something that they obsess over.

Mise-En-Scene

Throughout the titles, the main focus is on the book that the character creates. We are constantly shown images of them crossing out words from the Bible and of people's eyes. This indicates that the character has either killed someone or is altering/removing words/phrases that he/she does not like. 
 

We also see the character removing their fingerprints with a razor. This shows that they have or are going to commit a crime. This also shows that the character is mentally ill/disturbed as they are self harming, therefore conforming to common conventions of a psychological thriller.

Also featuring in the opening credits are detailed drawings, which indicate that the character has spent a lot of time creating them to add to their book. This shows obsession, which is a common convention of the genre. 

We also regularly see the character writing in the book and we can also see that there are a lot of notes on a lot of the pages, again showing the dedication/obsession that they have for this book.

There are also quick flashes of the Bible in the credits, which relates to the title of the film, 'Se7en', which correlates with the '7 Deadly Sins'. This is what the film is based on, where someone murders people who have committed these sins.



At the end of the titles, we see clips of the character sewing together the book and threading a needle. This looks sinister and like the character has a weapon.

  

Sound

In the opening credits, there is no diegetic sound, however there is a non-diegetic soundtrack. This starts off slow and sinister with lots of synthetic sounds. At the very beginning, we hear 'thunder clap'. This creates a dark and eerie setting and immediately we can assume that the film will be some sort of horror. As the soundtrack progresses, we hear a synthetic drum sound and some creaking. This again adds to to horror and darkness of the film, making everything sound broken and old. There are also quick sound changes as some sound effects are played unexpectedly and very quickly, also assuring the audience that this is a horror/thriller film. Occasionally we hear synthetic screeching/scratching, making the soundtrack sound sinister and creepy. As we get further through the soundtrack, more and more sounds are heard. This makes the sounds more dramatic and fast paced, creating tension. At the very end of the credits, there is some non-diegetic dialogue which is part of the soundtrack. The voice of the singer is hoarse and croaky, which increases the sinister sounds. At some points in the soundtrack, the quantity of synthetic sounds increases and decreases, which unsettles the audience creating unexpected quiet and loud sections also creating tension. I have also noticed that the soundtrack starts of slow and gradually builds up towards the middle and end of the credits. This is dramatic and creates tension and uncertainty for the film. Overall I believe that the sound for the opening title for 'Se7en' is parallel to the 'Mise-En-Scene' and the genre of the film. 

Typography

There are two different styles of text in the opening titles. The first is the text displayed for people's names.
This appears to be 'scratchy' and handwritten as if someone has used an ink quill to write it with. It also looks like it could have been carved using a knife or a sharp object, making the text look sinister.  

The second style of text is the one to indicate directors, producers, writers etc. It is also used to display the title of the film. This typography is more structured and contrasts with the other typography as this looks like it has been types using a computer or a typewriter, making it seem more bold and dramatic.

  






When the title of the film appears, it is much larger than all of the other snippets of text that have previously appeared. This is to make it stand out and become more significant. 

When all of the text appears on the screen, it glitches and will move slightly, creating a sinister and unsettling effect. The timings between the text are only small but this is in parallel with the fast paced music. Again this makes it look unsettling and creates adrenaline for the audience.   

Se7en Opening credits

 This series is about a psychopath who is writing a journal of what he thinks is right and wrong. It shows him crossing out stuff in the bible that he doesn't agree with and sewing his version of the bible together at the end. He has clearly been planning this for months on end. This conforms to the genre psychological horror. 

 

 This picture shows him removing the skin on the tips of his fingers in order to remove his finger print. This shows his intent to commit crime. 

This picture shows him writing a journal, or keeping account of something. There are several pages which he has probably taken months of his time to write. 

This shows him crossing out words in the bible that he doesn't agree with, he is manipulating the data to create his own.

This picture shows him crossing out people people's eyes. This could be a metaphor for him killing people and then crossing them out in his journal once he has killed them. This proves that he is a dangerous psychopath and conforms to the genre psychological horror. 

