Analysing Se7en's city

The board has enlisted sins. Typewriters filled the room, filled unsolved desks, phones do not stop ringing and chaos feels at the station. Mills impatient listening speculation Somerset, who admires the murderer increasingly Yoda. Somerset rushed out without explanation, Mills behind him. Library; Pizza restaurant; barbershop; Street; departments; corridors; rooms; abandoned theater; back to the street; cars; garbage crowd and finally an alley. All the chaos concentrated in one space, the city.

The city is the most accomplished concept of human room. The city ranks as the end of social construction. No matter how developed or undeveloped is the city as their homes or buildings, streets and bridges, with their energy and water services, with their places of public assembly, with its web of overhead or underground cables, with their networks of pipes and drains; all cities reflect a latest concept: the chance to live surrounded by the rule of human objects and thus feel secure.

The place where a security that allows us to develop socially created. This idea is discussed in time when he intends to provide security city corrupted by elements arising from the same.

Through the picture, sound, staging and plot and narrative, Se7en reflects this idea, where the security of the city is threatened by what constitutes it. The order of this is based on chaos.

The first time we noticed disdain, even contempt, that the characters feel toward the huge city without name of the movie was in the post-discovery of the mutilated body of attorney Eli Gould scene. In this sequence, the police captain enters the office of Detective Somerset, and begin to talk about life after retirement of the latter. It is in this part when Somerset first refers to the place where he lives as a place that does not understand. It is not the last time on the tape that the detective refers to the city in this way.

Other characters, like Tracy, the wife of Detective Mills, and even the main antagonist of the story, John Doe, refer to the city as a place that is foreign to them. We constantly see characters who inhabit the city, but are not part of it. We could even talk that the city is made up entirely of people who are external to it. Although that is not the main theme of the film, the city seems a point important to the same end, without which the story would take place in a very different way. For this reason we decided to focus on the way in which the city through the order set chaos, order and how this influences the development of the characters.

SE7EN: How does David Fincher's establish character?

-The thriller, rather than a genre, is a sinister tone

 in which the stories of bloodthirsty murderers

 of heinous crimes, but also of superlatives characters

 that escape the laws of nature and reason develop.

In the thriller the aim is to cause maximum stress

 on the viewer as thrill means, excite

 and the thrill's name means entreteinment. -

There is no doubt that 'Se7en' (1995) meets this definition superlative, it is an apocalyptic speech mercilessly crumbling clichés detective films and a dying, insane, sterile society.

“Did the kid see it?”

Somerset (Morgan Freeman) asks. He’s referring to a crime, and he’s asking because that’s the kind of guy he is. Somerset is curious and thoughtful, inquisitive and concerned. He’s been doing this job a long time, but he still cares about things like whether or not a kid sees something awful.  

That sentence says it all, he is a man that neither the years of detective or immorality around him has worn him. His soul is not yet fully sunk in that world of darkness and crimes, continues to see shades of light keeping him sensitive. He sees it as if the other side of the window.

 Sleeps alone, with only the meditative tick of a bedside metronome for company.

The hypnotic sound of the metronome marks a meticulous rhythm of 2/2 building a way to circumvent the sound of the noisy city and focus in a neutral state of calm that helps him escape from his thoughts and escape the anxiety that leads into him. He has sleeping problems and needs self-hypnosis to achieve the dream state that without it, he could not get.

Also, the first scene gives us the image of him standing with his back to the camera, wearing a white shirt and black trousers with straps hanging down.The character is almost in the center of the room, a kitchen. The camera is positioned below the midline. The man turns, forward, clasping the cuffs of his shirt, forward and to the right of the viewer. You can see a chessboard, window and some other elements of the stage. The images tell how a man dresses. We see the man tying his tie in the mirror, remove a speck from his bag on the bed spread, save a series of objects (a pen, knife, etc.)

He's jaded and almost vital energy, its cleanliness, putting his jacket (which picks up a hair ...), respecting the scene of a crime of passion detective.

His actions seem a regular symmetrical dance in their daily lives. Everything is neatly timed and conducted, reflecting calm and control that distinguish the character.Even the way in which sorts the objects, leaving the same space between each other and all perfectly aligned. All but one.

A handkerchief and a piece of wallpaper stand out wildly in this row of objects, which is slightly turned might content emotions Somerset has on this object, that is in disorder with the other things can mean the detective's weekness.

