orren's first post

Hey everybody, sorry for the late update but i will be better. Anyway, on Friday 23rd January, we analysed the opening credits to three films Se7en, Day of The Jackal (1973) and One-hour Photo. Each of the films had very different openings, and the last two films we focused mainly on analysing the use of sound in the openings.

Se7en: the opening scene starts with Morgan Freeman, in bed, with his glasses off and a metronome ticking, this may give the ideas that he sits there and finds the metronome ticking relaxing, or that he is thinking whilst the metronome goes. The ticking also has a hypnotising effect on the audience. The ticking is also fairly similar to that of a clock and it could go to mean that time is counting down for the character until something happens, those who have seen the film will know that Morgan Freeman's character is a retiring detective, so the ticking away may be linked to how long until he retires. There is an establishing of the bedroom and then, it cuts to a close up of the glasses, this may be to show that the character is relaxing or getting ready to go to bed, the next shot is of the metronome ticking, this may be to show where the ticking sound is coming from or to also hypnotise the audience with the backward and forward motion of the pendulum. The opening credits are very odd and disorientating for the audience because there are lots of quick cuts and the camera uses a lot of close-ups and extreme close-ups. The sound in the opening credits is non-diagetic and it is music, it is a song by Nine Inch Nails (who i guessed correctly), but the song is and edited version of their song "Closer", the drum beats in the music work together with the actor's names, the names are scratchy and often upside or back to front, but when there is a drum beat in the music, the words move in to the right position, this gives the impression of the words having been written because they are scratchy and this links with the idea of a murderer being odd and crazy. When the camera cuts to a clos up of the person's hand writing, there is a use of overlaying, this gives a sense of the person writing a lot of the time, possibly everyday, and that it is a part of their daily routine.

Sound

Day of The Jackal: the sound in the opening credits are all non-diagetic, and it starts after a procession of cars move off, the sounds is very bassy, and is played on a stringed instrument, this gives a very tense. When the camera cuts to following the motorcyclist a brass percussion sound is heard, this show that the motorcyclist is a main character, but it also builds up suspense, because you're not sure whats going on and the metallic sound makes you very suspicious of whats going on.

One Hour Photo: the sound is very bassy, and it is made up of one note being plucked and held for a few seconds, whilst the pitch changes. With each piece of text appearing on the screen there is another beat, and as the credits goes on the sounds start to seem eerier, which keeps the viewer tense. Each time there is a red flash, like that of a camera, in the background, the text disappears and then another piece of text appears. At the end of the credits there is silence and all that you see is a camera used for taking photographs of suspects at police stations, the camera focuses on this for up to 30 seconds, I think, this makes the audience feel uncomfortable, because it feels like the camera is staring at the viewer.

Sorry again for the late update