Textual analysis of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Tim Burton, 2007)

(Opening sequence 0:27 to 2:15)

Story Line

• The camera starts outside on a stormy night, it tracks to a window The dark lighting and grim weather sets a sinister tone. A flash of lightning illumitates what is inside, an empty chair with nothing around it. The use of the lightning to light the scene is brilliant, it's a really creepy way of revealing information. 

• A drip of blood falls on the window, this signifies at the genre of the film strongly as blood is so heavily linked with death, which in turn is linked with the horror genre. We don't know who they are of or why they are bleeding adding intrigue. 

• The shot cuts to a grey stained wall inside the room with a silhouette portrait of a women hanging on it in a Gothic style frame, it appears to be bleeding. Could these be past victims and sources of the blood? This location is dark and depressing which hints that what ever goes on here isn't particularly enjoyable. 

• The shot tracks down to a trickle of blood trailing down an elaborate chair, this is a subtle introduction of an item which is integral to the story. Without this an item such as a chair could be overlooked and dismissed. It drips down to the underneath and unexpectedly reveals a set up of cogs and machinery. At this point the audience doesn't know why or what it does. As the machinery turns the camera follows the blood leading to a trap door, it opens and the camera falls down a long, dark chute. This obviously isn't normal to have under a chair, it raises questions for the audience of what sinister operation is under way. 

• The next shot is of a mincer with meat coming out of it, the camera tracks down and starts following the blood again which is now dripping from the meat. The blood falls into water of a sewer system and swirls around. The camera then cuts to the fire of an oven, in the next shot the audience sees 8 pies cooking in a furnace with a line of blood bubbling on the shelf.  

The continuation of the blood tells us that all these goings on are connected, that what ever, or more likely who ever was in the chair is now in the pies. The camera tracks out and the furnace door closes to show blood flowing down a groove in the floor into a drain. At this point we still haven't been introduced to any characters.

I like how the camera follows the journey of the blood and how that introduces the audience to the setting of the barbers chair. It symbolises death which is what will happen to any one that sits in the chair. It basically tells you the main premise of the film in a subtle way: People sit in the chair, die (well, get murdered) and get baked into pies. Blood is heavily linked with and very representative of the horror genre.

• The next shot is of more blood dripping down a wall before the focus switches to a dark, rat infested sewer of blood mixed with water. The camera tracks back along the flow of water and backs out of a grate which leads to a river. This end the journey of the blood, it is discarded. No-one would ever know of the horror that lies within that basement. This adds to the chilling feel of the sequence, the fact that no one would know of what shocking activity is happening.

Enigma Codes

Questions that are raised:

• Who is responsible for this?
• Why would they want to kill people and make them into pies?
• Who is the person from the silhouette?

Characters

We aren't introduced to any characters in this sequence. The only slight depiction of a character is from the silhouette and we don't know anything about them. They could be the antagonist, protagonist or a victim. The fact that the portrait appears to be bleeding suggests that who ever they are they aren't alive or won't be for much longer.

Locations

From the first shot of the roof tops we know that this is set in a built up area as opposed to a desolate location like the countryside.

There must be plenty of people around, this makes the premise of the film even more chilling. The fact that people could be being murdered and made into pies and everyone around it is totally oblivious.

Lighting

The lighting is very low key. The whole sequence is very dark and takes place in the dead of night. adding to the secretive feel on the piece. It suggests no one knows and no one is meant to know of what is going on behind closed doors. As all of the settings are so dark the blood really stands out highlighting the fact that it is a horror film. The lighting cast by the lightning is really effective, it illuminates the chair in a natural way. And as lightning is scary it reflects the genre nicely. 

Cinematography

The shot types are quite varied. Most of the close ups pan or track out to reveal more of the scene. It gives me the feeling that there is more to be seen. The shots start of close revealing very little and then release more information but they could have stopped during any time. They could have just given us extreme close ups revealing next to nothing so why did they show the audience more? But more to the point what didn't they show the audience? Did they stop before showing something vital such as a character?

For example in this shot there could be someone just in the shadows but the information is being with held

I like how the camera was used to show points of perspective, for example when falling down the chute. Point of view shots are a good way to help the audience connect with the action and feel more involved.

Editing

The editing is fairly slow in the sequence. The shots are long but nearly all of them either pan or track so a lot is shown during the shots. The lack of fast editing makes it easier to follow and understand.

