Red Eye
In the film Red Eye in the opening scene we see close up pictures of a girl, this indicates that the characetr must be improtant as we see so many different close up of different pictures of the girl. Each picture we see tells us something different about her, the photos of the girl tell the story as in one picture she is playing sport which tells us that she must be very fit,strong and healthy. In another picture we see her in a cap and gown too indicate that she has graduated wich connotes that she is very successful. We know already that she is a main character as there is very much focus on her pictures, also we know all these things about her but we do not know her name, or why there is so much attention on her, which leaves us wondering. There is also a picture of the girl with a man so we know already that she has a man in her life. Also in the opening scene we see a man put down a wallet next to these pictures of the girl, he walks away and then we see another mans hand take the wallet very swiftly which indicates almost instantly that there is some danger and that the wallet is important some how. We also see two men loading out a box full of iced fich then in the box a black box which they load into a van very quickly, as they are moving very quickly we automatically think that they are up to something bad. There are some office scenes that have close ups of blueprints of a penthouse. The man who takes the wallet throws away the credit card, whcih makes us wonder why and we know that the story must not be about money.
In the opening scene we are left ask many questions, like who is the man in the picture with the girl could he have sometihng to do with what is goin on? What is so important and special about the girl? Is the it her house that the wallet is being stolen in? Also there are the intitials J R on the wallet and we are left wondering who J R is? Whos hand took the wallet as we never see any faces apart from the girls on the picture? Is the building important that we see at the end? Why is the mans wallet important if he has throw the credit cards away?
The camerawork in the opening scene is mostly close ups showing detail, also a lot of forward tracking, to add suspense. There are many over the shoulder shots so we do not see the faces we see the actions and bodies.
The sound in the opening scene is very loud and heavy to create suspense and connote that something dangerous is happeining and it creates a bad atmosphere. The graphics at the begining are very small and black and white which can represent good and evil. Then the title comes up in red representing danger, evil, blood, death and anger.
State of Play
The setting of the film is in the city, Washington which automatically links to politics with the White House being there. We see a very busy road and busy street, this can indicate danger as there is so much going on that no one would notice danger as much as they would if its was a quiet place. Also it is a rainy dark night, which can connote stress and danger more accidents happen in the rain. Also creates an atmosphere rain is not usually a good thing so the atmosphere is very dark and stressful. Also we see two old people which connote fragile and naive, which makes them an easy target as we know they will not fight back if anything happens to them. We see the man run into the middle of the road , as he does he gets hit byt every car that puts him in extreme danegr and his urgency to cross the raod and risk his life must mean he is running away from someone and it is very important for his to get away, we know straight away that what he is being chased by can be life thretening as he is putting his life in danger. Also he runs through a shop and destroys everything in the shop as he runs through it and he carrys on running very unapologetic he is in such a rush that he is falling over almost all the time. the man who is running his clothes and his appearance suggest that he is not very wealthy or proud. he is taking very serious risks so it must be serious.
The actions of the character we see at first tell us that something bad is about to happen. Then he gets shot by a man that looks very professional and appears to have experience as he found the man straight away where he was hiding and as the victim was very tired and out of breath from running the man who shoots him appeared to be fine, he looked professional as he was holding a breifcase as well and also his gun was very quiet when he fired. The setting around the running man we see a political building , so it could have something to do with politics. As well the shooting man gets seen by an innocent passer by , which he shoots as he is a witness.
All these happening in the opening scene leave us thinking why did the man shoot him ? Who is the victim what has he done?
Also the next day we see a man going to the scene of the crime and wanting to know the names of the victims and this makes us wonder why he needs to know this information.
The camera work in the opening scene include big city shots, ariel shots, low angle then high angle shots. The big shots of the city set a professional atmosphere, also sets a buisness atmosphere as in the city is where all big companies are based are where most importantt buiness goes on, so this also sets a serious atmosphere that the man is being killed for serious reasons. In the first 3 shots the camera is still, and it pans and titls. Then the camera follows the man running. We then see a close up of the victims face so we feel sympathy for him when he dies. Also the close up shows us the mans facial expressions showing him very worried, this creates more sympathy. Then as the killer runs off the camera stays with the victims leaving us to see what happens to them, also this creates a question for us where does the killer go? who is he? What was his purpose?
The sounds in the opening scene are diegetic, as we hear the characters breathing. Then there is very loud tension building music. We also hear the sounds of the city including helicopters and cars on the road. We hear people muttering , the pattering of feet, the rain and also we hear his falling and colliding with cars.
The editing in the scene are long takes at the begining when it is calm then when the action kicks in the takes become shorter and snappier to create pace.
The font at the begining of the movie is small and blue then goes to white then flashes to blue- these coloures are the american flag which can connote the story could be political.
Seven
Seven is set in a busy city, this gives the idea that crime could go unnoticed. The city has lots of high tal buildings which can give the impression that the city can be intimidating and make finding things very difficult. Also we never know the name of the city which give a scence if mystery ans earyness. Also the city is a very dull looking place with no sun or colour, all the building are grey, this sets a dull atmosphere and implies that there is goin to be something bad and mysterious going on. The setting plays a big part in setting the atmsophere, and mysteriousness. By the city being un named it highlights how the city is mysterious and not many would want to stay there, also that many things could happen that are mysterious which shows how the city could be dangerous and very un welcoming.
The film is based around the seven deadly sins and in a very constructed oreder as the film is set in seven days, also the detective has seven days until the detective retires, this shows how organised and thought out the killings were and how clever and deceiving which can give an intimidating atmosphere between the detectives and the killer showing how the city can be deceiving but also organised.
The characters in the film are detective Mills and Somerset. They both are very different and opposite in everyway.
Mills- Detectice Mills comes across as a very strong character, he is very passionate about his work. Also we see his wife and how he loves her, this can also highlight a weakness as this could be an easy target for the killer. He is also a lot younger than Somerset which means he is less experienced. Mills always seems in a rush and his clothes are always creased, and never look clean, this can lead to him comeing across unorganised and scatty. As he is young he can be very energetic but always needs coffe to wake him up in the morning.
Somerset- Somereset is a lot older and more experienced and knows what to expect and how to handle things. He comes across as being very lonely and as if work has taken over his life as we never see his family and always see him very organised at home. This can show how work has made him lonely and we understand why he is resigning, and we see everyday how trired he is of being lonely. He also tries to pass his education and certain ways of dealing with his temper but it fails in certain ways as the killer gets the best of Mills in the end which Somerset is scared of all along.
Fight Club
Narrative Structure-
The film comes across very complex towards the end as the main charcter and his alter ego that he wants to be, he then sees this man as a real person and develops a life around this character, we constantly see the "imanginary friend" and him fighting and they create a very realistic friendship which makes us beleive that they are vey much two different people. Only towards the end we find out that they are both the same person but he has developed a divide in his mind. This gets him very much trouble as he has started a club based around fighting which quickly gets out of hand. He then is constantly on the run from his troubles and finds himself lost without his alter ego but then he fears this as the alter ego is the one that is causing all the trouble in his life.
Jack- Jack is very lost in the big city that he lives in, he own an appartment and he has an obession with buying furniture, but becomes very bored and frustrated with life. This leads to him developing insomnia. Jack works in an office which he is very bored with and finds very alienated. Jack is very unhappy with his life he sees it as dull and boring and constantly wants to break out of the normal.
