Editing refers to how shots are put together to make a film.Editing helps films flow and make sense of the plot which without it would be very hard and become very confusing for the audience watching and it would be a very bad film.Editing techniques are used constantly throughout the scene of Se7en. One editing technique in the scene is the straight cut.This happens when Detective Mills is looking around and it cuts straight to a Point of View shot from the lead swat man when he is going into the room which has been used.He looks around and can see air fresheners to hide the smell of the body which has been there for one year.The audience experiences the same feelings as the man walking into the room and sees the significantly unusual decoration of the room and experiences the strange sense that it causes.This is also unusual as it is not what is expected with a swat team; they are meant to be in a gun fight but they end up coming across a body subjected to torture where the damage has been already done.This makes it look like they are even more uncomfortable as they cannot do anything to help.This highly puts people outside there comfort zone and builds an amazing amount of suspense as they can do nothing.This is what the audience wants to see when watching a thriller film.
Another editing technique is the establishing shot which is used at the start of the scene.The starting scene portrays a gloomy, isolated and abandoned building which is the backdrop in this scene.We can see that it is also isolated as the things in the building are dusty, old and broken.This makes the audience feel quite uneasy, as if the building has been left in this state for years and is not cared for.It is also relating to what is to come and how the building is the same as the man has just been left for a long time to rot.This relates to the editing as it gives an idea of what is to come and is almost a extension of the plot line so is a important part of starting a scene.
Slow editing is also another way that editing is seen in the scene.When the detective is examining the body on the table this is when it happens. He looks close up against the body and it slows as it makes its way to the head of the man.The director does this to build as much tension as possible then nothing happens.After a few seconds when you are least expecting the man tries to get up and starts screaming which is very unexpected.This is quite disturbing for the audience not as it is surprising but as the man is barely a man and is bound to a table.This is what I believe is what the director was going for as he is not solely trying to make the audience jump but make them feel uneasy.So the director uses slow editing to add to the feeling of the scene.
Timing of shot is also a big factor when editing a film.In the scene one key timing of shot is when the swat team pull the cover off the body of the man tied to the bed is exposed.In the scenes before the unveiling they are slow and meticulous about searching but then the quick pulling off of the sheet makes the scene much more shocking for the audience.This relates to editing as it set out to do its purpose of shocking the audience in a quick manner this is what the editor wanted for the scene.Another scene where this happens is when the man finally starts moving which causes alarm.
A last way the editor helps keep the film moving is using a jump cut.This happens when all the swat men turn and face the bed with there torches on the bed.This suddenly becomes the complete main focus of the whole scene just because of the way it is set up to look.This immediately sets the audience on edge as it does not look a positive thing that the film has focused on.A jump cut was used to get the audiences attention and now the audience cannot stop watching as they want to now know what will happen.
In conclusion in the film clip of Se7en there are many techniques of editing that are used.They are all used to try to get the audience to stay watching and keep the tension and excitement continuing throughout the clip. Overall I believe they are very successful at it.
Cinematography is the way the director portrays feelings and emotions through non verbal ways in a film.The cinematography can happen on scene or in editing after which can produce CGI. Cinematography includes things such as camera shots,angles,movements, filters and lighting all these can completely change the feeling of the film. Entering the scene it starts with a establishing shot.It goes from a dark sky's, to swaying trees and the to rustling leaves.All these are in a dark scene and it makes and it builds suspense which is conventional for a thriller it makes it seem already bad things will be happening and is very easy to see.The audience can instantly pick up on that something bad will happen and want to continue watching which is the point. Second we can see a close up of the woman who looks troubled while she is doing her washing, turning her head looking at something.The close up is ment to bring importance to a character. We can instantly tell she is the most important character in the scene and that something will happen to her as she is in an isolated place and is alone.In a close up shot we can see all her emotions and this makes the audience connect with her and care about the outcome of the scene so they will continue watching. Another camera angle used in the scene is the long shot.This shows everything including the background, characters and surrounding area. In this scene we can see the empty house, the surrounding forest and the dark sky's overhead and the character getting her washing in quickly.This scene shows that she is by definitely by herself and in a isolated area. This illustrates the idea she is an easy target for anything to happen and could easily be in danger which is typical for a thriller.The audience gets a sense of what is coming and the background only multiplies the feeling and makes the tension increase for the audience which is what a thriller film is all about. Thirdly a way that things can be shown is through the camera angle of a low shot.This is simply a camera shot facing up which brings many feeling through.This happens when the woman is looking up to the window and sees a ghostly figure in the window of the empty house.This puts the woman in a very vulnerable position as she is lower down and looking up.Also she is now not alone and she is in a secluded area before so this makes it unsettling.This makes the audience feel even more emotion for her and builds the tension even further. This puts the woman in a vulnerable position and now the audience want to see the results. The opposite in this is the high shot this is imply a shot looking down on someone. This is looking down on the woman and making her seem small and insignificant;it also shows the look of fear and wonder on her face .We now know she is not entirely scared so we are not as scared as the audience.This lets us know also she is not in control and this makes the audience want to watch what is coming. In conclusion there are many ways that cinematography help to put across meaning to the audience in The Conjuring.This is done in many ways such as camera shots,angles,movements, filters and lighting.
