PANIC ROOM

The scene starts with an establishing/ bird’s eye view shot with the institution’s name, then various shots of places and buildings are shown as texts stands in the air. Majority of the shots used are long shots of New York City. A lot of bird’s eye view and tracking shot is done as it shows names of actors, producers, editors are shown and the significance of this is to familiarize the audience with the cast. The opening credit is being edited into the buildings so cuts don’t need to be made between shots of landscape and opening credits. The titles are very grand and easy to read as it stays on the screen for quite a while. The sound is non diegetic as orchestra music plays in the background. It starts quietly as the camera tracks through the building, then it gets louder and the pace picks up a little suggesting adventure and action, then it goes back to being quiet and fades into the dialogue that takes place when the camera pans down. There is no narrative plot in the opening sequence as no action is shown making the film ambiguous as it isn’t fully established, however the characters are talking about a house suggesting that this house is important, therefore it’s hard to categorise the film into a certain genre, however the location is in the city and the music is eerie which could imply thriller or danger. The audience don’t get a chance to meet the main characters, but towards the end of the opening sequence, two characters are seen and heard talking about an accommodation, however this is done to create suspense because the audience are left guessing who the antagonists and protagonists are. The target audience were mainly 15-24, although females went to see it the most as well as C1.

COMPARISON OF SE7EN AND PANIC ROOM

Both sequences include bird eye view at the beginning. Panic room starts with an establishing/ bird’s eye view shot with the institution’s name, then various shots of places and buildings are shown as texts stands in the air. Majority of the shots used are long shots of New York City. A lot of bird’s eye view and tracking shot is done as it shows names of actors, producers, editors are shown and the significance of this is to familiarize the audience with the cast, while in SE7EN, a birds eye view shot is used to show a picture of two disfigured hands and very quickly fades away by showing another image of sharp objects but a close up on a razor then various shots are used but close ups are used mostly as it gives a closer look of objects and action.

Both sequences don’t give the story away, as they keep the audiences in suspense because the main characters aren’t revealed. In SE7EN, in between various shots shown on the screen, names of the actors, producers and directors are shown in black, however the text doesn’t stand still, it is constantly moving, almost like a light bulb with inconsistent energy to produce the light.
The significance of showing the actors name is to catch the audiences’ attention because majority of the actors are famous and well known such as Brad Pitt. The black background, inconsistent light and disturbing images shows that the film is full of mysteries, for example, the opening of a book filled with information as the character highlights and takes notes suggesting that it is thriller, while in PANIC ROOM, the opening credit is being edited into the buildings so cuts don’t need to be made between shots of landscape and opening credits. The titles are very grand and easy to read as it stays on the screen for quite a while.

The sound in SE7EN is non diegetic, however creaking, splashing, and whooshing sounds are heard making the object shown on the screen even more disturbing. The music is slow and steady as matches the action on screen, but towards the end of the sequence, the music paces up as it reaches a climax but at the end, the audience can hear ‘we’re getting closer to God’ in the lyrics suggesting death, and ends with a black screen with the inconsistent light, again adding to the iconographies of thriller/horror. In PANIC ROOM, the sound is non diegetic as orchestra music plays in the background. It starts quietly as the camera tracks through the building, then it gets louder and the pace picks up a little suggesting adventure and action, then it goes back to being quiet and fades into the dialogue that takes place.

The narrative technique used in SE7EN thriller is appropriate as it teases the audience by not showing the character, the story line, or location, however, different shots of actions done by the mysterious character (as the audience do not know if it is a female or a male or even someone they know) gives a clue that the film is going to be about answered questions as this character is busy gathering information and doing research as the pictures convey this. In PANIC ROOM, there is no narrative plot in the opening sequence as no action is shown making the film ambiguous, it’s hard to categorize the film into a certain genre, however the location is in the city and the music is eerie which could imply thriller or danger. The audience don’t get a chance to meet the main characters, but towards the end of the opening sequence, two characters are seen and heard talking about an accommodation, however this is done to create suspense because the audience are left guessing who the antagonists and protagonists are.

The lighting in SE7EN is dark and it is hard for us to see everything that is being shown. This lighting gives us the effect of it being more scary and mysterious. We also only see one character and that character is also mysterious to us too. Also, because the setting is surrounded in violence it makes it more scary and eerie for us because we cannot identify the character doing all of these weird, strange things. While in PANIC ROOM,

the lighting is naturalistic and normal as it shows a normal day in New York City, which also gives an eerie atmosphere because danger could be near without being aware, just because it is daylight, it doesn’t mean there is safety.

TITLE ANALYSIS

SE7EN

According to the codes and conventions of the title sequence, the producer’s name appears first.