“Detective Somerset? I’m Detective Mills (Brad Pitt),”

 Mills says, running into the scene to introduce himself. As we’re observing Somerset’s character through his behaviors and symbols, Mills jumps right in to tell us who he is.

“I wasn’t standing guard outside a Taco Bell,” Mills tells him. “I”ve worked homicide five years.”

“Not here,” Somerset assures Mills.

Mills is presented as a nervous and clever character, while young, contrasting sharply with the calm and neatness of the experienced Detective Somerset.

 He’s been transferred in, and he’s ready to get to work. Old cop, young cop, detailed cop, brash cop. There’s a combative energy from the first time their eyes meet which invests the audience in their evolution.Before we can notice, characters and attitudes are established. 

It is gratifying to note mime Fincher in caring for David Mills (Brad Pitt very solid) and William Somerset (superb, as usual, the great Morgan Freeman), two antagonistic characters who are prepared, as two sides of the same coin.

-SIN CITY OPENING SCENE- How does it use film noir conventions and sound to establish audience expectations?

A melody of traffic's sounds reaches the ear of the viewer seconds before he can see anything,while the screen stills in black,introducing indirectly the scene of a busy city; focusing only in the sense of hearing. 

Followed, an ambient jazz music open the scene creating an atmosphere of quiteness and mystery; a woman stands back to the viewer on a balcony, showing the dephts of the city covered by darkness and mist. This effects construct a villainous city of crime and corruption in front of the viewer's eyes, making clear that nothing good it's going to happen.

As in film noir, the term 'femme fatale' could be, at first sight, associated indirectly to this women by the fact that she's wearing red, a colour that means danger and makes a huge contrast with the blackness that surrounds her.This is emphaised further by the sense of powerfulness she transmits to be located in the centre of the scene controlling everything towards a immoral bid city.

A broken deep voice over enters the scene, this new character alternate protagonism with our femme fatale and breaks the label on her.

''She shivers in the wind like the last leaf on a dying tree''

Her vulnerabiluty it's exposed, even if she still clinging to life, she has no more strenght to fight against her fears.It could be also suggesting that is ridiculous keep holding, it would be easier to let go.This phrase foreshadow the end of the clip, that she ends defeated.

He also narrates all his steps during the scene as if he had memorized how to act., it doesn't feel natural and emphaises the feeling of coldness and souless, timed.
But also, because the viewer is hearing the main character´s thoughts doesn't expect that he shoots her after he says he loves her.Even if it doesn´t feel normal, it semmed for real and it's surprising.

Man suit and gun creates a uniform sense for gansta ambient, it also emphaise the feeling of inmorality and crime.A sophisticated clothing for a dangerous life style.

How does the sewer scene from the Third Man use framing and composition techniques, mise en scene and cinematography to create meanings metaphors and effects?

Fig 1 

In figure 1, the composition of this huge arquitecture building in the image suggest to the

viewer that the character is caught in a really confusing maze  in which it's magnitude contrast dramatically with his size making him look reduced and small to the eye.

Each possible entrance is covered with darkness which make the viewer deduct that character will be lost, foreshadowing the tragic cirscuntances that can occur when he crosses one of them.It is also remarked by long shadows exceling from the deepness of the doors building the sense of tension and mystery.The parallels curved lines guide our eye in one direction focusing on a vanishing point in which is concentrated the light.

All theses factors cannotes the tension , a dramatic loneliness

Fig 2

German expressionism style is seen on the sharp line of the platform the men are on.The deep shadow and geometrical composition visually represent the moral and cultural anxiety that haunted Europe after WW2.

These connotations of anxiety and panic are heightened by the chiaroscuro lighting in which the deep key lighting constructs a big dark shadow reflected on the wall, right under the men, as making clear who is the villain in te film.The darkness of the shadow and it's dramatical size suggests moral ambiguity and crisis identity, linking it to The film l.a Noire where they also  used this techniques.

It can be detected that the men are looking for someone,the owner of the shadow, who is ridiculously closer to them than they thing.This situation plus the maze building reflect a metaphor of the hunt of the cat and the mouse.Unconsciously, the director foreshadowed to the viewer the end of the film creating this role-play and the hunting.