The typography used in the opening credits looks as though it could be handwritten which links to the psychopath writing his journal so works well with the footage that is shown. 

The sound in the opening credits is scratchy and has a sharp sound which creates a sinister and eerie feeling, building up tension. 

Source of Inspiration

I have chosen American horror story's season 2 asylum opening credits as my source of inspiration. This inspires me because I like the sound effects that are used in the opening which build up tension and make the opening creepy and sinister. The sound effects that are used are mechanical and glitchy which are really effective throughout the opening credits as it portrays the genre horror making the opening credits eerie. They use the sound effects to make it more dramatic by increasing the volume and making the glitchy sounds louder, then switching to the mechanical noises to make the opening credits more scary and dramatic.

This clip is also an inspiration to me because the of the way the scenes are edited together, with the sound and effects flashing in and out from scenes. This looks like lightning bolts striking down on the text as it presents a different name. This creates a tense and dramatic opening as the credits come up. As you can see in the screen shot above it shows the strikes of lightning coming across the screen.

I also like the way that the text pages have been formatted to look like they have been filmed on an old video recorder which could only be played on tapes. I know this from the flickering white dots shown on some of the text pages and the sound of the camera that is played at the beginning of the opening credits. This is a really clever idea as it tells the audience roughly what era the series is set in and it makes the text look creepier. The camera also appears more jolty.

The typography of the text is really well chosen as the colour of it fits in well with the idea that the text title pages were filmed on an old camera because the text is the same colouring as the tape would be. It is also a boring and creepy colour so it conforms to our exceptions of its genre. The font that has been chosen is also really well selected as some of the letters have been altered to look different and slightly odd which fits the genre of the series.
I have chosen this for my source of inspiration as I think that I would like to do something in a asylum for my coursework which is where the opening credits have been filmed in this video. I would like to do horror as my genre for my coursework as I find it the most interesting and would love to be able to create my own opening credits in an asylum setting.

Source of inspiration: Boughton Mount Centre 



Maidstone Social Education Centre, later named to (Social Services Directorate) Boughton Mount Centre. It was closed down in 2009 due to major roofing problems. The whole centre is built on around 10 acres of land and is being reserved for historic interest.

http://www.oblivionstate.com/forum/topic/8740-abandoned-social-education-centre-maidstone-kent-2015/

I really like the fact that it is abandoned and seems like a very spooky place to explore and I like the idea of a horror film set or based on an abandoned school. Maybe a group of teenagers could hear about an abandoned school (with some mysterious goings-on...?) and decide to explore it and strange things start happening/they find some strange things.

Source of Inspiration- Location in 'The Tourist'

The Tourist is an action drama film. I have been inspired not by the plot but by the contrast between the locations used and the genre. The film begins in Paris, where the main actress Angelina Jolie, walks through the streets of Paris to a small and picturesque coffee shop. 

     




























This scene is contrasting to the actual events that are occurring, the character is being followed by French and British Intelligence, who are tracking her every move. This has inspired me because I like the contrast, as Paris is known to be the 'City of Love' and the contrast subverts the common conventions of action films.

The majority of the rest of the film is set in Venice, which is another romantic city. Again in this location, there is also contrast between the location and the plot. One specific scene is when the two characters, (Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp) go to a Ball. This scene is set in a old, grand ballroom in Venice, yet trouble follows them here. The images below, show the contrast between what would be a romantic film and what is an action film.

During the whole film, the location starts off picturesque and the audience believes the film is a typical romantic film, set in the 'perfect' location, yet the producers and directors have deceived the audience by adding in action to subvert the common conventions of an action film, where the location would normally be in a large city, for example New York, or if it is in Paris, it would be filmed by the big tourist attractions, such as the Eiffel Tour or the Louvre yet instead the directors and producers chose to film in the backstreets in Paris where some viewers would have never been and may not even recognise the city.

