Se7en-Title Sequence analysis(written and technical codes)

Se7en 
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/se7en/

Technical codes: In this title sequence, the many  different shots we see ,the mise en scene ,sound etc all create Enigma purposely,enigma was identified first by Barthes.The Genre is established very quickly in the sequence.We can already tell the film is a thriller. The dirty setting,low key lighting and shadows all conote enigma. The viewer does`nt  know what is lurking in the shadows and this creates enigma.This makes the viewer feel aprehensive towards the setting . We see a mans dirty fingernails which adds to the enigma and fear of the setting as dirt connotes disease and it is generally associated with negative things,such as where you bury the dead.It connotes that the man  has been up to something bad and  this is emphasised by the fact that it portrays the man as the murderer. However it could also be the detectives but this is unlikely as detectives are normally associated with being proffesionals,therefore clean. This instant questioning (of who is the man and what is he up to?)creates enigma and it is the perfect start to the thriller film. We assume it is the murderer due to many of the technincal codes in the title sequence. For example, everything thing in the sequence is very quick pased,the fast shots and editing are quick and flashy,this is done purposely to make the viewer fell disorientated and it adds tension.The quick flashes connote somoeones life almost flashing before your eyes,or that anything can happen in a quick flash-so it keeps the viewer awake and aware. It does not give much of a focus on the narrative so this makes us more curious,adding enigma as we want to find out more. Most of the camera angles are canted which adds a sense of confusion and disorientation to the atmosphere. We do not get to see the setting which adds more mystery and enigma .The use of cinematography is cleverly done,for example,close ups ans extreme close ups are used.They are used purposely to create an unclear view to make the viewers slightly confused and it also seems as if it is from the murderers point of view as we get an insight of what he is doing,it all seems very spooky and eerie. There are close up shots of sharp tools,and the man cutting things.The sharp tools connote fear and death. We see close ups of him writing and crossing out words and it adds mystery as we want to know what he is investigation in such detail and depth.We also  get a sense of the murderers  psychotic behaviour through the crossing out of  many words as this is unusual.The sound in the title sequence is very effective,the music often sounds as if it is making a "screeching" noise, prehaps to suggest screams of victims of the murderer.The music sounds scratchy and represents a scratching pen which is an irritating noise. The music is  also very fast pased which adds tension to the start of the movie.

Written codes:The writing is also very wonky which adds a sense of confusion and it looks as if they have been scratched  out or carved by someone.Both technical and written codes all relate to things being scratched.The scatched font type connotes that perhaps one of the murders take place by some type of scratching. It looks like someone has drawn on the screen and this makes the audience feel included rather than feeling as if they are just observing something.The font shakes slightly and this movement adds tension as we associate shake with fear.The font appears and dissapears extremely fast,sudden movements come as a suprise which is adding tension to the atmosphere.The dark background and white text draws our attention to the actors names which are important in persuading the viewers that the film will be good because these actors,for example Brad Pitt,are very famous and have a great reputation.

Overall this title sequence is extremly clever and gives us an insight into the murder`s physcotic behaviour. Throughout the title sequence it is showing us such close up information and tiny clues which only flash up for a short amount of time ,which  makes us aware and almost unable to look away as we want to see what is happening. I think this sequence is extremely clever and effective, hopefully when I create my opening  sequence for a thriller ,my team and I will use and adapt some similar techniques.

The Ward-title sequence analysis

The Ward (2010)

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-ward/# 

(doesnt show full end on youtube)

