section 2 research into examples of comparable media products

Notes on Seven
Narrative Structure:
in seven the narrative structure was set out on a day to day theme, for example when a murder had taken place, somewhere in the room there was a note left on the floor or a wall saying 'greed, lust, envy' and so on. not only were there seven deadly sins but all took place in a seven day period 'linear'. the film also used many narrative themes such as 'religious-classic literature based killings' using the seven deadly sins, this theme could also be separated into apathy, with somerset saying he didn't care about the people or the job on the other hand in the bad city life, Mills is the one who cares about the citizens and the job and wants to make a change.
Cinematography:
in seven the cinematography was mostly based on the different camera angles, for example the ariel angle shots to look down from above almost like the audience were in a helicopter above the scene, and the wobbly POV suggested realism as though the audience were the ones running through the streets chasing the killer as though they were involved with the action. The low shot angles were used to show power and dominence in crime scenes when Somerset and Mills were looking down on John Doe. Another useful angle the camera man used was when Mills and Somerset were sat on a couch and the camera was placed as though the audience was the 3rd person sat along side the detectives.
Mise-en-scene:
mise-en-scene is basically whats on scene, the mains props used in seven were the basic props you would expect to be in a thriller film. for example old books can be used to sum up what a characters like by the way each character uses them and the type of book they have. The books mills had were little hand books to cut straight to the point so he didnt have to read much where as Somerset used big thick books with plenty of detail in and Doe used his own books that he'd wroite out all of his notes in. A gun can also be the main prop to divide the characters, where we have Somerset who has never fired his gun but has pulled it out once in his career as a detective, but on the other hand Mills has pulled his gun many times and fired it once, this also suggests how the characters are signified as there individual person.Another prop we see in seven a lot was Somersets switch blade and the detective constanly used tourches in many cases, the tourches created an eerie atmosphere when the detectives were in a dark room and Mills tourch kept flashing off this created more suspense because we werent sure what was going to happen next. the tourhces also highlighted the parts of the area the audience were made to focus on, this effect links to Pascal Bonitzer effectivly with his suggestion of partial vision to only let the audience see little parts of detail at a time.CHM-V was used to signify both Somerset and Mills where as Mills would wear a leather jacket and a ready made tie to make him seem more rougher, Somerset would wear braces and a wool long jacket and look very smart.
Sound:
there is a lot of natural sound used in the film seven such as the traffic, sirons, screaming/shouting and the everyday noises of dogs barking and the rain bouncing off objects in a film the director would usually use synchronous by recording the noise as a separate scene and then match it up when editing the film, this then prevents the sounds from changing or been louder/quieter.Aslo there is a lot of music used in seven whether its made to create tension by using very up tempo fast paced music, or slow classical music to show the setting is safe and calm for example when Somerset is in the library they use classical music to show the calmness this is called diegetic music, non diegetic music is used when Mills is in his office, as the same music is played but Mills cannot hear it.
Editing:
just like in every film editing is used as a main part in films to cut from scene to scene. in seven cutting is used in many different ways, one way was montage cutting by putting small clips together, this method is usually used to build up tension by flicking between 2 or more small scenes to only show little snips of whats going on. it can also help to set the story, for example by showing small parts the audience then peice them together to figure out them selves what is going on.
Codes and Conventions:
there are many codes and conventions used in seven by many of the different authors. Chesterton explained how the setting is modern and urban as in the film seven the setting was always raining and dull but also modern, following that was Matthews who mentioned a thriller as been a puzzling journey, just like seven the audience are always in suspense wanting to know what will happen and trying to work it out as if they were a 3rd detective.Frye was the one to say that the hero is usually an ordinary person in seven this convention is met as the hero (Mills) was just an ordinary detective.Bonitzer's codes and conventions were very easy to compare to seven he suggested the 'partial vision' this is used many times in the movie seven for example, when showing the 'lust' scene we could only see the prostitiute laying on the bed but she was out of focus, and also when Mills recieved the box at the end the audience were not shown what was in the box.Cawelti was the one to introduce the exotic, using old books/pictures and the seven deadly sins, these were obviously used in seven as a main part of setting the scene.Lars suggested deliberatly hiding things from the audience again this could be used in the ladt scene as the audience only found out what was in the box by the clues from Somerset and Doe shouting to Mills, Cawelti also uses pratraction when Mills shoots Doe as we could see this coming even though we didnt want it to.Carrol designed the question and answers models such as 'will the hero survive?' he mentions the morals for example Mills morals are quite low as he pays a woman to lie for him to keep him out of trouble. Again the Q&A model is met in nearly every film including seven as the audience will always question the film.


The Bourne Identity:
Narrative structure
the beginning is in a linear order to lead you through the film.
Codes and conventions:
so far the film creates questions about how matt damon got the bullets in his back and why he was in the water to start off with.
Camera work:
the camera work used an establishing shot to show where the opening is set, it also used a various range of ways to catch the cameras pov when the ship was swaying and also used close ups on matt damon when he was on the desk and the man was taking the bullets out of his back.
Mise-en-scene:
there was a lot of ship equipment such as anchors, and sails. the lighting was natural but very dark as it was at night. the clothes the men on board wore showed they were fisher men.
Sound:
non diegetic sound of violins or some sort of string instrument playing in the background.
the sounds of the visious waves and men playing cards in the deck were the only other sounds.
Editing:
most cuts were from inside the shit to the sea creating an effect making the audience feel as though something was going to happen. the only other cuts were when mantt damon was taken inside where it cut from his body to the man getting the bullets out.
Graphics:
only one title was shown in the first few minutes of the film which were the title of the film, this title was a light blue text with a black background and nothing going on behnd it, this then emphasises the text making you read it.