The continuity of the blood flowing is very effective, it connects all the shots and makes them flow together. This helps the audience follow the sequence and make sense of what is happening. This isn't always the case in horror films, sometimes the desired effect is to disorientate the viewer.

Sound

There is a non-diegetic music score. The music is brilliant, it starts off with organs which reminds me of a funeral march (This is quite fitting of the genre) and then falls silent. The music starts again quietly building up tension, describing what is happening in a way words never could. It changes pace when the camera goes down the chute to the basement, the sound becomes stronger as if it is saying "this is happening" where as before it was subtler and more subdued, building to a moment of realisation.
Diegetic sounds include raindrops, the crashing of thunder and dripping of blood, cogs turning, the blood sizzling and the furnace door slamming shut. The sound of the thunder and blood dripping are extremely effective as they are subtle touches that are very unnerving for the audience.

Titles

The titles are presented over the action in a white font which stands out and easy to read. It is important the titles can be read, or there is not point having them there but they mustn't contradict to mood of the sequence. The first name that is not a company name is the directors, Tim Burton. Next is three of the main actors followed by the title of the film. The title is in another colour to show its importance. Following this are the supporting actors and the people such as who did the casting and music. At the end of the opening credits the director is shown again (This seems to be a trend in the opening sequences I have watched).

Textual analysis of Se7en (David Fincher, 1995)

Story Line
An unidentified character appears to be making a scrap book, things in the book include:

• Documents - he is seen covering words with black pen such as 'pregnant', 'transsexual' and 'fantasizing'. This could hint at the characters views but it creates the feeling that he is hiding something.
• Photographs - the character is developing film. Examples of photos are a small boy with his eyes blacked out, a picture a person with something metal coming out of the back of their head and some one who appears to be dead an has a mutilated face. We don't know anything about them as people. This them of death and possibly torture definitely reflects the horror genre.

These very graphic images aren't shown for long, in fact the last one only flashes onto the screen for a split second.

• Writing - the character is shown writing pages and pages of information. We are not shown or told what the writing is about and this is the only close up where the text is decipherable. 

I can make out the phrases 'all that mankind' and 'in modern mans'. This shows a generalisation no names are mentioned, just the whole of mankind is referenced. This could be an insight into that characters personality and ideas. If he is a killer (which I assume he is from the photos and withholding information) he doesn't seem to have particular targets. The text is upside down in the sequence and shown for less than two seconds so if I was watching this without pausing and backtracking there is no way I would have picked up on it. This is disorientating and unnerving for the audience, with things flashing up so fast it is easy to miss things.

• He is also adding bits of other things to his book. In this shot he is handling some hair with tweezers. This re-enforces the incredibly sinister feel of the sequence.

I assume it is hair from the person in the picture in this shot. 

The whole book looks like a record, perhaps a record of his victims. 

Enigma Codes
Questions that are raised:

• Who is this man?
• What is this book?
• Who are the people in the pictures?
• What happened to them and what does this character have to do with them?

Characters
There is only one character in this sequence. We don't learn who they are, where there from or really what they are doing. The only shots of the character are close ups of the hands. This means if we were to see them later in the film we wouldn't know it was them, therefore the killer, this creepy individual could be anyone.

They seem like a very isolated, lonely character, I get this impression from the locations featured in the sequence.

Locations
Not only could he be anyone, he could be anywhere. We can't see anything of the main location other than a window casting light. Another location is a dark room in which he is developing photographs. I like how there is no reference to the outside world. There is no recognisable landmarks to tell us where he is, we cant even see the view from the window which could give us a faint idea or point of reference.

Lighting
The lighting is incredibly low key. Their are lots of shadows from items illuminated by the window. I would have expected a horror film to be darker as other horror films are. Darkness and shadows are unsettling because there are endless possibilities to what could be lurking where the audience and the characters can't see. But the extreme close ups compensate for the lack of darkness because not much is shown in the shots.

Cinematography
All of the shots are close ups or extreme close ups reavealing next to nothing to the audience. We can see the character is writing but not where he is whilst writing, if he is alone or with other people. A range of angles are used. Mostly either high angle or level shots. High angle shots are used to show a better view of things, for example the pages of the book. Whilst the level shots give an ambiguity as we can't completely see the things on the table. This lack of information is typical of the horror genre because if everything about the antagonist was shown there would be no story, he would be stopped and nothing 'horrific' would happen. Something else that contributes to this is the focus. In all of these shots the background is out of focus so we can't see where he is. It withholds information from the audience.