The first shot type in the title sequence is a slow pull back shot of a corridor,the corridor probably signifies "The Ward" and it is probably quite an important setting in the film because there are many doors which probably lead to the patients rooms,assuming it is going to be about a mental hospital because it is called "The Ward" .The mise en scene in this shot is very dark and it uses low key lighting purposely to tell the viewer that it is going to be a dark natured film and that something significant at night is probably going to happen.
The music starts at the beginning and both the pull back shot and the music is slow to create tension, ,the music goes perfectly with the visuals to make the viewers feel aprehensive about the setting.Also there is a small window at the back and we can see sudden flashes of light which signify lightning,lightning is associated  with danger and darkness and it connotes fear. Suddenly as the shot is still pulling back,it pulls back into the title which appears in massive 3d white writing ,purposely big so it intimidates the viewers and then the background turns black.I think the white writing on a black blank screen is very effective.Early,old films had no color, just black and white titles were used as they were the only option. Now a wide range of colours are available  but this simple white on black color scheme is still widely used. The white writing on a black background gives the film an old fashioned look and it also emphasises the title because of the contrast in colour,it higlights the text "The Ward".Using the colour black for the background creates an eerie atmosphere and by using this colour it suggests to us that something bad will happen.
After the title it shows shots of old drawings on glass which show people suffering and it makes the viewer feel  uneasy and fearful.The shot movement of the drawings are very slow but as each shot changes it changes very quickly,this contrast of change adds tension as it is very sudden.The pictures are very  disturbing ,people are getting tortured.This adds to the mood of the film and informs the viewer of the general atmosphere of the film.
Next to a photo of a girl getting hanged,small writing appears which is the name of the main actress,we know this as her name appears first so we assume that  it must be one of the most important actresses.The writing is probably small because at this stage we havent been introduced to the character and it wants us to focus on the disturbing image,rather than then only her name.It also doesnt matter that it is small because we can tell she is the main character as her name is kept quite seperate from all the other names.
Suddenly the glass with the drawings on slowly starts to shatter.I think this is suggesting to the viewer that things are suddenly and slowly going to going to go wrong ,it connotes that peoples lives are going to shatter and that there is going to be drama.This excites the viewer as we want to know what is going to go wrong,it uses enigma to persuade us to carry on and watch the film. Shattering glass creates tension as tiny bits of sharp glass makes anyone feel afraid as it could cut them and they seperate into 1000`s of pieces which is hard to see.The effect of the glass shattering in slow motion creates even more tension as it is slow so we really see the effect of everything falling to pieces and seperating,it also connotes unexpected danger.
I love how bits of the broken glass have images on them from the film which gives us clues and  a feeling of what the film is going to be about.
Futhermore,I think it is very clever when a title sequence slowly  moves you into the film,it is a slow transition.The camera appears to  fly  into a large piece of glass, using a crane shot. The camera slowly moves towards the scene and at the same time the black backround fades out towards us,it has a transition effect .The camera then moves into the shot of a police car which is approching the upcoming scene. It slowly introduces us into the film with a long shot so we can see the setting.The setting is contrasting to most of the title sequence which was a close up.It  made us feel involved in the shattering glass,it was effective to have a contrast  to add interest.
At the end of the title sequence and it was effective using  high key lighting ,contrasting to the low key lighting which was used throughout  most of the title sequence.At the end of the title sequence,when there is bright light it makes the viewer alert and excites them because there is a drmatic change and we are curious to see what is happening and where it is set.Change tells us  it  the film has officaially started.

Shutter Island film analysis,of the narrative and its overall style

Shutter Island analysis

In shutter Island it is quite hard to tell whether it is non linear or linear. There are many flashbacks during the film but this doesn't nessasarily make it non-linear. I would say it was slightly more linear,although the film has many diffrerent flashbacks,flashforwards and people could argue that it doesnt follow a  chronological and linear order.It is slightly more linear because we realise  at the end , the flashbacks and all those things happening never happened  and they were supposively part of Teddys hallucinations.

This technique of flashbacks etc was probably used in the film to help the viewers   understand the characters more and it creates enigma yet sympathy for them,especially Teddy. During the flashbacks and Teddys dreams we learn of his traumatic past experiences but they are purposely not entirely clear  which makes us qustion his past more which is benefitial as towards the end of the films we realise that he is actually in a mental hospital due to his traumatic past. We learn that he has lost his wife through a fire and that he used to be a soldier. The flashbacks do  verify the possible twist in plot  which we understand more towards the end of the film,that Teddy was infact a traumatized soldier, who was mad and  who did not want to accept his wifes death and it was infact a hospital for the mental and Teddy was a patient all along.
An equilibrium in Shutter Island is when Teddy is on a boat and all we know and think at the time is that he is going to investigate the dissapearence of Rachel Solando on Shutter Island.A significant event in shutter island is when we start to realise that his investigation is obstructed by the management of Shutter Island because Teddy and his partner Chuck are refused access to the records of employees and patients.We also start to question what is real and what isnt real rather than simply wondering where Rachel Solando is. Another significant event is when Teddy gets stranded on the island due to a storm.

At the end of the film the disequilibrium is when Teddy finally accepts that he is mental so that he can get lobotomized and forget his past,he wants to forget about his wife and flashbacks.Teddy says "Which would be worse - to live as a monster? Or to die as a good man?".Perhaps this is referring to being lobotomized.

