Analysis Of Switchblade Romance

Today we watched a sequence from the horror Switchblade Romance directed by Alexandre Aja. It was produced in 2005. We watched a sequence which has conventional thriller techniques such as Sound, Editing, Mise-En-Scene and Camerawork. We analysed this scene to try and get a better sense of what a thriller contains. We will then apply these techniques to our own thriller title sequence.

The Micro-elements were analysed by:
Editing: Ben
Mise-en-scene: Cassie
Sound: Scott
Camerawork: Karl

Editing: (Ben)
As the music slows in pace there is less cuts and an increase of the shot duration. As the pace and soundtrack increase you get a decreased shot duration. There is a variety of pace, sound and editing which makes the spectator feel tension, suspence and helps us to understand and take in her sense of panic. There is elements of parrallel editing, also known as spacial editing, when the shots go back and forward from the woman rushing around tidying up and trying to find a place to hide to the male walking up the stairs to find her. This also creates suspence and tension for the spectator as we are gripping the edge of our chair to find out what happens. It gives us the sense that the character is going to be found as she hides the most obvious place, which creates more suspence for the spectator.

Mise-en-scene: (Cassie)
The lighting is dark in the scene which creates a sense of fear, this is a well known convention of a thriller. There are loads of props to build up the scene, such as the blade that the male is carrying, this shows that he is the killer and he is the one looking for the woman and not the other way around, this is known as a traditional stereotype, as the male is the killer. Another prop is the telephone which plays a small part in the scene, the female trys to move the wardrobe to find a place to plug in the telephone, this links in with camerawork as it is very fast paced at this moment. The male is dressed in a boiler suit which makes him almost anonymous as it is everyday clothing, also to be compared to a convicts clothing. He is wearing a hat and big black leather boots which may suggest his masculinty and strength. It could also be used to help the spectator realise that he is after the woman as he is appeared to be more dominant in the frame. There is a close up of the males hand and you can clearly see he is wearing big rings, this could suggest that he has killed before and that these are the rings from the people he has murdered. The male has dirty hands which emphasises his impurity and carelessness. However, the females clothing is everyday clothing to prove that she could be any ordinary person, which suggests that this situation could happen to anyone The white shirt suggests her purity and innocence, which also looks like the sort of clothing a young person wears, showing she is maybe young.
The setting is in an old traditional home, which a small bathroom and small bedroom, which could emphasise the female being trapped with no escape as the rooms are small. These are the places that are used everyday and are familiar with, this is a key theme to a thriller. We see houses as a safe place to be in, you wouldnt assosiate a home with murder as it is your own personal space. This is all to keep the spectator in suspense.

Sound: (Scott)
The screams at the beginning of the scene connotate pain, anger or fear. The scuffling/dropping sounds imply a struggle The atmospheric music is very fast paces with occasional thudding noises, this could represent a heartbeat which builds tension and suspense. This has a big impact on the spectator. The spectator could even have a physical reaction to this, their heartbeat could increase as a result. This shows danger and expected action but the spectator doesnt know when to expect it which keeps the viewer interested and wondering. The spectator knows that something is going to happen/ shows off balance.
The tempo and volume increase to emphasise the danger growing, there is an uncomfortable element to the sounds that are heard and reflects what is happening in the scene.High pitched sounds are more awkward and uncomforting to listen to.
The breathing of both the male and female both reflect different things ont the spectator. The females breathing is very fast to emphasise her fear. Whereas, the males breathing is very slow and heavy which shows he is calm about his actions and suggests that he has killed before. We get the sense that the male knows what he is doing which makes the spectator uneasy. The subjective sounds from this scene, like the leather boots squelching and the floorboards creeking when he walks on them, also make the spectator feel uneasy.

Camerawork: (Karl)

The meaning is created through camerawork by the variety of shots, for example there are fast and slow pans to create effects of suspense and tension. Close up are used to help the reader to get involved with the action and put the reader into the scene. Close ups also limit the spectator to what they see to keep them guessing and wondering what is going to happen. Match on action is used to create suspense and help us to engage the two different stories as one. There are two stories happening at the same time, but the match on action helps us to separate them, but understand them as one. You never seem to see the males face, as if he has something to hide so they don't show his face. You see close ups of the props such as the blade to emphasis the danger of what is happening. It helps the spectator to join in with the action and understand the females fear. This is all to create suspense.

