This is my opening analysis of the psychological thriller, Se7en.
Through this piece of work I developed my understanding of lots of different media technique including camera shots, camera movements, lighting and sound. I also looked at what affects these techniques would have on the audience. Analysing this opening sequence was useful and is gave me some inspiration for my final piece.
Panic Room - Lighting, Shot and
Colouring Analysis:
The Psychological Thriller, Panic Room starts with
an establishing shot of a city landscape presumably New York. The New York
skyline is shot using a high shot which illustrates the great height of the
cities buildings, the shot establishes the city is surrounded by water. The
water signifies isolation and comparing the large, tall buildings shows how
individuals are insignificant. This is also shown by there being no obvious
movement one the city’s streets. Isolation and loneliness are two theme which
are clearly shown in the establishing and first few shots. The lighting used it
rather dark and gives the impression of early morning, there is no obvious
movement in the establishing shot e.g no boats, cars or people walking.
In the opening sequence there are various shots of
the city using numerous camera angles giving different impressions and views of
the city. The large number of the shots of the city which assures the audience
are familiar with the movies setting. The panning from left to right gives the
audience to take in the surroundings and detail of the sky scrapper. This
also shows the audience where the film is going to be taking place. This has an
effect on the audience as it makes them familiar with the scene and makes them
feel interested to know what is going to be taking place within the town.
The aerial shot of the buildings could show you are always being watched, the
shot still makes it difficult to pick up any of the detail like the people on
the street and the people in the buildings which adds to the overall mystery of
the opening sequence. This makes the audience feel welcomed to the scene which
is the opposite of what people suspect from the genre of the film. This could
also be hinting to the audience that they are going to see the unexpected which
adds to the mystery of the film.
The lighting throughout the shots is quite dark,
and gives the impression of early morning. The lighting causes numerous shadows
on the road, and in the corner. The shadows could signify hiding and the
unknown, as generally danger lurks in the shadows. Part of the shots are over
shadowed by the tall buildings and are pitch black which illustrates how easy
it is to disappear and go unnoticed. Though the lighting is dark the director
has used it in a way that does not scare the viewer but leaves them questioning
what is being hidden. This makes the audience feel scared about what
might happen during the opening sequence. It makes the audience feel intrigued
and question what might be causing the dark shades that are appearing in the
scenes.
The colouring of the opening sequence is very bland
and naturalistic making it more realistic to the viewer. During the opening
sequence the only colours that are visible are the greys and blacks of the
buildings. This shows the audience that the town is very plain and normal until
the film is going to happen, this is when the colour yellow is introduced to
the audience. As the only vibrant colour featured is yellow, it shows the
audience that this colour is going to be linked in with the storyline. Yellow
is generally a colour associated with death and decay which could suggest death
will be involved in the storyline. This has an effect on the audience as
it has effects of realism so it makes the audience feel intrigued to watch the
duration of the film. This is because the audience feels more involved with the
action as they could base it around their real life.
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