Even though we realise towards the end of the film that Teddy is actually insane and that the mental hospital on Shutter Island is not as corrupt as we thought it was,we still see the antagonist as the employees and especially the lead psychiatrist,Dr. John Cawley.This is due to the story being told through Teddys eyes,we see his life traumas through his flashbacks and he seems as if he is trying to help people so we feel sympathetic towards him.All the physicatrists and employees want  to move Teddy through the exper­iment , trying to help Teddy. Chuck also known as Dr Sheehan,according to Propps theory would be "the dispatcher" because he  is always the one to push Teddy along in a particular direction. In the scene where they are sleeping in their bunk beds, he nudges Teddy to continue the inves­ti­gation. When we meet the character George Noyce,he suggests that Laeddis is in the light­house and puts this idea into Teddys mind. When they get close, Dr Sheehan, most likely as an act of reverse psychology, tries to stop  him from going purposely so that Teddy becomes more suspicious about what could be in the lighthouse at which point Teddy becomes suspi­cious of Chuck’s identity and we see this when he tests him  by asking Chuck how the weather is in Portland, knowing that Chuck is actually supposed to be from Seattle. We learn at the end of the film that Teddy’s movement throughout the entire film is influ­enced by key players,so infact according to Propps theory there are many "dispatchers", this is  a reminder to us that he didn’t go down this journey with free will-he has been controlled by others.

Barthes Enigma code is hugely important throughout Shutter Island.The mystery of where the  woman,Rachel Solando is and how she could escape intrigues the viewers as it almost seems impossible  that the woman could have escaped. Later on in the film the enigma is more about if Teddy is actually sane or insane.

The Game and how Narrative theory can be applied to the film The Game.

THE GAME

Nicholas Van Orton is a very wealthy man, he comes accross as extremely lonely, he even spends   his birthday alone.On his  birthday (it is infact age his father committed suicide) his brother Conrad,visits him and  gives Nicholas a card for his birthday which gives  him access  to an  unusual entertainment ,a game which is provided by something called Consumer Recreation Services (CRS). Giving up to curiosity, Nicholas visits CRS and all kinds of mysterious and bad things start to happen to him.The things appear to almost be impossible and it feels like Nicholas is in huge danger.Things go from bad to worse.Soon everything starts to fall apart ,the significant event is when  he finds a clown outside his home and cameras set up in his house,we realise the "Game" he signed up to is very mysterious.Strange things happen which he starts to believe cant be coincidence,he believes it must be part of "The Game" .For example ,Wine is spilled on him in a restaurant,he is trapped in an elevator. Then the chaos rises. He finds himself blackmailed, his bank accounts are emptied, he wonders around  like a homeless man, he is trapped inside a cab sinking in a bay, and his coffee gets spiked and  he is left for dead in Mexico.

The end of the film is my favourite,he gets so convinced that it is all corrupt .Nicholas goes crazy ,he  questions a company employee with a gun and thinks it cant be just a Game , he got the gun from his home(it turns out to be part of the Game and it is a fake gun but we think its real). An elevator swings open. Nicholas accidentally shoots his brother realising it is infact a harmless game, he assumes he killed him and the audience do too,he is so upset that he jumps off the roof .Nicholas has life flasbacks and both him and the audience think this is the end of him just like his father at the same age.He falls through a glass roof, and we find out that there is another twist. The entire game,yes  is infact just a game and it never went wrong,it all went to plan. Nicholas crashes into breakable glass and lands on a padded air bed .The gun was fake and so was the blood.There are many friends waiting to surprise Nicholas for his  birthday party. He is in complete shock as well as in utter disbelief, he finally understands that everything that happend before the party was staged and part of the Game.Conrad the brother appears and it is all explained.An amazing twist,and the enigma in the film is great-it makes the audience question everything!

From learning about the Narrative theory ,we can apply it to films.Narrative is the way in which a story is told in both fictional and non fictional media texts.

Vladimir Propp`s theory 

 Propp suggested that characters took on the role of narrative functions.Propp studied many fairytales and came up with a theory.

seven different character types: 

• The hero, usually male, is the agent who restores the narrative equilibrium (where everything is normal)
and they seek something. There is a  victim hero, who is the centre of the villain's attentions, and then there is also normally a  seeker hero who aids others who are the victims of the hero.
• The villain who usually creates disruption in the narrative and also creates obstacles(need not to be human)
• The donor helps the hero by giving them something, it may be an object, information or
even guidance, which helps in solving the enigma of the narrative.
• The helper gives support to the hero and helps him to solve the enigma.
• The princess is normally a victim and need protection from the villain.Usually the character most threatened by the villain and has to be saved, at the climax, by the hero.(Normally a woman but it doesnt have to be,it could be money or even a lesson)
• The dispatcher sends the hero on his or her task .
• The false hero (falsely assuming role of the hero) appears to be good but at the end its revelaed he is bad.

Characters can fulfil more than one sphere character type, for example; a princess
may also be a helper. 