Analysis Of Seven

Our group analysed the opening title sequence of Seven to get a see how a title sequence is contructed to get an idea of how to put our title sequence together and what effect we need to create on the audience.

Camerawork = was analysed by Cassie
Editing = was analysed by Ben
Mise-en-scene = was analysed by Karl
Sound = was analysed by Scott

Camerawork: (Cassie)
The shot types do not really vary in this sequence as all the shots are close ups. There is not any long or medium shots involved to keep the viewer to a minimum on the action. This is to influence the viewer and keep them involved in the action and suspence. A metranome is used by musicians to keep in beat with the music, there is a close up of the males hand pushing the metranome which may suggest the seconds ticking away. Suggesting that the males life is wasteing away or time is ticking for some reason. It could also show the pace of the males heartbeat or pace of the film or how time is ticking away. It could even suggest that life is precious and you should use every second you have. There is many interpretations to the significance of the metranome. This keeps the viewer in suspence about what the male is doing and unaware of what is happening. Close ups through out the title sequence make the tension stronger as we cannot see any surroundings but just the specific shots. Also repetition of the shots create suspence. Oblique angles are added to confuse the viewer and make them think about what the film involves and what is to come. Moreover, zooms on the males face suggest he is the main character in the film and shows the viewer the facial expressions of the male. This may suggest the theme of gender is about to occur and be brought up.
Overall, in my opinion, this clip creates the mood of keeping the reader oblivious to what is happening in the sequence to create the tension and make suspence for the film to come.

Sound: (Scott)
At the beginning of the sequence, the male pushes the metranome to make a diagetic sound occur. This sound is the ticking of the metranome, the reader is fully aware of this sound. This has been included for a reason, maybe to suggest the male is a waste of time or time is ticking away. A metranome is used for a pianist to keep in the beat of time, maybe this sequence is suggesting the male is keeping in time, or could represent his heartbeat. Throughout the sequence, eerie sounds are used to keep the viewer interested and sat on the edge of their seat. This has an influence on the viewers as they are drawn into the clip. This is a non-diagetic sound as the clips are edited together, which makes the charactors not able to hear the sounds that are added afterwards. Slow paced music is used at the start of the flickering images to build up to the suspence, after the mood is set, the music begins to get faster in its pace to suggest that there is suspence and action in the film. It suggests that the film is fast paced.

Mise-en-scene: (Karl)

Props that are used in this scene represent a lot. It also sets the mood for the film as it creates the tension and puts the spectator in suspense and ready for what is going to happen in the film. The props include things like razor blades to represent danger or pain. There are bandages on the persons fingers show the spectator that the person has cut himself or done something that represents pain or suffering to maybe show he has done something wrong. Another interpretation of this could be that the person is trying to hide their finger prints from doing a crime or doing something wrong and does not what anyone to trace his prints etc. The persons dirty hands represent his impurity and shows that he has done something wrong. It shows the danger of the film and sets the spectator up for what is about to happen in the film. There are a range of books in the opening title sequence maybe to show the person is clever and has a lot of knowledge. It could also show he has information on people or to stalk people. this gives that person power and strength. The knowledge of the person shows the spectator they know what they are doing. There could be many different interpretations to what is happening in this title sequence.

Editing: (Ben)

At the beginning of the scene, there is long duration shots to set the scene and make the spectator wonder what is happening. This creates suspense and tension and sets the viewer up for the mood and setting of the film. After the first scene has been set, they shots turn into short duration with flickering images, which distorts the spectators views on what is happening. The transitions between the shots shows us that the shots have been deliberately edited together to create the effect of building the tension on the scene. Some of the shots are repeated which helps the spectator to try to understand and put the pieces together to try and figure out what is about to happen, although it is done to make the spectator unexpected of what the film is about, this helps to create more suspense.