Fig13

In Figure 13 it's been iluminated  a specific spot in the scene making the image seem fragmented and therefore disorientated. This effect can also make the illuminated image seem enclosed and quite tight, bringing in also the claustrophobia effect.This makes the scene seem very claustrophobic as we can't see the whole surroundings, putting us out of our comfort zones. The aspect of the darkness makes our eyes strain, also putting us outside our comfort zone and therefore making us more disorientated.

Dark lighting surrounds all the way through the sequence, creating dark shadows in the tunnel from the characters. In relevance to the shadows of the characters, this creates moral ambiguity (As in fil Noir) within the scene as well as helping to disorientate us into who the character is.

 The deep lighting makes us disorientated as our eyes are not capable of adjusting fast in the dark, therefore  the usage of the dark lighting and dark shadows confuses our eyes as we try to adjust. 
A ray of light crosses the tunnel, defying the darkness that dwells there as a metaphor for hope.

The camera angle is high but aptly pointing inward the tunnel causing an effect of altitude and vertigo while the curved tunnel architecture reinforces this effect by adding a sense of continuity and claustrophobia.

Fig 6.

In Figure 6 it's been used conventions of film noir and aspects of media language:

Based on film Noir, the stair caise is a  visual metaphor for moral confusion , it's angular composition

within the sharp lineal shadows cannotes a sense of emprisionment as it seems cell bars; the shadow prison could explores issues of post-wars.

 The diagonals reflects how the director is using angular German Impressionism techniques as well to create visual manifestation of paranoia.

 Also the high angle of the shot  makes the image unbalanced and disturbed in perspective and helps to constucts a sense of disorientation.This enclosed up shot to the character's face emphaise a  massive claustrophobic feeling while the height of the shot creates feelings of vertigo

The up proceed light iluminates softly some places of the scene but still doesn't make disapear the eternal shadow covering the man's face, it represents moral crisis and connotations os anxiety and panic.

All these the compositions contructs a visual metaphor fot the character's situation.Harry Lime escaped into the sewers , being chased by the police. His eyes leads the viewer to a space we can  not see: the espape point

The camera angle, and the angular lighting creates a visual metaphor for moral distortion: The deep geometric composition visually represents the moral and cultural anxiety that haunted Europe after WW2, representing the sense of evil and fear thta seemed to lie within the grandeur.

Preliminary task

Continuity task involving filming and editing a character going through an aisle and a door. Crossing the backyard and standing opposite of another character and then she exchanges a couples of lines of dialogue.He answer back and she leave walking away from him.

Mainly we started to where we wanted to plan our history , it necessarily has to perform somewhere in the school , so we went to explore around to find a good place in which to film it inspired confidence.We chose ( As you can see in the video) a comprehensive site where the scene of the dialogue would develop. Also a hallway and a door to get there.

In the moment to record the dialogue we plan an imaginary line to insure ourselves that we were not crossing it.

choose the persons that would be in the video and we start drawing and there is necessary to think about the scenes that we could use in our plane.

 We wanted to have a good variety of scenes and to be able to choose at the moment of editing.

• For the dialogue we did use a Continuity editing.
• Mid shots is the most used technique in this video.
• ECU: To her face to increase her expression .
• Head room: When she is talking to the other character
• Long Shot: To show the location
• Shot from behind: To show where is she going to, suspense
• Quircky angle to the feet to she how is she dressed.
• Short reverse shot of her to show where is she looking at ( the other character).

I have learned to glide a film, for which it does not seem to be so difficult as seems. I have learned to think scene for scene, namely since ls see and in the practice to being able do it like. This experience is goes to help me in being able record and planning a short film.

How do directors film a conversation?

What are the rules?

Rules

-180º degree rule: Imaginary line which indicates where is the limit, with a 180º degree tule you always have to shot o the same same of the imaginary line between the characters.

 Master shot:The master shot is a shot that includes all of the actors in the scene and it runs the entire length of the action.  It is usually the first shot to be covered and the master shot will then be interwoven with other shots such as mid shots or inserts.

-Shot/Reverse-shot: A shot that views the action from the opposite side of the previous shot, as during a conversation between two actors, giving the effect of looking from one actor to the other. Show the characters and what they are looking at

-Continuity editing: A system of cutting used to maintain continuos and clear narrative action by following a set of rules.

-Rule of thirds: Balancing the shot.