The directors name appears next, but the conventions of titles would normally have the director’s credit as the last credit.

Next, the stars of the film appears. The main characters names are shown.

This is followed by the title of the film.

The names of the
supporting cast is then shown.

Followed by the crew.

The director’s name is then shown again.

PANIC ROOM is very conventional as it shows the title sequence chronologically which is almost similar to SE7EN.
The first thing that appears on the screen is the producer’s name.

Followed by the main characters.

Then the title of the film is shown.

Followed by the supporting cast.

Then the crew and director’s name is shown at the end.

Unlike SE7EN and PANIC ROOM, CHILDREN OF MEN subvert the codes and conventions of title sequence as at the beginning the producer’s name is shown but then the story line is established.

Followed by the title of the film, however nothing is shown after that suggesting that the director wanted to engage the audience into the plot immediately which means that the director’s name, actors, supporting cast, and crews name is shown at the end of the film (the credits).

SE7EN

The camera shots are very close up and are of strange, weird and chilling things. The shots make it seem more spooky and mysterious to us as we do not know what any of it is about. Everything the opening scene focuses on had a close up view of them. The shots are also sometimes blurred which creates effect. The movement has a rhythm yet still sets the scene of it being creepy and strange. For example we will see a shot and then it will suddenly be a black screen with one set of credits which will come up and then expand and blur then randomly go to a next strange shot. Even though it happens throughout the opening, it still surprises us because we are so intrigued as to what all these shots are about. Also some shots near the end are the same and last longer than other shots. For example there is a shot with a pen being used to delete or highlight specific words and we then see it again being used to draw a line through a picture of a boy and then the next shot is of the whole face scribbled in the same black ink. This shot alone gives us a sense of worry and makes us feel tense as we have no clue as to what this means and the sound with this shot makes us automatically think that this is strange and creepy.

During the start of the sequence, a birds eye view shot is used to show a picture of two disfigured hands and very quickly fades away by showing another image of sharp objects but a close up on a razor then various shots are used but close ups are used mostly as it gives a closer look of objects and action. For example, an extreme close up is used when a razor is being used to slice the skin of the finger. This image is disturbing, fitting into the genre of thriller.

Another extreme close up is used as a marker marks out words in a book in black making the scene mysterious adding to the iconographies of thriller. In the opening sequence, there are many a cut throughout which has a mixture of being very short and blunt or long and strange. The cuts set the scene as being suspicious. The cuts get longer and longer throughout the opening to try and tell the story a little bit better and create more suspense. For example right at the beginning of the opening the cuts are short and blunt and have no meaning compared to the cuts at the end. The cuts at the end are longer and are shots of someone doing specific things such as writing, cutting pieces of paper etc.

Several cuts are done as a whole full scene isn’t seen, but it appears almost as a continuous shot as the actions are every similar such as cutting, flicking through picture, highlighting and writing, this therefore helps the audience have a clue about what is going on. In between various shots shown on the screen, names of the actors, producers and directors are shown in black, however the text doesn’t stand still, it is constantly moving, almost like a light bulb with inconsistent energy to produce the light.
The significance of showing the actors name is to catch the audiences’ attention because majority of the actors are famous and well known such as Brad Pitt. The black background, inconsistent light and disturbing images shows that the film is full of mysteries, for example, the opening of a book filled with information as the character highlights and takes notes suggesting that it is thriller.

The sound is non diegetic, however creaking, splashing, and whooshing sounds are heard making the object shown on the screen even more disturbing. The music is slow and steady as matches the action on screen, but towards the end of the sequence, the music paces up as it reaches a climax but at the end, the audience can hear ‘we’re getting closer to God’ in the lyrics suggesting death, and ends with a black screen with the inconsistent light, again adding to the iconographies of thriller/horror. The narrative technique used in this thriller is appropriate as it teases the audience by not showing the character, the story line, or location, however, different shots of actions done by the mysterious character (as the audience do not know if it is a female or a male or even someone they know) gives a clue that the film is going to be about answered questions as this character is busy gathering information and doing research as the pictures convey this. The lighting in se7en is dark and it is hard for us to see everything that is being shown. This lighting gives us the effect of it being more scary and mysterious. We also only see one character and that character is also mysterious to us too. Also, because the setting is surrounded in violence it makes it more scary and eerie for us because we cannot identify the character doing all of these weird, strange things.

