Task 13 - Macro & Micro

Analyse 3 title sequences

The Stepfather

In the mise-en-scene you can see simple everyday household objects. For example, there is a coffee mug, Christmas tree, family pictures; it’s a normal house in the suburbs. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. The first character is introduced and he seems ordinary. He’s in the bathroom shaving, putting contacts in and having a shower. He puts on a t-shirt with jeans and has a duffel bag with him. Nothing seems wrong yet. Then slowly the lighting gets darker and duller. The camera tracks his movement throughout the whole sequence. There are many close ups of his face and low establishing shots of the house anchoring the idea of a nice quite family home. Moreover, there is a scene when the camera pans on the mantel piece focusing on the family pictures. 

The match cuts in editing have been used smoothly especially when the man is shown walking down the stairs. The title sequence is slow paced and the shots are long. Furthermore, a flashback was added into the end of the scene to give the audience some insight of the narrative. The editing was from the man’s perspective. The music used was eerie to begin with and got heavier as more of the narrative was revealed. The minor key makes the sound seem off and does not sound good. In the background you can hear a dog barking which is very noticeable as the title sequence is slow and quiet. Moreover, when the little girl’s dead body is shown Christmas music begins to play and this is ironic as the plot is of a family holiday that took a complete turn for the worst.

The key plot idea introduced into the title sequence is that a family man has killed his idea. It was a Christmas celebration gone completely wrong as it resulted in horrific and violent deaths of a man’s family. However, this is only just the beginning as he is leaving to go to another place where the audience assumes that the same thing will happen. Many characters are introduced in the opening scene such as the man who is the protagonist of the film and the family members that he has killed. There is his wife, young daughter, family dog, and two young boys. The only one who manages to survive was the dog. The storyline is introduced from present time yet as time goes on the viewer is shown what had previously happened. In addition, there is also a flash back embedded into the scene. The main social group represented is a typical, white, America, middle class family that lives in the suburbs.

Forrest Gump

In the opening scene of Forrest Gump the scene begins with the camera tracking the movements of a feather until it reaches the ground. There are high angle establishing shots of the city which show the buildings and the people on the streets and this changes when the feather hits the ground and then a low angle shot is used to introduce the character. In the mise – en-scene the main prop used is the feather but there are also many other props, such as: cars, people on the streets, a briefcase and a many other things found in a natural setting. 

The protagonists costume consists of a business suit and a briefcase; this represents an average business man. The lighting as well as the setting is all natural and not many effects have been used. There is no cutting scenes and no match cutting used. This makes the opening simple and gives it a better flow. It is straightforward and looks neater as not much is going on. The sounds used are intentional for example, the cars driving by and the opening of the briefcase, this is to show the serene atmosphere and focus on the main character. The music used sounds a lot like a melody from a children’s music box and is a lovely, peaceful sound to hear.

Just by looking at the opening scene there is no clear plot introduced. However, the feather may have a symbolic meaning for the rest of the movie. The protagonist is introduced towards the end of the scene but other than that no one else is introduced. The main social group shown was working class as many of the people were dressed smart and appeared to be on their way to work.

Se7en

In the title sequence for Se7en each shot is focussed on a specific task or object. Close-ups and extreme close ups have been used to show detail without giving to much information about the narrative. The movement in the scene is slow and deliberate to add to the suspicion of what is happening. High angle shave been used so that the audience is looking down at what is happening. The scene is constantly cutting and does not stay on one shot for too long. Many different transitions have been used to introduce each scene such as fading in and out or just straight cuts. The effect used makes the screen seem like it has glitches.

The mise-en-scene does not reveal the location, yet the audience can tell that the setting may be in a factory or warehouse of some sorts due to the machines and dull lighting. Only hands are shown using the machine – there are no characters introduced.  Many props have been used such as: a pen, machines, scissors, polaroid pictures and this conveys that the movies genre may be a mystery/ thrilling drama. Throughout the sequences the screeching sounds can be heard as well as intentional sounds of machinery in use. The song playing is fact paced and rushed to create a tense atmosphere. Moreover, the song is instrumental until the last ten seconds where the lyrics begin.

The key plot ideas introduced are that a detective is attempting to figure out a case. However, not much of the storyline is given away. The scenes are not in a specific order and I believe that was the designer’s intention. This most likely portrays the stressful and disorganised thoughts of the protagonist and is important in representing what will happen in the film. None of the characters are introduced however a set of hands has been shown many times in the scene.