-Lead roam/ nose room: The idea here is that viewers want to see where a moving object is going--not where it has been.
-Head room:
'Leaving headroom' means leaving a space between the top of the subject's head and the top edge of the frame, usually when taking shots head-on. It is related to the Rule of Thirds; the idea is that your subject's eyes should lie on the upper third-line of the frame. Like the Rule of Thirds, it's roots lie in painting.
The concept is related to 'looking room': if you have a subject looking to the right, you should leave some space on the right hand side of the frame for the subject to 'look into'.




Tips



-Shot variety: Long shot, masted shot, shot from behing etc...

-Picks up (ECU cut aways, bird eye):show a small detail that would otherwise be missed in a winder shot.

-One camera VS two camera shots: Both methods are correct and both are used.
 Usually you compromise a bit with the lighting if you light a set up for two cameras. On the other hand, even if you have more than one camera shooting at the same time, still you will have to edit the takes

-Cut over 30 degrees:The 30-degree rule is a basic film editing guideline that states the camera should move at least 30 degrees between shots of the same subject occurring in succession. If this rule isn't followed a jump cut occurs and there is a risk that the audience starts focusing on the filming technique instead of the story that is being narrated.
The 30 degree change of perspective makes the shots different enough to avoid a jump cut. Too much movement around the subject may violate the 180 degree rule.

COFFE AND CIGARETTES

In the video 'Coffe and Cigarettes' are used several rules that we have mencioned.
One of them is the 180º degrees rule, we can say that this imaginary line is positioned on the back wall. We can notice that thank to the 'Master Shot' about the two characters talking directly,facing each other, and having the wall as the background .


Continuity editing is used tree time, every time they served coffe they made a bird eye shot in which you can see only their arms serving coffe in the cups. Then taking the cups and changing the shot to another one showing how the cup getting close to the mouth until the drink, this creates a sense of continuity.


It's been used tree cameras in this scene, one of the front and the others two on the corners facing the characters in diagonal.One of the shots taked by the left camera is the 'Head room', in which the characters leaves a space to the right if he is looking to the right.
From the right camera we got a Lead room . We can see the face of the characters who is talking and the shoulder or the back of the other character.
They also used a shot-reverse shot to show that they are looking at each other.

How does the director 'Peaky Blinders' use camera angles and mise ea scene to entablish expectation and character?

In this picture the camera angle is a Low Shot,which also includes a quirky angle to the feet of the characters.Basically, the protagonist of the image are feet. They're disturbing the peace on the calmed puddle and splashing around;this reforces the power of the characters and could be interpreted as a metaphor of causing destrution.
Also, their Shoes are pretty formal shoes and that signify the sense of brutal, making it look like it is a uniform. The characters block the light and cover all the scene making it dark.This could be a metaphor of their wickedness.
.

In this picture the camera angle is a Mid Shot in wich the characters walk together in slow motion wildly but keeping pretending some order among them.
They pay no attention around them and they don't look away from the front, as if they had a goal to achieve.Showing fire on the background cannotes their power and increase the sense of danger and their hellishness.Also power of the fire is not powerful enough to disturb the calm and concentration of the characters.Their wearing similiar costumes which signify gang culture.

In this picture the camera angle is an upside down Mid shot and the scene is slightly blurred, like a mist.The characters are face down and it can not distinguish their faces;these two factors increase the sense of mystery.There is a very dark background except for the middle of the scene where´s a sky and the characters gradually go covering it bringing with them the darkness.Also,presense of Fire in the scene can be a metaphor of hell.

Media Studies Summer Task

(Edited) Intruction

Hi, I'm Ruth and this is my media blog

1) What connotations are constructed by the black in LA Noire? What does the black suggest about morality in the game?

The black is the main colour in the game, is a mass of shadows that covers and uncovers the identities of people and creating an atmosphere of mystery that increases the interest and curiosity of the viewer.

By using the black colour in both substance and colour of objects, we suggest a suspect and tenebrous look on them.The black is used as a metaphor for the dark side of things and wickedness. The black signify crime, fear and darkness.

2) How does the colour palette of LA Noire construct an atmosphere of mystery and immorality?

Color palette in the game is basically soft and cold colors enhanced by a dark background painted black and blue. These ones gives mystery to the scene because cold colors convey tension and sense of hardness, strength, darkness ... wich signify inmorality.