Final Destination:
Narrative structure:
linear shots making the audience wonder how these relate to the film and in what way.
Codes and conventions:
using Lars ole.s. concealment is used to hide what is going on so that the audience watch more to see what the opening is about t5his also links in with Bonitzer as he mentions partial vision in a thriller.
Camerawork:
the only camera work used were short cuts through a bedroom of different objects in the room.
Mise-en-scene:
the props that were in the room were not clear as to why they were there the lighting was natural shining through a bedroom window.
Sound:
there was not much sound in the opening but there was an eerie music creating tension.
Editing:
the cuts were all in one room cutting from objects to other object for example a window then to a fan these relate to the film but it makes you wonder how.
Graphics:
the graphics were white with a shadow behind them that trailed when the titles faded, this made you look at the titles but not as much so you ignore what is going on in the background.

Jaws
Narrative structure:
the opening of jaws is set in linear order to lead the viewer throuhg the fiml and intrigue them to watch more.
Codes and conventions:
like a typical thriller jaws starts with action and a death, this fits in with lars' theory or protraction as we know she is going to be attacked but we dont know when, this builds suspense.
Camera work:
establishing shots are used at first to show how they are out on a beach in the dark. The camera uses various shots such as pov of the shark and also acts like a third person in the water with the girl as she gets attacked making it seem more realistic and in your face.
when the girl is then taken by the shark there is a re-establishing shot to show the silence and back to the clam water as if nothing happened.
Mise-en-scene:
the lighting used was natural but very dark, it was set in an isolated area which then gives the impression of been unsafe.
the buoy that the girl tries to grab hold of was effective as it made us feel as though she had hope of surviving.
Sound:
the sound used was mainly the jaws , followed by the splashing in the water.
with the jaws tune the tempo increases to creat effect.
sound motif is used by reacurring music of the jaws tune to signify the danger.
Editing: the cuts goi from the girl going into the water to the boy passing out on the beach.
the camera kept cutting from under the water to above the water giving us the impression somehting is about to happen. also giving the kuleshov effect.

American Psycho
Narrative structure:
the way the man describes his morning routine and how careful he is is in linear order.
Codes and conventions:
unlike typical thrillers american psycho doesnt start with a murder but with naturalistic scenes but we are not sure whether he is the killer or a hero.
it also creates a questions to be asked and uses partial bonitzer
Camera work:
the camera pans around the mans house slowly making us feel something is round the corner.
the only close up os of his face in the shower and when he peels of a face mask.
the long shots are used when he is in the shower, in a way it shows his pride in himself.
Mise-en-scene:
the main props used in the film are his moisturizers and face/body washes, this forshadows his personality and how clean he is.
the picture frames on the walls stand out from the pale room and the use of mirrors and reflections give a sort of errie effect.
Sound:
the piano music is non diegetic as the pan around his room and it plays all the way through the opening. also he uses a voice over to describe what he does every morning this then makes the audience feel although he is a bit of a strange man. the other music is in the club which s very loud to contrast against the piano music played in his house shots.
Editing:
the cuts between each room and his excersising scenes desribe his morning routine by simple short clips. there are no transsitons between the night club to the apartment scenes.
Graphics:
the graphics used are effective as the white background contrasts against the black writing.
it also uses different typography later on in the scene, the two types of writing used are serif and sans serif give the impression of a split personallity.

Silence of the lambs
Narrative structure:
in the opening scene we can see that the film is linear as she is doing an assult course.
Codes and conventions:
the codes and conventions used are the use of partial vision by bonitzer as we can only see parts of what she doing. and also she is just an ordinary person in the FBI.
Camera work:
the camera work is very useful to the audience as when we see her running the cameraz tracks her so we know what she is doing.
there is also an establishing shot at the beginning to orientate the audience and shows how she gets from the woods to the FBI building.
Mise-en-scene:
in the opening off this film we see trees uses natural day light but it is also misty, we can also see the obsticals in the woods and the uniform on the girkl is very masculine and she is sweating alot, this shows her detirminations and the hard work she is doing.
when she then gets into the lift the contrast is between the tall men all wearing the same tihng and the girl smaller than the rest in a different uniform.
Sound:
the diegetic sound used with dry leaves crunching and the gun shots make us feel unsafe untill we get into the FBI building. the sound bridge used is very smooth and cuts with the sound to give it a more natural effect.
Editing:
in this film the cuts go from the girls feet to her face when she is running, this is an effective cut as we can see the power she is using in both her legs and the body.
it also uses to cameras pov in the woods with tracking but unlike the other thriller it uses less cuts but longer shots.
the use of eyeline match makes the audience pay attention as it follws the girls eyes around the office she is in to the corkboard with bits of news on.
Graphics:
the graphics are black with a white lining and has a very faint red line around the edge these type of titles make you look and take your focus away from what is going on in the back ground as they are in the middle of the screen.