CHILDREN OF MEN

Where is it been represented?
At the opening scene, the audience can clearly see a café shop, where the characters are gathered, to hear the news about the youngest boy in the planet being assassinated. Outside, we see the major capital city of England- London. The audience can see high buildings with big screens on them, with writings going across it to broadcast the assassination, this immediately shows an iconography of the future with the advance technology (2027).
Suddenly, there is a bomb attack out of nowhere and immediately this shows the harsh environment. It represents London as an un-welcoming location to live in; this therefore makes the representation of London negative also the assassination of the youngest boy in the planet took place due to the refusal o signing an autograph, this shows that its not a safe place to live as the assassination is very extreme and also after the bomb attack, people try to hide, unsure of their safety in the streets.
The future is represented with hostility as the law in the country isn’t a convenient type as it includes deportation for illegal immigrants, but the caged immigrants represents them as unwanted people in the country. Also the group of people attacking the train by throwing different things shows that there are rebels in the future and would do anything to get their voices heard because they strongly disagree with the current law about immigrants.



Who is being represented?
The opening scene doesn’t establish who the hero is; however there is a main character that is ambiguous. Walking into the shop with people’s full attention on the television watching the news, he doesn't show the slightest attention to his surroundings as he is more focused on buying his coffee, but because the scene is dominated by him, the audience are left unsure about him being an antagonist or protagonist, but can tell that he is important. After the bomb attack that took place, as a hero, the audience would expect him go towards the explotion, but he doesn’t, therefore he doesn’t fit the “convention” of a hero that the audience have in mind. This ambiguous character is seen as a lazy type as he lies to his boss asking if he could do his work at home as he is affected by the death of the youngest person when clearly he isn’t through his body language and facial expression. He is also represented as an uncaring person when he walks past the caged immigrants. He walks without making eye contact, and when the cry of an elderly lady is heard, he paid no attention whatsoever as he walks on pretending like he didn’t hear anything. He is someone the audience would call an anti-hero but also an important character as the play progresses.




How are women represented?
Women are represented as un-important as they can no longer reproduce, however they are represented as vulnerable because being in the coffee shop, listening to the news, some women were arm-linked their husbands crying silently, this shows that they need protection as they are in a vulnerable position. At the end of the opening scene, we hear a scream from a woman that is standing in the smoke from the bomb attack, and although we see nothing except the smoke and a slow zoom to the woman, this however gets the audience thinking as this woman might be the mother of the assassinated boy or she’s probably pregnant; this would be strange for her and would have led to her screaming because of the predicament of women being unable to reproduce at that time in the society.
Women are represented to be very emotional as all the women at the office were all busy crying and wiping their tears as they watch baby ‘Diego’ on the screen. This death led to the breakdown in women as they are highly affected by it compared to men. Women are represented as weak again because majority of the caged immigrant are women, crying, especially an old woman who speaks in another language, however her crying makes the audience sympathize with her as she is a woman and old.


Can you notice any other social groups or places which are represented?
Apart from the coffee shop showed at the beginning of the film, the audience can’t notice any other social place except the streets where everyone is too busy minding their businesses. Even in the coffee shop, the characters were too focused on the television but the audience could hear silent sobbing as the women pour out their emotions and as the main character leaves the coffee shop, the sobbing gets louder. This coffee shop represents a social place as group of people gather together to listen to the news. However the news heard on the screen isn't a happy type as the youngest person in the world is being murdered, but before the bad news was broken, the news reporter spoke of immigration and deportation suggesting that nothing happy ever occurs in the future.
This representation of social places and groups is constructed in a straightforward way because it shows the level of people’s socialisation in the future as these ‘futuristic’ people are too focused on the assassination, this shows that the characters get overwhelmed quickly which is acceptable for the audience to understand as this boy was the youngest boy in the universe. The use of the coffee shop was constructed effectively as it familiarizes the audience with the surroundings and atmosphere. Another place where the audience see a group of people is in the office which is very similar to the cafe scene as it shows women getting over emotional about the assasination.





How is the future represented?
The future is represented as surreal but is represented in a naturalistic way so it doesn’t appear as a fairy tale genre. The future is represented with advanced technology as it is mainly based around means of communication as there are big screens on tall building broadcasting the assassination and later on in the film as it progresses. The future is however presented in a harsh way because of the death of the youngest boy in the planet al; because he refused to sign an autograph. This shows that these ‘futuristic’ people take the law in their hands because later on the assassin was beaten to death by the angry crowd, which also shows the audience that people in the future are capable of doing anything.
The environment doesn’t appear friendly or bubbly as everyone is busy doing their own thing and disturbed by the death. It also shows the audience that it is not safe to be on the streets because out of no-where, a bomb attack took place; an angry mob attack a train with different objects which informs the audience that the film isn’t going to be all sweet because the genre is an action type.