This film has inspired me to use contrast in my locations to add interest to the film and make it seem more glamorous and exciting for the viewer.

The Woman In Black opening

The location of the film is in a victorian house in the attic. The children are playing tea party's in their room, pouring cups of tea and playing with their dolls. The three children then catch eye contact with something however the scene is filmed so that the audience can't see what the children are looking at. The three children then drop everything they are doing and walk straight towards the window, crushing everything in their way. They then jump out the windows to their death.

The genre of this film is thriller and at the beginning it subverts to its genre as it shows three victorian children playing with their dolls at a tea party. However this may be considered conforming as in modern horror films dolls and nursery rhymes can be considered as creepy and eerie after many horror films have used this to subvert, it has now become more of a conformed beginning to a horror film.

In the opening scene of this film the sound in non diegetic music of bells some of the music sounded like church bells. After the three girls have caught eye contact with something and got up after looking at the window, 1:05, drums are added into non-diegetic music making the music build up more dramatically as the three children walk towards the window. The music gets louder and the drums become more dramatic to create suspense. There is some diegetic film in the opening, the smashing of a china tea cup as one of the children drop it to walk towards the window and the breaking of the dolls head and teapot. There are also screams coming from the mum after the children have jumped out of the window, and you can hear the unlock of the windows in the scene.

Genre Deconstruction 'White Chicks'

For my genre deconstruction, I have chosen to analyse the opening scene of the film 'White Chicks'.

Genre

'White Chicks' is a comedy-action film which contains many 'spoofs' from the two main characters. Having watched the opening scene of this film, I believe that it conforms the conventions of both genres. 
Starting with comedy films, the main conventions of this type of film genre are light-hearted scenes, with bright lighting, natural camera angles and usually 'idiotic' characters who make fools of themselves and make silly mistakes. As I have mentioned previously, this film opening conforms these common conventions of comedic films due to the bright scene and the silliness of both characters, who pull comedic faces.

Other comedic conventions embedded into this scene are the small and 'hidden' jokes that some views may understand, whilst others may not, such as the reference to the song 'La Bamba' by Los Lobos and The Gypsy Kings. This will entertain some viewers as they will know the song and will find it humorous and clever how the producers have embedded it into the film. 

This opening scene conforms the action genre as well as it shows, what the audience is led to believe as, heroes and villains, (the 'ice cream' sellers as the villains and the two men behind the counter as heroes). Towards the very end of the scene, the two men behind the counter reveal their true identities and say, "FBI, you're under arrest!" indicating that there will be some more undercover work and some fighting scenes. After this section of dialogue, the two FBI agents jump over the counter and go to chase the 'villains', showing that either a char chase scene or a fighting scene is about to come up. This is also a common convention of action films.
          

Name & Typography

In this scene there is no typography, however for the film promotions and posters, the typography for the film title is in black and white, showing irony for the actual plot of the film, (views will realise later on in the film, that two black men have to dress up and pretend to be two white women). This also conforms the common conventions of a comedy film as the humour is not just in the film but in the advertising as well. The name of the film 'White Chicks' is contrasting of what the two main characters are actually like. This again shows irony and comedic hints, therefore conforming the conventions of the comedic genre. However, the name of the film subverts the action genre as we would expect a more serious name for an action film.
  

Sound

For this scene, the sound presented to the audience is only diegetic dialogue. This creates a 'natural' and 'everyday' scene, which is a common convention for both action and comedy films. The FBI agents start off with bad and over dramatic 'Hispanic' accents which is humorous for viewers, however, at the end of the scene, when the two characters 'reveal' themselves, they sound authoritative and stern, which conforms the action genre, making them sound serious and more like secret agents.      

Location(s)

The location of this scene is in a newsagents in a city somewhere in America. This is an everyday and normal scene which conforms both genres. Due to the setting being in a city, it makes the film more dramatic and 'realistic' for an action film, again conforming the common conventions of an action film setting.  