There are many thriller films that have influenced me with different elements of each of these film.Some of these films are Se7en,Phone Booth,Shutter Island,Source Code,Taken and No Country for Old Men.These films do it in many ways such as suspense, not knowing the killer,mystery, being fast paced and the killer being relentless.
In No Country for old men the villain is completely unstoppable and relentless, he will do anything to achieve his goal of getting the money back. When he walks down the corridor he has a unusual walk almost like a limp. He never runs which makes him even more unnerving and he is always only one step behind the protagonist and it is a constant threat this keeps the suspense in the film to a maximum.This is typical of a thriller as the idea is to keep up the tension as long as possible. I would particularly like this in my clip as it just makes the antagonist that little bit more scary and less human. This's makes him seem more unstoppable and machine like in his ways.
Phone Booth is another film I take inspiration from in the way that it does not reveal the killer on the phone to him.The killer is on the phone constantly throughout the film and giving instructions to the man. This keeps the suspense up throughout the film and does not let it go,this helps keep the audience interested in the film.I would like to put this in my clip as it is good for a trailer as it makes people want to go and see the film just to find who the killer. This is why leaving the film clip on a cliff hanger is good for finishing a clip to keep people watching.
Mystery is also an important element in thriller films. This is particularly prominent in the film Shutter Island which has a constant mystery going on throughout the story line.The film gets to a part where an escaped prisoner cannot be found but nobody knows how they got out but all the staff are acting suspiciously.This continuous throughout the plot and even in the end we still do not know what happened but that it was all set up for a prisoner. This is another aspect that i would like to put into my clip, the idea that even at the end the audience does not know the full story or that the story could be true or not.
A film being fast paced is also an important element in the thriller genre as it keeps the film full of excitement and suspense. An example of this is Source Code which is a complicated film but without it being fast paced would become boring. The man keeps going back to the start of the accident and this without this being quick the film would become repetitive. This is what I would like to put into my clip as it engages the audience and helps keep interest in the film unlike slower films.
Suspense is also a crucial part in all thriller films. Taken is a very good example of suspense in the film as the whole film leads up to one point where the suspense finally ends.So the whole film is building up until he finds his daughter and this makes it harder to stop watching. This is very entertaining for a audience as you need to watch up until the end to find out.I would like to include the constant suspense in my clip as it just makes it more interesting rather than building up suspense then wasting it in the middle of the film.
There are many things that I would put in my own narrative, suspense will be obviously in my clip as it is a thriller.A fast paced scene is what I would like as it keeps people's attention and makes the scene easier to watch.Mystery will definitely be in my clip as it just hooks an audience in and helps to create a different feeling to a clip.The characters I will have will just be an antagonist and protagonist, any more and it would over complicate the clip but any less and there would be no excitement.The plot I have in mind will be simple as with such a short time I do not want to make things hard to understand and the timing would be to restrictive. The two characters will be a male and female and the male will be the killer and the woman will be a victim this is sticking to convention as it makes sense to have the victim in a weaker position .
So I have decided my narrative will contain a chase scene which will create thrills and suspense which will entertain the audience.Also I would have scene where the victim does not know she is being followed this will indicate to the audience what will be happening and give an insight into what will happen. Thirdly I would like the final scene to be an enigma and not actually show what happened to the person, this will keep the audience interested in what has happened to the person and want to watch more. The characters will be just a male killer and a female killer.The male killer will be menacing and wear all black to signify how evil he is. The female will be blond and small in stature to show how vulnerable she is and is conventional in many thriller films. Also she is weak so it would be very easy for a killer to take her so this is conventional as having a weak victim but a powerful killer. The themes will be good and evil and innocence and power which is how they contrast in the clip.