Applying Propp`s theory to The Game 1997

• In  "the Game" (1997) the hero was Nicholas Van Orton-the protagonist.He is the person who has signed up to The Game and he has to go through many different and thrilling obstacles to solve and complete the enigma.
• The villain in this film is not just one person but the audience and Nicholas begin to hate the organisation CRS .There is no clear villain but we know that many people are involved with CRS and that their must be a leader.
• The donar in the film isnt that clear because without the brother ,Conrad there would be no film as he gives him the card which leads him to sign up to CRS.The things that help Nicholas figure out the enigma is many things which is set up purposely as it is all infact a game.People could argue that it is the set of keys which helps him to speed up the Game and complete it or the gun which he shoots his brother with helps to finish the Game off.
• Christine has more than one job and is very important in the film,she is the helper,dispatcher and the princess.Firstly she is the helper because throughout the film she is helping Nicholas to solve the Game,without her it would have been impossible to solve the Game,she directed Nicholas. The dispatcher isnt that clear as the whole game is a set up,many different people do things in order for Nicholas to complete the  Game but i would say that Christine helped hugely in taking on the role of the dispatcher,you could also argue that Feingold was the dispatcher as he was the main reason Nicholas went to the building where he held christine hostage and jumped off the roof etc. Christine is also the princess as at the end of the film , when the equilibrium has been restored finally,he goes with her to the airport and it seems to be a date.

Todorov`s Theory

Todorov’s Theory Todorov stated that every plot consists of 5 stages:

• A state of equilibrium (everything as it should be)
•  Significant event (A disruption of normality  by an event)
• Disequilibrium ( A recognition that the disorder has occurred )
•  Climax (An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption , highest point of tension )
•  A return or restoration of a new equilibrium

Applying Todorovs theory to The Game

Equilibrium : in The Game:When Nick`s life is dull and boring,he is lonely but he`s getting on just fine even though he doesnt seem entirely happy.

Significant event:When he gets given the card to CRS 

Disequilibrium: After Nick signs up to the game things still seen relatively normal ,until he finds a clown in his house and this is when he realises he has signed up to something he isnt quite happy about and weird things start to happen to him.

Climax:When Nick  finally on the roof holds christine hostage and by mistake he thinks he shoots his brother and cant live with himself so he attempts suicide but it turns out it was all a game in a game and it was all set up.

New equilibrium:Where Nick realises it was all a game and that his brother is not dead etc.

Barthes Theory

Barthes suggested that narrative works with five different codes which activate the reader to make sense of it.(He also used the terms denotation and connontation to analyse images).

• Action-a narrative device by which a resolution is produced through action,something the audience can see/knows  e.g. a shoot-out.
• Enigma-  this is a significant event in a thriller narrative NOT just a murder ...a narrative device that teases the audience by presenting a puzzle / mystery or  a riddle to be solved. It works to delay the story`s ending, adding interest.
• Symbolic-represents (connotes/connotation)
• Semic-denotation (indicates something)
• Cultural-a narrative device which the audience can recognise as being part of a culture e.g. slumbdog millionaire the film is set in india and its about the slums.

Applying Barthes Theory to The Game

• In the film The Game there was a lot of mystery yet also a lot of Action codes,for example the car chase.
• The whole film revolves around enigma codes , it is all about solving what The Game is and completing it and the whole film we are curious about   who is running CRS  why and we find out everything  at the end  along with an amazing twist which is completely unexpected.
•  Their are many things in the film which are symbolic for example, CRS  the sign is seen a lot throughout the film and it is symbolic to the company who run The Game.It connotes mystery as we dont fully understand the game till the end.
• The Semic code is used throughout The Game,it connotes wealth for example by using a Mansion as Nicks house and the fact he has people working for him.
• The cultural code does not seem to be a big part of The Game.

 

Levi-Strauss Theory-Binary opposites 

He studied the myths of tribal cultures.Examined how stories unconsciously reflect the values ,myths and beliefs of a culture.These are usually expressed in the form of binary opposites.His research has been adapted by media theorusts to reveal underlying themes and symbolic oppositions in media texts.

Binary oppositions:A conflict/contrast  between two qualities or terms.

 

Binary Opposites in The Game

There are lots of binary opposites used in the Game for instance,the fact that Nicholas the protagonist was boring and lonely at the begining and money orientated. He joins the game which is fun and exciting. He is very wealthy and it makes him look much more wealthy when he is surrounded by people who arent as wealthy, for instance , the Maid working for him or the taxi driver who  doesnt seem as wealthy just by clothes and accent the viewer assumes this and he makes the taxi crash into the water.

Comparison of This is England Credits and 21 Jump street

If i was to briefly compare the opening opening title sequences of 21 jump street and This is England i would say that the main difference is that in This is England it started with a list of all the film production companies that invested into it , whereas in the title sequence of 21 jump street they dont name the production company and it  start with the credits. You can tell that This is England is a low budget British film whereas in 21 jump street it has many visuals, explosives and effects which  a British , low budget film company would not be able to afford. You can tell This is England was made not just to make money but for cultural and artistic reasons.