Plot

The plot in this scene is that two men who 'own' a newsagents are expecting a delivery from an ice cream company. When the ice cream men come into the shop, they are asked questions by the two men about their product. The audience gets the impression that it is supposedly drugs that the two shop owners are expecting as they ask "what flavour is the ice cream?". The ice cream man also says, "Lets get down to business", indicating that there is some illegal trade occurring. Eventually, the men who own the shop reveal that they are in the FBI and the ice cream men make a run for it, with the agents about to chase after them.  

Genre deconstruction: Black Swan (2010)

Black Swan is a psychological horror. The opening clip completely subverts to the common conventions of this type of film.

It begins with a black background, and a white serif font fades slowly in and out with the title 'Black Swan' in a large sized, bold and centralised font. This is a plain, slow, calm opening title sequence, which subverts to the conventions of psychological horror films. Over the top of this, slow, classical music is being played which includes lots of strings, which again subverts to the common conventions of this genre - the audience would expect scary, haunting music, where this is calm and gentle. This music also seems non-diegetic, until the next shot of a long shot of a woman in the centre of a stage lit by a spotlight, still with a black backdrop. This introduces her as a primary character.

She begins ballet dancing, which then makes it obvious that she is dancing to this music and that the sound is diegetic and fits in with the scene. Next there is an extreme close up tracking shot of her feet dancing, which shows her grace and elegance as a ballet dancer. It also makes it clear that this character is a ballet dancer.

This then turns into a long shot of her as she sits gracefully down on the stage, whilst the music gets slightly quieter. It then switches to a two tracking shot of a man walking into the space towards the woman. The camera then begins circling round the two dancers whilst they begin to dance together, with the music beginning to sound slightly more menacing but still classical.

At 2:01, there is some more diegetic sound introduced of a rushing sound, representing the transformation of the newly introduced male character into some kind of beast. The music then gets a lot more fast paced and represents action happening in the dance. There are high fast trumpets alongside strings and drums, whilst the dance represents more of a chase between the two characters now. The music gradually gets faster and higher whilst the dance gradually gets more intense and action filled.

At 2.29 the strings and trumpets stop completely, leaving just a drum roll whilst the beast is spinning the woman round. Then, at 2.31, there is a sudden loud rush of all the instruments joining together again  which gradually gets quieter and slower again after about 9 seconds, and her dancing becomes more slow and emotional. As the woman moves past and away from the camera, the music and picture begin to fade out, with the screen being completely black again by 3.13. This opening scene makes her seem like a victim, which conforms to the genre of horror as a whole as there is often a 'victim' character and by having the victim as a woman it conforms to common representations of victims as they are usually vulnerable women who are in danger/need help.

Overall, the opening to this film is very unexpected of the genre, and this makes it more intriguing for the audience due to the conventions being completely subverted.

AS Media Preliminary Task

The Brief

For our preliminary task, we had to shoot and edit a short film. It had to fill the following requirements:

• Opening a door
• Over the shoulder shot
• Exchanging a couple of lines of dialogue
• Crossing a room
• 180 degree rule
• Match on action
• Shot/ reverse shot

Research and planning

In our group of me, Eve Grundy, Chloe Biggs and Josh Kamara, we came up with a concept of a highly competitive fashion show. We went down this route as a lot of people were doing spy, action or horror type stories, but we wanted to be a bit different and come up with a more unique idea. We drew a storyboard as a group, a picture of which is included below.

We came up with the title ‘Rain on your parade’ because it is a play on words – when people say that they will rain on your parade it means steal your thunder or take the lime light, which is what happens in our story, and parade was good because we meant it in the sense of a fashion parade.
We decided not to use any extra props except ones that we had on us at the time, so that we wouldn’t waste any time trying to find extra ones in school or at home and could get to filming as soon as we could.