Out of focus background gives no clues as to the characters whereabouts. 

Editing
The editing is extremely fast paced to disorientate the viewer, we are not meant to understand what is going on. The transitions vary between cuts and fades. Some shots overlay each other such as when the words are being blacked out. The layering of shots is quite confusing to watch as you can't really concentrate on one nor the other.

This technique and the editing style as a whole resembles a reel of film. Things flash up in-between bits of action.

The numbers and letters don't seem to correspond to anything. They could be part of a labelling system for the scrapbooks he is making. But, the point is we don't know and aren't told and this is confusing for the audience.

None of the continuity rules such as eyeline match or shot/reverse shot were overly present. The lack of continuity adds to the confused, unstable feel.


Sound
The sound is mostly non-diegetic ambience music with noises that sound like scratched records. The scratchy noises are really strange as they don't seem to be connected to the action at all. The only dialogue is also non-diegetic and matches the action in the shot. The spoken line is 'you get me closer to god' suggesting a religious aspect to the the characters motives. 


Titles
The titles are presented in a font that looks hand drawn. The white text on a black background stands out at is easy to read but the movement is quite off putting. The words sort of vibrate adding to the uneasiness of the sequence. The Title 'Se7en' is in a different font to show its importance.

Opening credits examples

Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

When do they appear and how?
All of the titles appear as white text over a black background in the same simple font. They come in to view in strips that slide together to reveal the text. I like how nothing is overcomplicated but after watching I still don't know what the film is about, who the characters are or what happens to them. This could have been rectified by placing the text over action rather that black screens. I definitely need to make more of an impact in my opening sequence.

What order do they appear in?
This is the order:

1. The Director - Alfred Hitchcock
2. The title - Psycho
3. Leading actors
4. Supporting actors
5. Screenplay
6. Other roles such as Art Direction and Special effects ect.
7. Assistant Director
8. The Director (again)

The first time Alfred Hitchcock's name is presented as 'Alfred Hitchcock's...Psycho' and the second time as 'Directed by Alfred Hitchcock'. I don't know why his name is presented twice in this different ways, it may have something to do with his involvement: he may have financed the film as well as directed it. Or maybe he was just extremely proud of his work. Other than that the order the titles are presented in doesn't jump out at me but it makes sense which I think is important.

How do they establish the genre?
This opening sequence doesn't hint at the genre at all really. The simplicity of the lines moving in and out of the shot to reveal the titles is really appealing. It could represent a wonderfully simple thought process of one of the characters, perhaps the antagonist. I like the idea that the antagonist has a logic to his thought processes and that everything to him/her makes perfect sense but to the audience of other characters it is a totally alien concept, a code that needs to be cracked. And that doesn't necessarily mean its a horror film as it could also apply other genres such as thrillers. This is only what I interpret the titles to mean. 

I like the simplicity of this sequence but I don't think it is a method I will be able to adopt in my sequence as I need to get across the genre strongly in the two minutes I have, something I don't believe this title sequence does. 

Opening credits examples

Se7en (David Fincher, 1995)

When do they appear and how?
The names in the opening titles of Se7en all appear in the same hand drawn font, they buzz and jitter on the screen. Any words that are not names appear in a different font. Perhaps this suggests a certain importance to the character we can see, maybe he is a killer that keeps scrupulous records of his victims? Some appear between the action over black screens and others over the action, it seems to alternate between the two.


What order do they appear in?
In regards to the order of appearance: first who made and funded the film are shown, followed next by a stream of actor names. Starting with the lead roles to the less important. At 1.10 people who did the casting music, costume designing and jobs like that are shown. This leads to the all of the different producers, the writer and finally the director. I like how they end on the director, it is the last name the audience sees. Also the only words that are spoken just before his name is shown, they say 'you get me closer to god'. This could suggest so many things, one being that the director has the final say over everything, it makes me think 'he did this'. I love that. I love how I as the audience thinks he is responsible for this film.


How do they establish the genre?
The movement of the words suggest an uneasiness and that something isn't right. The shot types support this, no faces are shown giving anonymity to whoever is carrying out the actions. It gives me the feeling that what ever they are doing is sinister. The sinister feeling hints at the horror genre but it could also be a suspense thriller because its not as much scary as unnerving.

I like how the names are in a different font to the other language and I might use that technique in my sequence. Also I have taken note on the order the names in the titles appear and may use it as a guideline for my own sequence.