Media Language
Lighting
As the scene is established, the audience can immediately see that florescent lighting is used in the coffee shop, getting outside, there is some sort of decolouration as it looks very neutral. The lighting shows that it’s futuristic because the future is meant to optimistic therefore the lighting is very neutral to portray this picture, which also re-assures the audience that the future isn’t going to be strange through the lighting, the cloud stays the same colour as it’s always been.

Camera Work
Several shots were used during the opening sequence such as high angle, tracking shot, crane shot, establishing shot and panning shot.
The camera work is done in a structural way as high angle is used as the characters look up to watch the news on the television; therefore the camera is looking down at them. Tracking shot is used as the main character is followed by the camera throughout the opening sequence. Establishing shot is used as the camera shows iconographies of the future such as big screens etc. The camera work is unconventional to major features of a fictional film the establishment shot doesn’t show a ‘big space ship’ that normally appears at the start of a fictional film. it is also unconventional as it portrays the future in a negative way which doesn't conform the stereotypical representation of the future and also the non establishment of who the hero or antagonist is makes it unconventional to the major feature of fictional fillms. Personally I don’t think anything could have been done differently because of the way the producer approached the film. The uniqueness of the film makes the camera shot appropriate because it effectively shows the point of the scene.


Editing
One shot is used mostly as it shows the same shot used from when the main character was walking out of the coffee shot up to the scene where he was about to spike his coffee before the explosion
When the text appeared on the screen, the background was pitch black with the text bold in white, this immediately stands out. It shows the simplicity of the film but also under laying the story behind the text as it might signify that the black background id the chaos, while the text in white is something unusual that will stand out during the chaos. This gets the audience thinking, as they try to understand the meaning of the title.


Sound
Both diegetic and non-diegetic sound is used in the opening sequence; however it was constructed in very interesting way because it was mixed in order to make the scene realistic. An incidental music plays while the main character waits for the coffee, this sound, the character can’t obviously hear which makes the scene more interesting. Getting outside into the streets, diegetic sound is heard as cars go by and also the sound of a helicopter, all this sound goes with their action such as the 'thud' heard as the train when attacked by the angry mob.


Mise-en-scene
As the scene starts, the establishing shot shows were the scene is being set- the café, getting outside, the audience are fully aware that the main location is set in London as high buildings with big screens are in sight, however the red buses used makes it easier for the audience to recognise and familiarize themselves with the location. The props are clearly seen as it shows items that are associated to a café such as a café, coffee, TV, etc. The characters facial expression can be seen through the high angle used, their reaction to the news is seen as they are fully focused on the TV screen. The costume used in the scene is very naturalistic as it is something an audience would wear on an everyday basis. The make-up isn’t extreme as the characters look like they are going out to work, or to their everyday routine so definitely the audience doesn’t expect them to like they are going to a party. There isn’t much of action in the café as characters silently cry, however the main character getting outside tries to spike his coffee, this immediately tells the audience that he is different perhaps he’s an alcoholic. This also prepares the audience for more unexpected actions such as the explosion that took place few seconds later. The lighting used in the room is very naturalistic as it is neutral again reassuring the audience that the future isn’t strange. The use of a big cage to trap the immigrants reinforces the idea that they are unwanted and aren't treated as human beings as they are burden.
The mise-en-scene in the opening sequence of children of men conveys the theme that takes place in the film as it establishes the crisis and situation right at the beginning of the film. This however helps the audience to understand what the future is represented to be, which also gets them thinking at the same time. (No child has being given birth to in the last 18 years!)
The genre of the film is action because iconographies for action is seen at the beginning of the film such as running, attacks, struggle for survivor, however the film can be a hybrid as it progresses. The opening of the film is very clear and informative as it establishes the story line for the film when the reporter talks about the death of the youngest baby in the world and also how no child have being given birth in the last 18 years. This information helped the audience understand the plot and know what is going on rather than having no clue about the present situation, so the narration used fulfills my expectations as it says the story while showing it. The narrative structure is different to other films because a flash back would be used to tell the story of the youngest baby dying leading to why women can no longer give birth, but the approach towards this is the death being reported and a reference made to women being unable to reproduce.
The target audience of the film should be 12A+ because circumstances that takes place in the play is something under 12 won't fully understand. It might be more aimed at females as the film explains how women could no longer reproduce in the future due to some sort of virus. This film targets a broad audience because it has different scenarios that everyone could relate to especially in the society such as immigrant, death of important people, and deadly diseases that could spread and lead to disaster in the society.
Films made by Universal Pictures might have an effect on the film content because most subject matters are aimed at families, so if a film was to go against this idea, then the film will need to be re written in order to fit into their institution.
The main target audience for children of men were 25-34, more males went to see this compared to females as well as AB in the class section