Filming

Our first shot was an establishing shot of the stage, and included me as a model walking up the stairs on the right, towards the cleaner at the other side of the stage.

After this, we changed to a POV shot of me waving at the cleaner and then proceeding to go backstage into the ‘changing room’. We realised the lighting here wasn’t brilliant, but for the purposes of continuity we decided to keep it in so the story and journey made sense.

For me to go into the changing room, we changed to a long shot as I was walking down the stairs and then a pan across to me beginning to open the door.

We then decided to open the door in five shots, so we could practice getting in a lot of angles and practice our editing in post production to get it tight and continuous. We firstly did an extreme close up of my hand pushing the door open,

and then a close up of my feet going through the door,

and then we went the other side of the door to an extreme close up my foot coming down in front of the camera, which we realised in post production was out of focus but had no time to re film it,

and then switched to a medium tracking shot of my other foot coming through the door and then panning across as I walked past and away from the camera towards another door.

 

 

Seeing as there were another two doors to go through here, we decided to film me pushing one door and then switch to the other side when I was pulling the other door and then walking into the room. This was only because we didn’t want the prelim to be too long, and we also didn’t want it to be boring.

 

Whilst I walked into this room I was waving at Chloe, the other model who was already in the room, and we switched into a medium/long shot of Chloe in the room with me walking over to her and we had a couple of lines of dialogue here.

We had to change it slightly from the storyboard because there was a lesson in the drama studio next, so we couldn’t stay and film the conversation between the two models. We also had to change the order and put the trolley shot after this shot, again for continuity purposes and so that we had a location we could film in at the time we were filming.
Our next shot was the trolley shot of me and Chloe holding up frames to represent mirrors, so that the camera could ‘see through’ them to us. It moved to the right past us both whilst we had another couple of lines of dialogue. Because we were running out of time, we had to cut the scene from the storyboard of one girl trying on the coat/blazer with the other one looking jealous.

We then went right to the next scene was of the actual fashion show. We decided to use a POV shot of Chloe walking across the stage and looking at the director rather than the long shot of her walking across the stage because we felt it would have been too static and boring.

We then switched to an over the shoulder shot of Josh as the director talking about the blazer, with Chloe preening in front of him. We again changed this from the storyboard because we hadn’t yet used an over the shoulder shot, and we wanted to use as many shots as we could to make it interesting.

This then switched to another POV shot of Chloe thanking the director, and a scream makes her suddenly turn to the right to see me running at her. As I get to the camera I cover it to make it look like I had hit Chloe.

We then switched to a long shot of me hitting Chloe and standing in front of the director.

Switching to another over the shoulder shot, I talk to the director whilst Chloe gets up. Chloe and I then leave the stage and we switch to a long shot of the director walking across the stage to pull the curtain across. We realised afterwards that the lighting wasn’t good but couldn’t do anything about it again.

After a close up of Josh's hands pulling down the curtains,

we filmed the final shot - an establishing shot of the curtains closing.

Post production

This is a screenshot of the final timeline of the piece. As you can see, we added in some titles and text, as well as adding in some music and removing sound from some of the clips.

This is showing removing the sound from the clip. Once we detatched it, we deleted it seeing as we didn't want it.

This is the clip with the sound detatched. It is underneath the video clip seeing as it has been taken out. We then deleted it because we wanted no sound in this clip.

This is what the clip looks like with the sound deleted.

The music we used was Latch by Disclosure. We used this music because it is an upbeat dance song which we thought fitted with our video seeing as it's the kind of music you would find in a fashion show. We added a fade out at the end so that the music would gradually fade out instead of stopping suddenly, as we thought this sounded better. You can see the fade at the end of the music, it is the dark arc in the last part of the song.

We had to spend a lot of time editing certain parts of the video, like going through the door. We needed it to be as tight and smooth as possible, and I think we were quite successful in getting the timing for it as perfect as we could considering the short amount of time we had.
Here is a link to our video!