The narrative will appeal to the target audience in the way that it is not too long to get into otherwise it would be dull but long enough to bring a sense of what is happening. This will give us a balance of suspense and thrills. This will appeal to a younger audience than some other thrillers as there is not much time between thrills and this makes a film easier to watch.
My target audience would be older teenage males and have a rating of 15, any younger and the clip would need to be toned down but any older and a large target audience cannot see it.It will still be okay as a 15 certificate still allows many things but a 12 would be to hard to fit around with a thriller.
The Mise-En-Scene in a film is the visual aspects of a film,how it portrays a story to an audience and how it manipulates them to feel things that would otherwise not be apparent. Mise-En-Scene includes five things which are setting and iconography,costume, facial expression and body language,lighting and colour and the positioning of objects and characters in the scene.All these can completely influence a viewers ideas of the film. Throughout the film Insidious there are frequent light and dark contrasts that happen. An example is when the woman is retelling her story of when she went into the boys bedroom and sees the demon in the corner by the light of a table lamp. Only the back light is on so many places have dark patches then others have light patches this creates shadows. This is significantly important in Thriller films as often shadows are used to emphasis fear and the unknown and not being able to see which is a fear for many people. This is stereotypical of the thriller genre as it builds suspense and excitement with the unknown of what will happen next,this is a crucial part of the film as it otherwise would not be as scary as it is.The shadows also give us a sense that something bad will happen even before we get into the room,so the audience is already prepared for either a scary or gory scene.
Secondly another way that a director can make sure to thrill a audience is using a normal background in contrast to the events that are to unfold.In this particular case it is a family home which differs from the usual scene of a thriller film.It is a normal family home that a family live in.This really makes things more scary as the scene is familiar with your own surroundings and this makes the film seem more real than at an unknown set and the audience can relate to the characters in the scene. This relates back to the thriller genre as it does exactly what it is meant to do which is make it that little bit more unsettling due to the audiences familiarity with the scene.Although it still is not the same as an example of a normal thriller scene would be in a warehouse or an alley which the audience will find unsettling but hard to relate to. The look and costume of the characters is not as traditional as other thriller but the director does it for a reason.In Insidious the look of the people is very normal for example the man is wearing a shirt the girl is wearing a jumper. This is to try to make the characters more believable as if they were a part of the audience and to normalize them as much as possible, this makes it easier to connect with the characters and therefore care about them.Also it again makes it more scary as it brings familiarity toward the scene. Also it contrasts again with the unusual events happening to the main character so when things happen they make it seem a small amount more unsettling. This keeps people entertained and holds the suspense built up by the rest of the scene while still making it believable. Facial expression and body language is also a key aspect in mise en scene.They can convey meaning and emotions without saying them and it is very prominent throughout the scene.When the woman is talking to the others around the table she is opening up her body and we can see she is trying to help them understand.Then when the head pops out she closes up as she is terrified and we didn't need the sounds to see what is was.This helps the audience connect with the characters as when she is open we feel sorry for her and she is open.When she is huddled and closed we can tell she is frighted and shocked.This can help the audience feel sympathy for the characters or make them dislike the character.
A last way the director build tension and makes it better viewing is making the film have conventional scenes.An example of this is when the boy is in bed but the demon is in the corner.This scene is contrasting on a big level by having a surreal picture with a completely ordinary one.Although at the start of the scene we cannot see the demon so the scene has normality to it which puts us at ease.This normalizes as scene then making it suddenly change is another way that is make it more exciting to watch.This make viewing the scene much more enjoyable for the audience as it is very familiar but then very different at the same time.This makes it believable as if it could happen to them.
In conclusion Insidious shows many ways that it connect with the thriller genre but also some points that contradict it.Overall many of these ways build lots of tension and it makes the film much more enjoyable for the thrill seeking viewer.This will help me in my clip as now I know what works well in a successful film which I can incorporate into my own. Also I can use the analysis as I know what an audience wants and can now comply with that to make my clip the best it can be.